I am not a lawyer qualified to give advice on immigration, rather just
a researcher, so I cannot provide an expert legal opinion on what the
INS will accept as proof of birth date. As a researcher, I can only
point to the best resources I can find, using the best search
strategies I can think of.
That being said, I have located information that appears to address
your first question. (You should check with a lawyer or an INS office
to confirm whether the information is complete and correct in your
wife's situation.)
I have browsed the forms relating to and including Form I-485,
Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status, which
are located on the following pages. (I'm not sure which set of forms
applies to your wife, so I am including all of them.)
http://www.ins.gov/graphics/formsfee/forms/files/i-485pk1.pdf
http://www.ins.gov/graphics/formsfee/forms/files/i-485pk2.pdf
http://www.ins.gov/graphics/formsfee/forms/files/i-485pk3.pdf
[See also:
"INS Form I-485"
Immigration and Naturalization Service
http://www.ins.gov/graphics/formsfee/forms/i-485.htm ]
The first page of the instructions for Form I-485 (under "Initial
Evidence") states the following:
"Birth certificate. Submit a copy of your foreign birth certificate or
other record of your birth that meets the provisions of secondary
evidence found in 8 CFR 103.2(b)(2)."
CFR refers to the Code of Federal Regulations, available at:
Code of Federal Regulations
National Records and Archives Administration
http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/cfr/ .
The specific provision is found under Title 8 (Aliens and
Nationality), Part 103 (Powers and duties of Service officers;
availability of Service records). It states as follows:
"Sec. 103.2 Applications, petitions, and other documents.
* * *
(b) Evidence and processing
* * *
(2) Submitting secondary evidence and affidavits--(i) General. The
non-existence or other unavailability of required evidence creates a
presumption of ineligibility. If a required document, such as a birth
or
marriage certificate, does not exist or cannot be obtained, an
applicant
or petitioner must demonstrate this and submit secondary evidence,
such
as church or school records, pertinent to the facts at issue. If
secondary evidence also does not exist or cannot be obtained, the
applicant or petitioner must demonstrate the unavailability of both
the
required document and relevant secondary evidence, and submit two or
more affidavits, sworn to or affirmed by persons who are not parties
to
the petition who have direct personal knowledge of the event and
circumstances. Secondary evidence must overcome the unavailability of
primary evidence, and affidavits must overcome the unavailability of
both primary and secondary evidence.
(ii) Demonstrating that a record is not available. Where a record
does not exist, the applicant or petitioner must submit an original
written statement on government letterhead establishing this from the
relevant government or other authority. The statement must indicate
the
reason the record does not exist, and indicate whether similar records
for the time and place are available. However, a certification from an
appropriate foreign government that a document does not exist is not
required where the Department of State's Foreign Affairs Manual
indicates this type of document generally does not exist. An applicant
or petitioner who has not been able to acquire the necessary document
or
statement from the relevant foreign authority may submit evidence that
repeated good faith attempts were made to obtain the required document
or statement. However, where the Service finds that such documents or
statements are generally available, it may require that the applicant
or
petitioner submit the required document or statement."
"Code of Federal Regulations: Title 8, Volume 1", U.S. Government
Printing Office via GPO Access (revised as of January 1, 2002)
National Records and Archives Administration
http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/get-cfr.cgi?TITLE=8&PART=103&SECTION=2&YEAR=2002&TYPE=TEXT
It seems to me that your wife would follow subsection (i), not
subsection (ii), since the document apparently does exist, but is
currently unavailable.
In addition, Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative (in the first set
of materials -- http://www.ins.gov/graphics/formsfee/forms/files/i-485pk1.pdf
), provides guidance on missing documents. The guidance is found on
the second page of instructions (page 13 of the PDF file), under "8.
What if a document is not available". The information might possibly
be applicable only to this particular form, but I suppose (though,
once again, I'm not an immigration expert) that it might be helpful
for drafting affidavits required under 8 CFR 103.2(b)(2)(i) for Form
I-485.
[Here's one more INS document, which may or may not be informative in
your situation; I'm including it just in case:
"How Do I Know If I Need Original Documents?"
Immigration and Naturalization Service
http://www.ins.gov/graphics/howdoi/hdiorig.htm ]
As for your second question, the best suggestion I can think of is to
contact any helpful person or organization (with whom you feel
comfortable talking) that has connections to or experience with
Russian immigration or governmental issues.
For instance, there are many Russian immigrant communities in the
United States, which might give you advice and point you legal
services catering to Russians:
"Other Russian Communities"
Russian South Florida
http://www.russiansouthflorida.com/russcomm.html
[Note: Most of the links work; most of those links themselves have
links to other sites of interest.]
You can also try the Russian embassy or consulates:
Embassy of the Russian Federation
http://www.russianembassy.org/
"Consular Information"
Embassy of the Russian Federation
http://www.russianembassy.org/consulat/contact.htm
Hopefully, the answer to your first question eliminates the need to
resolve your second question. Nevertheless, it might help you to talk
to persons with expertise in Russian affairs, in addition to a lawyer
or an INS office who can confirm the answer about proof of birth date.
- justaskscott-ga
Search terms used:
On INS's search feature (
http://www.ins.gov/graphics/exec/whereis/index.asp ) -
birth NEAR certificate
birth NEAR unavailable
On Google -
"code of federal regulations"
"russian communities"
russian embassy
[I also browsed the INS forms (
http://www.ins.gov/graphics/formsfee/forms/index.htm ).] |
