Kansas woman told birth certificate wasn’t enough to prove citizenship for passport

[RavenSky]

Born and raised in Kansas, Gwyneth Barbara didn’t expect this kind of hassle.

Barbara had been issued a U.S. passport before, but this time around, Barbara was told her birth certificate wasn’t good enough to prove her citizenship.

“It’s like they’re retroactively declaring that I was never a citizen,” Barbara said.

Barbara was born in a farmhouse in the 1970s in Leavenworth County. She had a birth certificate. Her father went to the courthouse days after she was born to certify her birth -- raised seal and all.

The local passport agency accepted her documentation as satisfactory for her passport application. Days later, she received a letter from the federal division of the U.S. Passport Agency out of Houston, TX, telling her the application was denied and required further documentation.

The letter stated, because her birth certificate was not issued at a institution or hospital, it was not considered proof enough of her citizenship.

She received a letter asking her to submit any number of the listed additional documents.

“Border crossing card or green card for your parents issued prior to your birth? My parents were born in the United States….Early religious records? We don’t have any. Family Bible? They won’t accept a birth certificate but they will accept a family Bible?” Barbara said.

https://www.kctv5.com/news/kansas-w...le_144c19aa-b50f-11e8-94f5-6b921312a97a.html?

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

I applied for a passport (born in the 70s) and my original birth certificate was not accepted. I needed to get some other form sent to me that existed on a paper about 30 years shorter than my actual birth certificate.

 

[bilby]

Well it's fair enough; How else could they know that she wasn't born in Kenya?

 

[phands]

I'm applying for my Green Card (UK citizen) right now, and it's got more difficult almost every week since trumpo took office. My birth certificate is hand written on paper and is from 60 years ago. I had enormous difficulty getting it accepted, and have ended up paying a lawyer about $12000 so far, and have had to submit 225 pages of documentation. It's really designed to keep people out.

 

[Patooka]

I'm applying for my Green Card (UK citizen) right now, and it's got more difficult almost every week since trumpo took office. My birth certificate is hand written on paper and is from 60 years ago. I had enormous difficulty getting it accepted, and have ended up paying a lawyer about $12000 so far, and have had to submit 225 pages of documentation. It's really designed to keep people out.

Jim Jefferies had a piece on this on his show. To summarize: under the changes the Trump administration implemented in 2017, precocious rich twats like Justin Bieber or a Russian olympian would have priority over someone like Stephen Hawking immigrating.

 

[Angry Floof]

Born and raised in Kansas, Gwyneth Barbara didn’t expect this kind of hassle.

Barbara had been issued a U.S. passport before, but this time around, Barbara was told her birth certificate wasn’t good enough to prove her citizenship.

“It’s like they’re retroactively declaring that I was never a citizen,” Barbara said.

Barbara was born in a farmhouse in the 1970s in Leavenworth County. She had a birth certificate. Her father went to the courthouse days after she was born to certify her birth -- raised seal and all.

The local passport agency accepted her documentation as satisfactory for her passport application. Days later, she received a letter from the federal division of the U.S. Passport Agency out of Houston, TX, telling her the application was denied and required further documentation.

The letter stated, because her birth certificate was not issued at a institution or hospital, it was not considered proof enough of her citizenship.

She received a letter asking her to submit any number of the listed additional documents.

“Border crossing card or green card for your parents issued prior to your birth? My parents were born in the United States….Early religious records? We don’t have any. Family Bible? They won’t accept a birth certificate but they will accept a family Bible?” Barbara said.

https://www.kctv5.com/news/kansas-w...le_144c19aa-b50f-11e8-94f5-6b921312a97a.html?

A United States courthouse is not an acceptable institution?

 

[phands]

I'm applying for my Green Card (UK citizen) right now, and it's got more difficult almost every week since trumpo took office. My birth certificate is hand written on paper and is from 60 years ago. I had enormous difficulty getting it accepted, and have ended up paying a lawyer about $12000 so far, and have had to submit 225 pages of documentation. It's really designed to keep people out.

Jim Jefferies had a piece on this on his show. To summarize: under the changes the Trump administration implemented in 2017, precocious rich twats like Justin Bieber or a Russian olympian would have priority over someone like Stephen Hawking immigrating.

Or Melanoma's worthless parents.

 

[Worldtraveller]

I'm applying for my Green Card (UK citizen) right now, and it's got more difficult almost every week since trumpo took office. My birth certificate is hand written on paper and is from 60 years ago. I had enormous difficulty getting it accepted, and have ended up paying a lawyer about $12000 so far, and have had to submit 225 pages of documentation. It's really designed to keep people out.

This is not actually uncommon, even before the trumpistas took over. There are other countries that are worse (Japan is nearly impossible to emigrate to). A lot of them these days seem to be mostly a money making scheme for lawyers, sadly. Even then, a good lawyer only improves your odds, and you still might be denied.

 

[Trausti]

Is this not a case of Hanlon's razer? Competence and Government are words rarely used together. A government worker is neglectful, screws up, the screw up is highlighted, and the error corrected. When pressed, a spurious excuse is given that sometimes this determination is made on a case-by-case basis. Well, that's government.

 

[dismal]

If this were an Onion thread it would be titled "Big Government fans shocked to find Big Government is bureaucratic and impersonal".

 

[Jolly_Penguin]

This is another item for the unsung privileges list. When I visit Thailand or Vietnam or the Philippines I get a free instant 30 day visa without having to even apply, just because I'm from a country on a list. Many countries aren't on that list. Getting my passport required me to drive 5 minutes to an office and wait about a half hour to fill out a form, and then it was mailed to me. My Filipino friends spend a whole day waiting and filling out forms and waiting some more to fill out more forms, and then wait months and months for the passport, and even then often won't get a passport unless they bribe somebody.