Are civil registry documents important for the US immigration process?

The United States has always been and remains a top destination for immigrants from all over the world. Many people arrive in America unprepared, only realizing on arrival what documents they need and the difficulties they may encounter.

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The list of documents depends on your specific situation and should be the subject of a separate consultation with an immigration lawyer.

But there are basic requirements that exist always and everywhere, in any country and under any initial data.

BIRTH CERTIFICATE

Your most important document is your birth certificate. Some believe that after receiving a passport, your birth certificate becomes a souvenir, a memento of childhood. But this is not true. A birth certificate confirms the fact of a child's birth, their name, their parentage, their place of birth, and, in some cases, their citizenship and nationality. With a birth certificate, you can prove your relationship to your relatives, living and deceased, which opens the door to many processes, including immigration and inheritance matters.

Every person, regardless of their country of residence or immigration status, must have an original birth certificate—a document issued by a government agency authorized to register births. Photographs, scans, or paper copies, including notarized ones, are NOT sufficient. If you don't have a birth certificate, you should consider obtaining one, regardless of your status in the United States, even if you've long since become a citizen. At some point, you may need to marry, apply for a pension, or remember that your grandfather was from Slovakia and consider obtaining a second citizenship. Everyone needs a birth certificate. At any age. And even after your death, it will be very useful to your children.

Do I need to apostille my birth certificate for the US? – In most cases, no. But if you're applying for documents for Europe, Russia, or Israel, an apostille is absolutely necessary.

USCIS and NVC require a certified English translation of your birth certificate. If you were born in the USSR and your birth certificate is Soviet-era, this document is more than sufficient for the US; you don't need to obtain duplicates. Firstly, there's no need. Secondly, in some cases, old Soviet birth certificates are trusted far more than modern certificates. And it's not just potential doubts about authenticity: the problem is that many people take advantage of the opportunity to amend their civil status records and obtain duplicates after the changes. This is particularly important when someone is trying to emigrate to Israel or obtain refugee status in the US as a Jew and presents a crisp new birth certificate. Clients then contact our office asking us to prove that their nationality was indicated in the original 1949 birth certificate, and not something that appeared in 2026. This is important. So, take care of your original old Soviet birth certificates. But if you didn't protect them and now it's important for you to confirm your parents' nationality (which isn't indicated on modern birth certificates in Ukraine, for example), then obtaining a duplicate birth certificate won't be enough; you'll also need to obtain an extract from the birth certificate, which will reveal all the information contained in that record.

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Who is issued a birth certificate? The procedure varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction. In addition to the applicant, their parents can also obtain a birth certificate, but there are nuances that vary by jurisdiction. For example, parents can only obtain a Russian birth certificate while the child is a minor. What should parents of adult children do if their relationship isn't working out, if their adult son or daughter has moved to distant lands, if they lead an antisocial lifestyle, if they are in prison, or if they live on a desert island? Such situations, unfortunately, are not uncommon, and there is a solution. Although a parent loses the right to obtain a birth certificate upon their child reaching 18, they still have the right to obtain an extract from the birth record. This is essentially the same as a birth certificate, albeit with more detailed information. An extract from the civil registration record is issued by the same civil registry office, it is signed by the same head of the civil registry office, the same official seal is affixed, and, if necessary, the same apostille is issued.

People often need to obtain a birth certificate for their parents. Generally speaking (exceptions vary in different jurisdictions), while a parent is alive, they must grant power of attorney to their children for this purpose. Children/grandchildren/great-grandchildren gain access to the birth records of their parents, grandparents, and great-grandparents after their death and upon presentation of a death certificate. In some cases, to obtain the document, they must not only confirm the parent's death but also justify the need for the document. Our New York office We have received repeated requests from people who, at first glance, were denied a birth certificate for a parent without justification, but upon closer examination it turned out that the adult son or daughter was unable to substantiate the reason or did not present a death certificate for the parent.

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MARRIAGE CERTIFICATE

Many people will be surprised, but a marriage certificate is required even after a divorce.

“But I don’t have it, it was taken away from me in court 20 years ago” is not an argument or a reason not to provide it to the immigration authorities of any country. "Well, I didn't change my last name" or "Well, I took back my maiden name after the divorce" - this is also not a reason not to provide a marriage certificate. “It was in a past life (before emigration), it doesn’t count” – unfortunately, no, it certainly does count.

В Our New York office A woman contacted me asking for help with the citizenship confirmation process. We questioned her at length; she signed all the forms and applications, including a warning about the inadmissibility of knowingly providing false information and explaining the legal consequences. But something compelled me to check, and her first marriage came to light, which she had concealed not for profit but for convenience (as she hadn't changed her last name during this marriage). Whatever the reason, it was still a fraud. Government officials have a much greater arsenal of tools for exposing lies than, say, I do. But even I had no trouble finding her first marriage, and we obtained the relevant marriage and divorce documents for the client. However, had the fraud been uncovered during the review of her application, it would have been a guaranteed refusal, and in some cases, with the prospect of criminal prosecution.

Divorce Document

A divorce document isn't always a civil registry office document. In many jurisdictions, it's a court order. This document is critically important, and not only you but also your heirs should know about it. I had a high-profile case in which a woman died in Russia, and after her death, her husband filed a lawsuit against her other heirs—his wife's parents and their children. He claimed that while going through the family archives, he found his wife's American marriage certificate, but no divorce document.

Consequently, he, the deceived husband, had been in an invalid marriage all these years, which had been concluded at a time when the previous marriage had not been dissolved. our office We managed to find an American divorce—and justice, albeit on appeal, prevailed. But things could have been much worse. So think about your loved ones; let them have copies of your legally significant documents. This will reduce not only expenses but also overall stress.

DEATH CERTIFICATE

A death certificate is required in many cases: if your spouse or parent applied for family reunification and died before you received status; if you are applying for a fiancée or spouse visa but you or your partner lack proof of the dissolution of your previous marriage and your previous spouse has died; if you would like to move to, say, Israel and need to prove that your grandmother was Jewish. Many immigration guides omit the death certificate from the list of required documents, and this is completely inappropriate; the importance of this extremely important document should not be underestimated.

Recently, the internet was abuzz with the story of Levi Mendez-Maldonado, a native of Honduras, who was killed in a shooting in November 2024. On May 21, 2026, an immigration court in Charlotte, North Carolina, ordered his deportation, ignoring his lawyer's notice of his client's death. To support her claim, the lawyer presented police documents confirming Mendez-Maldonado's death. However, the case continued as scheduled, and the judge's decision made no mention of the death.

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The answer to the question "Why?" is simple. A person's death is confirmed by certain means of evidence, namely, a death certificate. Until a death certificate is available, the person is presumed alive. The fact of death cannot be considered confirmed by a police report, and the burden of proof lies with the party claiming it. Therefore, the attorney claiming the client's death should have presented a proper death document, not just any report, even one citing an authoritative source, because the authoritative source in the context of the issue being described is the North Carolina State Department of Health, not the police.

CERTIFICATE OF CHANGE OF NAME

A surname doesn't always change as a result of marriage. Sometimes it's changed at the civil registry office upon the personal request of the person wishing to take a new name. In America, a surname can be changed in court. Regardless of the authority or court in which you change your name, this document remains extremely important not only for your entire life but also for the lives of your heirs. If, God forbid, they can't find where and when their parent changed their surname, they may be unable to prove their relationship to their parent, with all the ensuing consequences.

ADOPTION CERTIFICATE

Rarely required, but crucial. Guard this document like the apple of your eye, as obtaining a document guarded by adoption secrecy will be quite difficult.

For these and other questions, you can get professional advice and practical assistance in Karina Duval's office Address: 1400 Ave Z, Office 502, Brooklyn, NY 11235. Appointments are by appointment only. Appointments can be made by email: [email protected]

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