Passport Question?

Question

I am in my 60's and have applied for my first passport. Today, 2 months after applying I received a letter from the Dept of State. I live in California. Because my birth ceritificate name is different than my married name they asked for: 3 public records that include my current name, date and "Place of Birth." I have been looking thru many documents that I think will work OK, But....not one of them lists my "Place of Birth." Now what do I do??? I was born in Iowa and have lived in California for over 60 years.

Yes, they have my original birth certificate that I had certified when I sent for it last year, so its a real birth certificate and not the hospital certificate.

Answer 1

Try this link:

http://travel.state.gov/passport/get/first/first_830.html

Answer 2

Your legal birthcertificate would have the place you were born. Did you use the certificate the hospital gives out?(suitable for framing, sometimes having footprints) If so, that isn't a legal document. What they need is the LEGAL birth certificate issued by the state of Iowa. All births are registered with the state and an "official" and legal birth certificate is issued to your parents......they usually get mislaid over the years.

It is easy to get a copy of this. Use the 1st link below to access Iowa's Bureau of Vital Statistics and information, phone numbers and application.

The second link will take you to the website for the state of Iowa with some more info. This is an easy process and should be completed pretty quickly.

The first time you apply for a Passport, you have to prove why the name you are currently using (usually your married name) is different from that shown on your birth certificate. This is easily accomplished by having your LEGAL marriage license, issued by the state in which you were married, showing the marriage between you and "Mr. Your new last name". If you don't know where that license is, you can request a copy on the website of the state in which you were married.

Once you have all of the information, you can go back to the passport agency who is handling your application and things should go smoothly.

All you will need besides your LEGAL birth certificate and State issued marriage license is your current photo I.D., such as your California drivers license.

Whoever took the application from you in the first place should have advised that you didn't have the proper papers. What a mess, eh?

Anyway, good luck.

Answer 3

Marriage certificates, birth certificates of your children, Social Security documents, college transcripts if they show your married name, employee records if you ever had to secure a security clearance, police records, adoption records; and, if you are a tribal member of a tribe legally recognized as such, your tribe will have records you might be able to use.

I would suggest that before you begin searching for anything, you contact, by letter of phone, the agency sending you the correspondence asking for these records. Ask them what specific documentation they will accept.

My birth certificate name is also different from my married name. Also, when I divorced and remarried, I chose to retain my fist married name, as 26 years of records were in that name.

I allowed my first passport to expire years ago. Now, even though I don't plan on going anywhere I would need a passport, I think I better get one just to prove I'm me!

Answer 4

I sent my birth certificate, my marriage license, a copy of my social security card and a copy of my driver's license.