Other Areas of Law

Errors occur even on official documents. The birth certificate is no exception. Contrary to belief, the birth certificate is changeable. Errors in birthdates are made for several reasons. To...

In order to become a citizen of the United States, most adults born out of the U.S. must undergo a lengthy, expensive and complicated process known as "naturalization." To become naturalized, a...

Birth certificates issued by the hospital are novelty items and cannot be considered official records. Rather, the hospital is required to report a birth to the local county health department or...

The U.S Permanent Resident Card gives foreign-born citizens the right to live and work in the United States of America. The card can be carried around and used as an identity card.

So you don't like your name---want to change it? You can legally change your name by filling out a few forms and forking over a few bucks. Legal (also known as court ordered) name changes are...

When a baby is born, getting a Social Security number for the infant is the last thing on some parents' minds. Parents are not legally required to do so until the child reaches the age of one....

Researchers have linked serious birth defects to use of certain antidepressants, such as paroxetine, during pregnancy. If you have a child with a birth defect and you took a Selective Serotonin...

Individual states keep birth records of anyone born in a hospital, and having a birth certificate is essential for obtaining a driver's license, passport and other identification documents. The...

By law, all children born to a U.S. citizen are also U.S. citizens. This applies regardless of the location of the birth. However, the task of navigating overseas bureaucracy in order to prove...

So you've gone through all your immigration paperwork and you've finally made it through the process. You are now a U.S. citizen. Just one problem--you discover a typo on your naturalization...

When filling out U.S. Immigration forms, one needs to be very careful. The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services can be very strict, and a wrong answer can cause problems or even derail the...

Like a social security card, a birth certificate is an important document no one should be without. If you were born in Puerto Rico and need your birth certificate, the process is fairly...

Finding people in the United States on a visa may be difficult because they do not have the same documentation as a citizen. It is also more difficult because the individual has not been in the...

Having dual nationality means maintaining citizenship in two different countries. Each country has its own laws regarding dual nationality and the ways in which an individual can acquire dual...

The state of New York strictly limits who can obtain certified copies of birth certificates. Only the person named on the birth certificate or the named person's parents can request a birth...

The parents of a U.S. citizen born abroad must report the birth of their child to establish that child's U.S. citizenship. When reported, the parents must submit proof of birth in the form of a...

Anyone born in the United States is granted a birth certificate that proves paternity and maternity, citizenship, and the location and time of birth. To get a certified copy of a birth...

There are many reasons why you may need to get your birth certificate. Maybe you lost it and need a replacement, maybe you need to show it to get a passport, or you may need it for a job. It is...

People have many reasons for amending a birth certificate, varying from a simple name change to amending one's gender due to a gender re-assignment. Many states vary in the exact procedures...

Your Social Security number validates that you are eligible to work in the United States and ultimately receive Social Security benefits and participate in other government programs. Every...

It's not easy for foreigners to find a Japanese birth certificate (shuseisho meisho or shusshou todoke kisaijiko shomeisho). The city in which a baby was born keeps the birth certificate on file....

Many immigrants to the US from the former Soviet Union face a problem of getting their documents in Russian, such as Birth Certificate, Divorce Certificate, etc. translated for immigration and/or...

Your birth certificate is an important document that may be required at different points during your life. Replacing it used to involve long waits or the hassle of traveling to the town of your...

If you need an original, certified copy of your Michigan birth certificate, you can obtain it one of three ways. You can write in and request one by mail, you can order in online, or you can get...

Unfortunate circumstances may require you to change your child's legal name. The state of Florida makes this process fairly simple with a birth certificate amendment request. Learn how to change...

There are two main reasons you may want to change your name on your birth certificate. Either there has been a misspelling, typographical error or other mistake on your birth certificate, or you...

Teenage pregnancy is on a steady rise. However, laws have been set in place to not only to help teenagers prevent pregnancy if choosing to became sexually active, but to also keep it as a...

If you or someone you know were born in California, you can obtain a birth certificate for official documentation, your own personal records or even a scrapbook. To obtain a certified copy, you...

Birth certificates are extremely important identity documents. Because birth certificates are used as a basis for obtaining other types of identity documents, a great potential for identity theft...

The birth certificate is the most fundamental identity document available in the United States, because it is used as the basis for obtaining many other forms of identification, including...

A birth certificate is a record of birth for every newborn baby born in the United States. At birth, a nurse or health-care practitioner completes a long-form birth certificate and then transmits...

Most parents file for a birth certificate within days of their baby's arrival. Most states allow one year in which to file for a regular birth certificate. In some cases, however, parents may have...

Every state has its own standards to determine who is eligible to obtain a copy of a legal birth certificate. Find your state's requirements by visiting the state department of health web site. ...

There are a few reasons you may need your birth certificate, from obtaining your driver's license to getting a passport. From time to time, you may misplace your birth certificate, or it may get...

People who have been adopted often want to know more about their birth parents and heritage. In some cases, information about genetic conditions in biological relatives can help with life and...

Obtaining a birth certificate is not difficult if you qualify to receive it. The process can be more complex, however, if you are attempting to obtain someone else's birth certificate. Each state...

Each state has its own depository of birth certificate records and its own procedures for obtaining them. A birth certificate is an important legal document that is used as the basis for all other...

Birth certificate translation samples are necessary for many immigration and naturalization procedures. There are requirement samples in place to determine how to achieve a legal translation of a...

Cerebral palsy lawyers are the lawyers who deal with getting parents and children the help and money that they need to treat cerebral palsy cases. If your child suffers from cerebral palsy or if...

The birth of a baby overseas by a U.S. citizen should be reported to the U.S. Embassy or Consulate as soon as possible. A parent or child's guardian will need to apply for form FS-579/SS-5. There...

Persons born outside of hospitals or those who received only a hospital-issued certificate of birth may have difficulties obtaining replacement copies of their birth records. If the Department of...

Whether you need background information on a person for financial, employment or personal reasons, finding someone's history is not difficult. Records are available online and are easily...

Although birth certificates are generally issued by individual cities or counties, each state has an office of vital records with a centralized database that lists birth records by parent and...

Though birth injuries are on the decline, thanks to safer practices and more medical discoveries, birth injury lawsuits have not decreased. This is partially due to the fact that parents are more...

Methods of birth control range from condoms to pills to abortion, and over the years, laws regarding the use of birth control have changed, sometimes rapidly. As a woman, or if you are in a sexual...

If you lose your birth certificate, you should get a replacement certificate as soon as you can. Birth certificates are necessary to apply for passports, marriage licenses, driving licenses and...

No matter how well organized you are, sooner or later you will misplace your birth certificate and need a certified copy. You should always keep a copy, and you should keep your copy in a safe...

How to get a birth certificate depends on when and where you were born. Follow the steps below to find the appropriate place to submit your request for a Birth Certificate in the US.

There are many situations in which you might need your birth certificate, and you should be able to access it for free. After all, it is a record of your own birth, and so you should be able to...

Birth certificates serve as foundational identification documents that may be necessary to obtain other forms of identification, and are also useful for a variety of other purposes. Since birth...