Lost Birth Certificate

[NikP]

My husband and I are going across to Buffalo to do some shopping, and we invited our friends to come with us. We are going Saturday, and just found out that our friend lost his birth certificate. He has a drivers licence and other ID, but I was wondering if there is anyway he can go into the US without his birth certificate. (He does not have a passport.) Could he get a note from a lawyer or something?? I have no idea what is actually required for land boarder crossings.

(He has applied for another birth certificate, but it likely will not come in time. He is adopted, so portions of the online form he had to leave blank. This will likely slow the process down.)

Any suggestions are welcome.

 

[RoyalCanadian]

I'm not sure what good a letter from a lawyer would do -- he would have no way of proving to that lawyer that he was a Canadian citizen in the first place. He will need both a driver's license and birth certificate to cross the border -- those documents prove residency and citizenship.

 

[OntFamily]

Chances are, your friend will be OK. I hate to say this, as long as he "looks" Canadian, a driver license usually suffices.

My wife and I have crossed at Buffalo many times, with only our drivers licences as ID.

 

[matsterrocks]

If your friend lives in the same province that he was born in he can probably get his BC the same day. I got mine and my kids ordered them at the registeries office at 10am and drove 30 min to the office where they were printed and picked them up at 2pm same day. This was in Alberta

 

[rewok]

Yes, I know in Montreal if you go directly to the office that delivers them, you can get it the same day when paying the "Express" fee. However, I second the fact that if no one in the car presents a birth certificate, and everyone looks "Canadian" (white, English speaking, standard family), they don't ask for it. I was surprised last year when we crossed the border, with everything we hear about increased security. Yes, sadly, there is a lot of "racial profiling". Seems no duty agent saw 24 season 2, the bad guy is not always the one who looks the part...