HELP!!!!!! will this cause a problem with immigration??

Asked over 1 year ago - Madison, WI

I am writing to correct an error which was made in my immigration documents. My name is . I was born in Liberia on 12/25/1995. Because of the war conditions in Liberia, my family took me to Ghana I believe, in January of 2000. I was brought to the U.S.A. on August 24th 2003 as a refugee. On January 19th of 2010 my status was adjusted to that of a permanent resident. When my uncle (, who understands a little of my parent’s language {Basas}, but because he came to the USA at a very young age, did not understand it very well, made a mistake in my birth facts) filled out the refugee papers he used the wrong birth date and location. He wrote that I was born on May 1st, 1998 in Ghana. I believe that there was a mis-communication between him and my parents, which caused him to ent

Attorney answers (4)

  1. Stephen D. Berman

    Contributor Level 20


    Lawyers agree

    Answered . Try it, if you are not worried about the risks.

  2. Alexander Joseph Segal

    Contributor Level 20


    Lawyers agree

    Answered . I agree. If you are worried, do that.

  3. Kara Lien Roberts

    Contributor Level 13

    Answered . I see you are asking this a few times. My work is primarily with refugees providing free services, such as assisting with applying for residency) to folks just like you and here's what I think:

    If your case was already approved and you have the incorrect date on your green card, you can still attempt to get it corrected and it is unlikely you will run into any problems. If you have not yet been approved, then it is highly likely that Immigration will send you a request for evidence about the incorrect date of birth. You could try calling customer service to ask them to correct it, but this may or may not work. What would actually be best is for you to get a little help from someone who assists refugees in a similar manner as myself. If you were initially resettled in Madison, contact the agency that resettled you to see if they know of service providers. Otherwise, try contacting the agencies listed here to see if they can help you:

    What you are dealing with is quite common and you have a perfectly reasonable explanation. It is very unlikely that any kind of fraud will be attributed to you, but you need an attorney's or BIA accredited rep's help with "fixing" this. Contact some agencies and get the help you need or, if you do not qualify for any free services, consult with and retain an immigration attorney with past experience assisting refugees. The other reason you want to get some assistance is because what if you have other issues that need to be addressed that you do not know about? You can get legal information on sites like this, but this is not legal advice and the only advice you can actually rely on is legal advice (advice that can result in an attorney losing his/her license if it is wrong advice) and the only way to get that is to retain an attorney, a free one or one you pay. Good luck!

  4. Daniel Warren Thomann

    Contributor Level 15

    Answered . This may not be the type of thing you want to do on your own, because the number of places where the error has probably been repeated over the course of the 10 years since you arrived could make USCIS suspicious that it was fraud instead of an error. Each time that the error was repeated (form I-485, adjustment of status interview, etc.) without anybody saying anything about it, could make it look more like dishonesty than error. You are talking about going (on paper) from being 15 years old to nearly 18 - so they would want to know how you enrolled in school, for example.

    This sort of thing can be corrected, mistakes do happen, and USCIS knows that, but so does fraud - and USCIS knows that too. I suggest you contact an attorney directly before submitting anything to USCIS. Good luck! - 312.641.0771 - The information above is general in nature and is not intended to create an... more

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