Tuesday, March 09, 2010

Puerto Rican Birth Certificates

The governor of Puerto Rico, Luis Fortuño, passed a law at the end of last year that voided all Puerto Rican birth certificates processed before December 2009 due to high rates of identity fraud. Because the island is a commonwealth - basically an organized but unincorporated territory - of the United States, Puerto Rican birth certificates are very valuable for Latin Americans looking to illegally immigrate to the U.S. under a Hispanic name.

For the 4.1 million Puerto Ricans now living in the United States, however, this law has caused problems because their birth certificates are no longer valid, and there was little education given by the U.S. and Puerto Rican governments about this change. Many of these Puerto Ricans are now left wondering how and where they can get new birth certificates.

To read the whole article: http://www.latina.com/lifestyle/news-politics/millions-puerto-rican-birth-certificates-voided

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