Do you need a birth certificate?

Yes, applicants generally must bring a birth certificate or equivalent vital record to the naturalization interview as part of the documentation USCIS uses to verify identity and biographical information. The birth certificate provides primary evidence of the applicant's date and place of birth, parents' names, and citizenship at birth, all of which appear on Form N-400. USCIS prefers a long-form (full) birth certificate showing parental information rather than a short-form abstract that omits parents' names. The document should be the original or a certified copy issued by the appropriate civil authority of the country of birth.

Foreign-language birth certificates must be accompanied by a complete English translation prepared by a competent translator who certifies in writing that the translation is accurate and that they are competent to translate from the source language to English. The translator's certification must include the translator's full name, signature, address, and date of certification.

If the applicant cannot obtain a birth certificate (for example, because the country of birth does not maintain reliable civil registration, the records were destroyed, or the applicant was born under circumstances such as a refugee camp where no record exists), USCIS accepts secondary evidence under 8 CFR section 103.2(b)(2). Acceptable secondary evidence includes baptismal certificates issued within two months of birth, hospital records of the birth, school records from the earliest grades attended, census records that include the applicant's name and approximate birth date, and affidavits from at least two relatives or close family members who have personal knowledge of the birth. The affidavit form should state the affiant's name, address, relationship to the applicant, the date and place of the applicant's birth, and how the affiant has personal knowledge of those facts. Applicants who entered the United States as refugees or asylees and could not obtain birth certificates often rely on these secondary documents.

The USCIS officer at the interview will compare the birth certificate against the applicant's testimony, the information provided on Form N-400, and the supporting documents in the file.