Hello Forumosa,
I am currently applying for, and near the tail end of, my visa application (spousal, I am a Taiwanese citizen with an American wife). I started my application in 2016 and you can imagine my joy and relief when I was finally approved for an interview with AIT in 2018. My wife and I have been doing long distance for nearly three years now.
As many of you may know, when applying for what I assume are most visas to enter the United States, AIT and NVC require your birth certificate, marriage certificate (if married), police records (if over the age of 16), and proof of military service (if previously part of a service). I had submitted all of these things to NVC many months ago, and I retain copies of them on my computer. The interview process requires me to bring the originals of each as well as each photocopy. However, to my considerable horror, I cannot find my original birth certificate and proof of military service.
I’ve moved around a few times these last couple of months, so they might be in a previous residence of mine. I do not have a guarantee I can find them, however, and if they are where they suspect they are, my original home, the place has been rented out by two people who now have a pretty unfriendly relationship with me so I’d really rather not ask them if I can drop by and search.
I can easily obtain replacement copies of both the birth certificate and my army discharge certificate. But I am highly worried by the wording of the AIT website: “Original copies submitted to the AIT”. I do not have these copies on hand.
If I call AIT and explain to them my situation, what are the odds that I’ve just torpedoed my application? Would they accept replacement copies that are certified valid by the ROC government and army?