Virginia Birth Certificate - No Raised Seal

[alexspepa]

I apologize for another BC question; but I sent off for a BC for my son because the one we currently have has some severe discoloration on it.

 

Yesterday we received a certified copy on watermarked paper - Virginia does not issue BCs with raised seals anymore.

 

I know he should have a passport and I have urged him to get his renewed, but in the meantime my question is:

 

Does anyone have experience boarding Princess on a closed loop cruise using a Virginia BC with NO Raised Seal?

 

Thanks in advance.

[cherylandtk]

Raised seals are becoming rare; the real question is who issued the certificate. You have said the state of Virginia, which is fine. There should be a statement in tiny print somewhere that says something along the lines of: 'This is a true and correct (or certified or somesuch language) copy of the original on file with the state/commonwealth department of Vital Records/Health/Registrar/whomever issues such things in this state'.

 

One last bit, which may seem obvious, but has been the recent source of much contention and a Twitter/Facebook rant; your son must have been born in the US and his place of birth on the BC must reflect that.

[alexspepa]

thanks cherylandtk - I did find a similar thread on the Carnival site and all the replies indicated we are OK. The official language you mentioned is on the BC and he was born in Virginia. Also his DL name matches his BC name.

 

Now if I could just get him to have his passport renewed!

[BRANDEE]

I apologize for another BC question; but I sent off for a BC for my son because the one we currently have has some severe discoloration on it.

 

Yesterday we received a certified copy on watermarked paper - Virginia does not issue BCs with raised seals anymore.

 

I know he should have a passport and I have urged him to get his renewed, but in the meantime my question is:

 

Does anyone have experience boarding Princess on a closed loop cruise using a Virginia BC with NO Raised Seal?

 

Thanks in advance.

All Princess cruises out of the US stop at a foreign port. On our round trip to Hawaii, which stopped in Ensenada, a passenger wasn't allowed to board (in LA) due to no passport. I would contact Princess to ask this question.

[waterbabyfish]

My husband new BC has a seal on it but not very raised, we had no problem using it to go to the Cribe. last year. We did have all sorts other Id's with us also just in case.

[Loonbeam]

If I were a betting person, I'd say the ship would probably not be an issue. It's an overzealous customs and enforcement agent that I would be wary of (we saw one of those while disembarking for Disney thankfully running the line next to ours - he was taking 2-3 mins to go over every document with a fine tooth comb - ours glanced at our passports for 10 seconds after running them through the machine).

[cherylandtk]

All Princess cruises out of the US stop at a foreign port. On our round trip to Hawaii, which stopped in Ensenada, a passenger wasn't allowed to board (in LA) due to no passport. I would contact Princess to ask this question.

It was likely due to some other reason relating to correct travel documents, but the law allows round trip cruises for US citizens with just proof of citizenship and proof of ID. A passport is preferred, but not required, on these trips. The person you saw may not have been a US citizen (could have been LPR) or there could have been some other reason.

http://www.getyouhome.gov/html/lang_eng/eng_sa.html

[DebJ14]

It was likely due to some other reason relating to correct travel documents, but the law allows round trip cruises for US citizens with just proof of citizenship and proof of ID. A passport is preferred, but not required, on these trips. The person you saw may not have been a US citizen (could have been LPR) or there could have been some other reason.

http://www.getyouhome.gov/html/lang_eng/eng_sa.html

 

A passport is required by Princess, even on a closed loop cruise from US ports if there is only 1 adult traveling with minor(S). Perhaps the person was denied boarding because not everyone had a passport.

 

PASSPORT REQUIREMENT WHEN MINORS TRAVEL WITH ONE ADULT ON VOYAGES GOVERNED BY THE U.S. WESTERN HEMISPHERE TRAVEL INITIATIVE (includes travel within BERMUDA, CANADA, CARIBBEAN, HAWAII, MEXICO, PANAMA CANAL, UNITED STATES) When minors are traveling with only one adult 21 years of age or older, Princess requires that all passengers must be in possession of a valid passport. We have implemented this requirement because we want to ensure that your party remains together should an emergency arise that requires one or more in your party to be disembarked in a non-U.S. port. We cannot guarantee that all members of your party will be allowed to disembark with just a WHTI-compliant document or birth certificate. Failure to present a valid passport for all passengers traveling together will result in denial of boarding without refund of the of the cruise or cruisetour fare.

[MauiLvrs]

...but the law allows round trip cruises for US citizens with just proof of citizenship and proof of ID. ...

Because it's allowed doesn't make it a good idea.

Had:

A) We not had passports...

B) Needed to be airlifted out of Ensenada instead of by ambulance...

 

It would have been VERY bad :eek:

[papakaiser]

I apologize for another BC question; but I sent off for a BC for my son because the one we currently have has some severe discoloration on it.

 

Yesterday we received a certified copy on watermarked paper - Virginia does not issue BCs with raised seals anymore.

 

I know he should have a passport and I have urged him to get his renewed, but in the meantime my question is:

 

Does anyone have experience boarding Princess on a closed loop cruise using a Virginia BC with NO Raised Seal?

 

Thanks in advance.

Customs and Borders officers should have the resources to verify that Virginia does not issued "Raised Seal" documents anymore. They should also be able to verify a legitimate document with water marks. I agree with the previous poster that mentioned calling Princess to verify. You should be OK, but its still taking a chance.

[CI66774]

I apologize for another BC question; but I sent off for a BC for my son because the one we currently have has some severe discoloration on it.

 

Yesterday we received a certified copy on watermarked paper - Virginia does not issue BCs with raised seals anymore.

 

I know he should have a passport and I have urged him to get his renewed, but in the meantime my question is:

 

Does anyone have experience boarding Princess on a closed loop cruise using a Virginia BC with NO Raised Seal?

 

Thanks in advance.

 

Are both parents travelling with him? If he's a minor and only one parent is travelling (as another poster noted), both he and the adult MUST have passports.

 

PASSPORT REQUIREMENT WHEN MINORS TRAVEL WITH ONE ADULT ON VOYAGES GOVERNED BY THE U.S. WESTERN HEMISPHERE TRAVEL INITIATIVE (includes travel within BERMUDA, CANADA, CARIBBEAN, HAWAII, MEXICO, PANAMA CANAL, UNITED STATES) When minors are traveling with only one adult 21 years of age or older, Princess requires that all passengers must be in possession of a valid passport. We have implemented this requirement because we want to ensure that your party remains together should an emergency arise that requires one or more in your party to be disembarked in a non-U.S. port. We cannot guarantee that all members of your party will be allowed to disembark with just a WHTI-compliant document or birth certificate. Failure to present a valid passport for all passengers traveling together will result in denial of boarding without refund of the of the cruise or cruisetour fare.

[caribill]

Are both parents travelling with him? If he's a minor and only one parent is travelling (as another poster noted), both he and the adult MUST have passports.

 

 

Now if I could just get him to have his passport renewed!

 

alexspepa comment makes it appear the son is an adult.

[CI66774]

alexspepa comment makes it appear the son is an adult.

 

Missed that tidbit. Thanks.

[GradUT]

Both of my children were born in Virginia and I just took a look at one of their birth certificates. At the bottom of the page is the statement, "This is to certify that this is a true and correct reproduction of the official record filed with the Virginia Department of Health, Richmond, Virginia." That's the sort of language that the ICE official will be looking for.

 

I'll admit that it has been around 20 years since these birth certificates were issued, but they do have a faint impression in a circle in the lower left hand corner that is not easily visible. Do the modern ones have this? It certainly would be easy to miss.

[alexspepa]

hey everyone thanks for the responses - I believe we are good we have the original discolored BC with a raised seal and the new certified one that Virginia has been issuing for quite a while it seams, and his Virginia issued DL name matches his BC.

 

Our son is an adult (kind of sometimes) so that is not an issue with regards to boarding.

 

I will continue to push the passport renewal of course.

 

if anyone else is on the Christmas Ruby cruise hope to see you!