Vital Records for USCIS and Immigration Applications
USCIS requires original or certified copies of vital records — birth certificates, marriage certificates, divorce decrees, and death certificates — for most immigration petitions and naturalization applications. This guide explains exactly what USCIS needs, how translations must be handled, and what to do when a record is unavailable.
Consult an immigration attorney for your specific case. USCIS requirements vary significantly by form, visa category, and individual circumstances. This guide covers general document requirements — your specific petition may have additional or different requirements.
Which Vital Records USCIS Commonly Requires
The documents required depend on which immigration benefit you're applying for. Here are the most common scenarios:
| Application Type | Records Typically Required |
|---|---|
| Form I-130 (Petition for Alien Relative) | Petitioner's birth cert; beneficiary's birth cert; marriage cert if spousal petition; divorce decrees from any prior marriages |
| Form I-485 (Adjustment of Status / Green Card) | Birth certificate; marriage cert (if applicable); police clearances; civil documents from home country |
| Form N-400 (Naturalization) | Permanent resident card; birth certificate; marriage cert (if name differs or claiming through marriage) |
| Form I-751 (Remove Conditions on Residence) | Marriage certificate; evidence of genuine marriage; divorce/death cert if marriage ended |
| Consular Processing (immigrant visa) | Birth certificate; marriage cert; police clearances; all prior divorce decrees |
| DACA / TPS documentation | Birth certificate is primary identity document; alternatives accepted if unavailable |
US Vital Records for USCIS
If you were born in the United States, USCIS requires a certified birth certificate from the state where you were born — the same document required for a passport. The standard request process applies: contact the vital records office of your birth state and request a certified copy. See our birth certificate guide and our state directory for state-specific instructions.
For marriage and divorce records, the process is the same as for any other purpose — certified copy from the county clerk (marriage) or county court (divorce). USCIS typically wants original certified copies, not photocopies.
Foreign Birth Certificates for USCIS
If you were born outside the US, your birth certificate comes from the vital records authority of the country where you were born. USCIS requirements for foreign documents:
- The document must be an official certified copy from the foreign government — not a photocopy, not a notarized copy of a copy
- A certified English translation is required for any document not in English — the translation must include a certification by the translator that they are competent to translate and that the translation is accurate
- Apostille authentication may be required depending on the country and petition type — your immigration attorney or the USCIS instructions for your specific form will specify
Getting a Foreign Birth Certificate
The process varies by country. General approaches:
- Contact the country's embassy or consulate in the US — many can facilitate requests to the home country's civil registry on your behalf
- Contact the civil registry directly in the country where you were born — most countries maintain a national civil registry (registro civil, état civil, etc.)
- Use a document retrieval service that specializes in the specific country — useful for countries with complex bureaucracies or limited online access
- Contact family members in the home country who can physically visit the registry office
Certified Translation Requirements
USCIS has specific requirements for document translations. The translation must:
- Be a complete and accurate translation of the entire document — not a summary
- Include a signed certification by the translator stating: (1) their competency to translate from the source language to English, and (2) that the translation is true and accurate to the best of their knowledge
- Include the translator's full name, address, and date of certification
Certified translations do not require notarization in most cases — the translator's certification is sufficient. USCIS does not require that translators be professionally licensed or certified by any organization, only that they certify their own competency. However, using a professional translation service creates a more defensible record.
Translation cost guidance
Professional certified translation typically costs $50–$150 per page depending on the language pair and provider. Machine translation (Google Translate, DeepL) is not acceptable for USCIS submissions — the certification requirement means a human must certify the accuracy. Bilingual family members can technically certify their own translations, but this is discouraged in practice as it can raise questions about independence.
When a Vital Record Doesn't Exist
For some applicants — particularly those born in countries with incomplete civil registration systems, or in rural areas, or during periods of conflict — a birth certificate simply doesn't exist and cannot be obtained. USCIS has a process for this situation.
Secondary Evidence for Missing Birth Records
When a primary document (certified birth certificate) is unavailable, USCIS accepts secondary evidence. You must first submit a letter explaining why the primary document is unavailable — typically from the relevant civil registry confirming no record exists, or from your country's embassy confirming the civil registration system did not cover your birth location or time period.
Secondary evidence that USCIS accepts includes:
- Baptismal or religious certificates issued close to birth
- School records showing date and place of birth
- Census records
- Hospital records
- Affidavits from parents or other individuals with knowledge of the birth
- Vaccination records from infancy
The more secondary evidence you can provide, and the closer in time to the birth the documents are, the stronger the case. USCIS weighs the totality of evidence.
Prior Divorce Records for Immigration Applications
If either the petitioner or beneficiary was previously married, USCIS requires proof that all prior marriages were legally terminated. This means a certified copy of the divorce decree or death certificate for each prior marriage — for both parties to the current marriage.
This is one of the most commonly missed document requirements. If you were married and divorced in another country, you need the foreign divorce decree with a certified translation. If the record is difficult to obtain, start early — this step often takes the longest.
Frequently Asked Questions
USCIS policy is to return original documents submitted with applications, but this doesn't always happen reliably and timing varies. For irreplaceable documents, some immigration attorneys recommend submitting certified copies rather than originals, with a cover letter explaining why. Check the instructions for your specific form — some explicitly require originals while others accept certified copies. When in doubt, ask your attorney.
Not necessarily, but you should address the discrepancy proactively. Include a brief written explanation of the discrepancy and, if possible, documentation showing both name versions have been used (school records, other government documents). For significant discrepancies, your attorney may recommend correcting the birth certificate or obtaining a supplementary legal declaration. Minor transliteration differences (common with non-Latin scripts) are generally understood by USCIS adjudicators.
At least 3–6 months before you plan to file, and longer if foreign records are involved. US state vital records take 4–12 weeks by mail. Foreign vital records can take 2–6 months depending on the country. Translation adds another 1–2 weeks. Running these processes in parallel helps, but the document-gathering phase is consistently the longest part of immigration application preparation.
First, get a written statement from the embassy saying they cannot provide or facilitate the record — this is valuable secondary evidence. Then try contacting the civil registry in your home country directly, using a document retrieval company that specializes in that country, or reaching family members who can visit the office in person. If all of these fail, document each failed attempt and proceed with secondary evidence for your USCIS application.