Yeah that will be the first step, but I don’t think there is much they can do without the mother’s full name, date of birth, and address (when she was born). Perhaps the names and dates of birth of her parents.
With that house number… Sure this isn’t a joke or something?
Maybe the church’s name is more helpful for finding it
Here’s an update from my TECO visit today.
Based on the documents that I had, they suggested i have my mom fill out a power of attorney and give that a power of attorney to someone who lives in Taiwan and in that power of attorney state what her Chinese name is and date of birth. I’m skeptical that this is going to work, but maybe if the form also includes the Chinese names and date of births of her parents and siblings, she might be able to make a case that she has information that only she could have. Then with that power of attorney, the representative could go to the household registration office in Taiwan and request registration documents.
Thoughts?
Did this work? I’m in a very similar situation. What ever happened?
Update, but not a great outcome.
I did as what TECO SF suggested, took my mom to TECO SF and had her sign power of attorney for a friend in Taipei to lookup her household registration office. TECO wouldn’t allow her to sign the power of attorney using her Chinese name, only her American name. At the Taipei household registration office, they confirmed they found household records for her but wont’ release them because they’re not signed by her Chinese name.
I had done a FOIA for my mom’s American and the USCIS provided her original US Visa application which features her Chinese name. TECO did not accept this as any proof of her Chinese name.
Any ideas on how to provide her American name and Chinese name are the same person?
Man, that sounds annoying… I’m going through my own issues in addition to all the authentication I’ve done (not related to names). I can only hope you figure something out.
Is your mom’s English name unrelated to her romanized name? Is there a point in time where your mom switched from her romanized name to her English name? Eg. a form N-662 change of name during citizenship ceremony can be gotten from the local courts? Or a deed poll? May be something to tie her names together.
Will it be easier to try to convince them to issue your mom her Taiwanese passport on basis of whatever evidence she has first? Could they possibly be amenable to that? It may make the process a lot easier for you after.
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Her English name’s last name is the only part of her name related to her romanized Chinese name. Her first name is completely unrelated.
I’ve been wondering how/when she changed her name and she doesn’t remember but your suggestion about Form N-662 is good and it does seem most likely that it was done at naturalization! I will take her to the local US district court to try to obtain a copy of it. I agree that if I’m able to get that, that would be the strongest tie of the two names.
TECO in SF requires a ROC ID, household registration or certificate of ROC nationality to issue a lost/stolen passport. We have none of those things…
Thanks for your response and lead!
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Update with good news!
I contacted the US Superior Court and they created a new certificate of naturalization / proof of name change and apostilled it. $96 and they included an extra copy for free. Obviously the certificate has her romanized Chinese name, not the Chinese characters but I think that’s the best anyone can get right? Her US Immigrant Visa has her Chinese name in Chinese character hand-written on it but I don’t know how to get a certified copy of it (i got it through a FOIA request).
The next step is to get proof of name change from her maiden name to her current name (marriage certificate doesn’t explicitly state that she changed her name) then have it and her parents death certificates apostilled.
Then take it all to TECO SF and hopefully find someone sympathetic to our case to allow my mother to sign the power of attorney (to lookup household registration records) using her Chinese name.
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Grats! Hopefully it’ll finally get you thru this roadblock.
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Another, even better update: I got photocopies of my mom’s household registration!
I did another Freedom of Information Act request for my mom, this time selecting almost every box for types of documents and wrote in the other box asking for copies of her Taiwan passport or Taiwan issued documentation. The household registration (and English translated version) version was included her application for her US Visa. Also included was a certificate issued by MOFA that stated she would be readmitted back into Taiwan if her US Visa was obtained via fraud (apparently a requirement at the time for US refugee visas).
I had recently engaged an immigration attorney in Taiwan who was going to help me contact the school she went to. Now that we have a photocopy of her HHR, she thinks I might be able to apply for a passport at TECO myself, using the copy of the household registration, rather than having to replace my mother’s. She’s checking on that.
Any advice/guidance is welcomed. Thanks!
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