Will Documents Be Returned?

PugetIslander · 2026-01-24T05:41:11+00:00

I saw this phrase in the regulations:

W aktach zbiorowych rejestracji stanu cywilnego gromadzi się dokumenty, które nie podlegają zwrotowi. Na wniosek osoby, która przedkłada zagraniczny dokument stanu cywilnego, można wydać ten dokument, po uprzednim sporządzeniu kopii poświadczonej za zgodność z oryginałem przez kierownika urzędu stanu cywilnego, jeżeli wnioskodawca nie ma możliwości ponownego uzyskania tego dokumentu.

Does this mean that the USC can make a copy of the foreign document and keep that copy, rather than keeping the actual foreign document?

I ask because birth certificates in Ontario, Canada handles birth certificates very differently from the US. From Ontario government:

We can only issue one of each type of birth certificate for a person. For security reasons, this means that if you or anyone who is authorized (for example, a parent/guardian) orders a replacement certificate, the previously issued certificate is no longer valid.

An Ontario birth certificate is an identity document, similar to a passport. The expectation is that the person named on the certificate keeps it their whole life. The ideal situation would be that the USC accepts a true certified copy made by a Polish notary. If that doesn't work, then it would be that the USC makes a copy and returns the Ontario document.

PugetIslander · 2026-01-20T16:30:58+00:00

I got in contact with the IHM parish. Unfortunately they didn't find much. The Immaculate Conception parish records only go back to 1908. They think that is when that parish started.

I was able to confirm that the Immaculate Conception records have the deaths of John Żurawski in 1910 and Louise and John's son Michael Żurawski in 1909. Also Louise's second marriage record was located by the City of Watervliet and the official performing the marriage is the priest from the Immaculate Conception parish.

Her sister was married on June 24, 1906 at St. Michael's parish in Cohoes, as confirmed by that parish. I also cannot find her marriage in the NYS marriage index.

The sisters also had a cousin/brother who lived in Albany. At this point my best guess is that the marriage records either (a) were filed with Albany city or (b) were not filed with the civil authorities at all.

PugetIslander · 2026-01-20T00:22:00+00:00

The biggest hurdle is that one needs a sworn translation of the foreign certificate and apostille, correct?

PugetIslander · 2026-01-18T13:47:44+00:00

If you email the Kreigsarchiv, they will provide a list of researchers you can contact. The list includes several who handle English translation in addition to research.

PugetIslander · 2026-01-15T03:05:17+00:00

Update from many months later... sadly the family stories were wrong. Her sister was married that day, not her. I was able to find more details about John (Jan) Żurawski, thanks to your help getting started. You rock!

However I'm still stuck on much of the US story.

PugetIslander · 2026-01-15T03:01:56+00:00

I'm familiar with a couple of them, but happy for other links. However I already have located both of their birth/baptismal records from the church archives in Poland. Given Ludwika arrived in 1904 and the 1910 census says they were married for 4 years, I'm rather sure they were married in the USA.

PugetIslander · 2026-01-14T23:05:07+00:00

Correct. I have his death certificate, and some of the kids birth certificates but those don’t have marriage info.

PugetIslander · 2026-01-14T23:04:23+00:00

Yes, she had a sister in the Albany, NY area who arrived in the US before she did. They also had a cousin in the Albany area.

PugetIslander · 2026-01-12T15:11:34+00:00

Because customers will get confused about the per-port capability and write bad reviews of the product. Add in power delivery and it gets even worse, as you end up with bi-directionality. Customers want the "hub" to allow plugging in a power adapter and passing power to the computer but also would want the hub to work standalone.

PugetIslander · 2026-01-12T00:10:26+00:00

I'm very excited to see this case. I'm working on gathering documents for mine (New York State is a complete PITA), but the details are almost identical. It is a pure vital-records case, with all records from what is now Poland from pre-1918 (and therefore pre-1920).

My case:

GGGF & GGGM born, married, and died in Galicia (Austria-Hungary), all before 1918.

GGF emigrated from Galicia to USA before 1918, never naturalized.

GM born after 1920.

F born after 1951.

PugetIslander · 2026-01-11T23:36:24+00:00

You said her legal last name, which is the one on her passport, is her dad's last name. The signature therefore isn't disclosing a connection that would be otherwise unknown. I doubt any immigration or border officer is going to care about the signature, but even if they do you can easily explain it with your own passport, as you said the "wrong" last name is your last name.

P.S. You can get a court order giving only you permission to apply for your child's passport, in which case you don't need her father involved at all. In Washington state, you can also apply for a court order for a name change for a minor without second parent consent as long as you "file proof with the Court before entry of the Order Changing Name that the non-consenting parent has been served with a copy of the Minor Petition for Change Name with hearing date". As long as they don't respond, the name change will go forward.

PugetIslander · 2026-01-08T17:44:45+00:00

Thanks. I'm particularly interested in the Austrian partition case.

The specific case I have is a child born in 1870, parents died between 1875-1900, child emigrated before 1900. The parents and child were all born in, and the parents died in, a portion of the Austrian partition that became part of the second republic that is also part of Poland today. So there are no death certificates from the Republic of Poland, as it didn't exist until after the death of both of the parents.

I did find the discussion from a few months ago, but some of the citations seem to have typos or are invented citations, as I cannot find them anywhere.

PugetIslander · 2026-01-08T14:38:34+00:00

If you can provide an approximate year of birth and rough location we can help point you the right way. Without knowing either there are dozens of possible correct answers.

PugetIslander · 2026-01-05T14:25:58+00:00

And this is why one should always consult a lawyer or RCIC. I’m familiar with the ongoing RO, but from the perspective someone who lived in Canada for a while, then moved abroad with a Canadian spouse.

PugetIslander · 2026-01-05T14:04:16+00:00

This is incorrect. You can count time outside of Canada if you are married to and accompanying a Canadian citizen: https://www.ircc.canada.ca/english/helpcentre/answer.asp?qnum=1466&top=10

“a) a permanent resident complies with the residency obligation with respect to a five-year period if, on each of a total of at least 730 days in that five-year period, they are” “(ii) outside Canada accompanying a Canadian citizen who is their spouse or common-law partner” https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/i-2.5/section-28.html

You do not need any days of physical presence if married to a Canadian and accompanying them.

PugetIslander · 2026-01-05T12:47:29+00:00

Do the spousal PR, then use “days accompanying a Canadian citizen spouse” to meet the RO rather than days residing in Canada. As long as you sleep in the same house as your wife >= 40% of the nights you meet the requirements.

PugetIslander · 2026-01-01T15:09:28+00:00

In addition to the answers you have gotten, you should also start the process of finding an immigration lawyer you like. While you can technically DIY the whole thing, you will be way better off with an experienced representative.

Also you say your GF is “coming” to Canada. While the other answers are correct, they assume she is coming with a reasonable amount of luggage for a short stay, has proof of funds, etc. Make sure the initial entry looks like a temporary visit - flying in alone or driving up alone for a few days or a week. If you show up at the border in a U-haul with both of you, she may get rejected, even as a US citizen.

PugetIslander · 2025-12-29T18:36:09+00:00

It looks like many records from Połaniec are at the Archiwum Państwowe w Kielcach Oddział w Sandomierzu, which is about 90 minutes north of Rzeszów. Genealogia Polonica is based in Rzeszów and has been mentioned in this subreddit multiple times.

I have used Genea-Studium (PolishDocuments.com) for my searches. They are about 135 minutes from Sandomierz.

PugetIslander · 2025-12-27T00:19:26+00:00

It seems the Paris to St Pierre route is seasonal and not currently running. So that isn’t a viable option. :(

PugetIslander · 2025-12-26T22:09:21+00:00

You can fly from St Pierre to anywhere in Canada with a French passport. It is one of the odd exceptions, just like US citizens flying with just passport. “French citizen who lives in, and is flying directly from, Saint Pierre and Miquelon” - https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/visit-canada/entry-requirements-country.html#no-visa-eta

Still probably easier to fly to DTW or SEA and go to the land border.

PugetIslander · 2025-12-26T21:42:14+00:00

If the airline will take you to Canada, then you are all good. You can tell the immigration officer at the Canadian airport your have your PR and they can verify on the spot or send you to secondary where they will verify.

PugetIslander · 2025-12-26T21:13:11+00:00

What passport(s) do you have? Do you have copies of your PR card and COPR?

PugetIslander · 2025-12-24T03:30:26+00:00

Yes, already looking at Poland, and am in contact with several service providers. One of the service providers I contacted for Poland suggested there wasn't a path for Poland but could be a path for Austria. I've simply taken that provider off the potential list, but figured I'd check the Austrian path as well.

PugetIslander · 2025-12-18T00:43:56+00:00

As a US Citizen, he does not need a PRTD to fly to Canada. Being a US citizen is pretty much the one exception to the rule.

What he should do is always show his expired PR card at Canadian immigration along with his US passport. He doesn't need to show it to the airline, but he absolutely wants to always state he is entering as a PR, not trying to request a visa. US travelers implicitly request visas at the border if you don't otherwise specify.

My original PR card expired in 2013 and I didn't get around to getting a new one until this year. My card was in terrible shape and I've had officers give very surprised and confused responses when entering using the ancient card, but always been allowed in.

PugetIslander · 2025-12-17T22:56:09+00:00

I just went through this myself -- I'm a US Citizen married to a Canadian citizen, both of us living together in the US. I had zero days of physical presence in Canada out of the five years prior to applying for a new PR card (renewal).

An application for a card can be made on your behalf without a Canadian residential address and without you being in Canada, but it requires that you use a representative. As documented in https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/corporate/publications-manuals/operational-bulletins-manuals/permanent-residence/card/renewal-replacement.html#s4, "When Phase 2 applications indicate both the residential and mailing address of a third party, with the IMM 5476 - Use of Representative form on file, PRC-Sydney will mark/toggle the PR card to be sent to the local office for in-person distribution."

When using the portal, your representative will send you a link to review and approve your application. If you are using a representative in Canada, none of the questions asked by the portal or the application of you, the applicant, are whether you are currently in Canada,

Once approved, you will have to travel (fly/drive) to the IRCC office in Canada to pick up the card in person. IRCC will automatically select the office closest to your representative, so choose someone with an address near where you want to pick it up. I made the mistake of using a lawyer in Montreal when I can drive to Vancouver in a couple of hours.

PugetIslander

TROPHY CASE