How Puerto Rico’s New, More Secure Birth Certificates Will Affect the I-9 Process

10 Sep 2010

On July 1, 2010, the Vital Statistics Office of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico started issue new certified copies of birth certificates to U.S. citizens born in Puerto Rico. This process began due to a change in Puerto Rico’s birth certificate law and enabled a higher level of security in the issuance process of birth certificates.

As of September 30, 2010, all certified copies of birth certificates issued before July 1, 2010 will be invalid, stated USCIS in an official memo. Please note, however, that this new regulation should not affect citizenship status of people born in Puerto Rico; it only affects whether or not a certified copy of a birth certificate is considered valid.

All forms of certified copies of Puerto Rico-issued birth certificates will be acceptable on the Form I-9 up to September 30. However, after that date, only Puerto Rico birth certificates issued on or after July 1 will be acceptable as proof of identity on the I-9 form.