NABC Rejection Reasons and How to Avoid Them

The most common reasons for Embassy NABC rejection are:

1. Insufficient secondary evidence: Just an affidavit without school records is rarely enough
2. Date of birth discrepancy across passport, school records and affidavits
3. Affidavits not notarised or notarised by an unauthorised person
4. Documents in regional Indian language without certified English translation
5. Missing apostille on Indian-origin documents
6. Incorrect jurisdiction — applying to the wrong Consulate based on US/UK/Canada state of residence
7. Photographs not meeting specifications
8. Address proof in country of residence missing or outdated
9. Application form filled incorrectly or incompletely
10. Consular fee paid incorrectly or to wrong account

USCIS does not strictly "reject" an NABC — but it can issue a Request for Evidence (RFE) demanding additional documents if:

• Only one affidavit is provided (two are mandatory under 8 CFR 103.2(b)(2)(iii))
• Affiants are not adequately related to the applicant or lack credibility
• Affidavit doesn't explain how the affiant knows the birth details
• The NABC is from a Municipal authority but doesn't clearly state that records were searched
• The NABC is generic and doesn't refer to a specific search period or specific records
• School records show a different date or place of birth than the affidavits
• The original birth certificate exists and the applicant has failed to obtain it (USCIS expects an NABC only when no certificate is genuinely available)

Frequent affidavit errors that cause rejections:

• Affidavit doesn't specify the affiant's relationship to the applicant
• Affidavit doesn't explain how the affiant has personal knowledge of the birth (e.g., "I was present at the home where she was born" or "I am the natural mother who gave birth to him")
• Affidavit gives only year of birth, not the full date
• Affidavit doesn't specify the city/village/district of birth
• Affidavit doesn't acknowledge that no birth certificate is available
• Affidavit is not in the first person (using "the deponent says" instead of "I say")
• Affidavit is undated or unsigned
• Affidavit not notarised correctly — notary stamp missing or unclear
• Affiant's own ID proof not attached to the affidavit

Yes — and this is a subtle issue. If you have an old birth certificate that exists but is incomplete (e.g., missing your name, in a regional language, or with errors), you are not eligible for NABC. The correct route is to get the existing certificate reissued or corrected, not to obtain NABC.

USCIS officers are trained to detect this. If your dossier shows that a birth registration entry exists somewhere but you haven't pursued it, they will reject the NABC route and demand the actual certificate. We always check for any existing record before recommending NABC.

Date of birth discrepancies are the #1 cause of NABC rejections. To avoid them:

• Identify all your existing records: Passport, Aadhaar, PAN, school certificates, voter ID, driver's license, OCI card. List the date of birth on each.
• Pick one canonical date: Usually the date on your earliest school certificate or passport.
• Resolve discrepancies first: If your Aadhaar or PAN has a different date, get them corrected before applying for NABC. The NABC must match all primary documents.
• Ensure affidavits reflect the canonical date exactly — both in figures and in words
• Get any required corrections done in advance — this is a separate process we also handle

If the Embassy returns your application asking for additional documents, the typical request is:

• More affidavits
• Better quality school records
• Older documents from the time of birth (hospital records, ration card)
• Specific clarifications about why parents are not providing affidavits

The right response is to address each query specifically. Generic resubmission without addressing the queries leads to a second rejection. We respond to such queries professionally and the second submission typically succeeds.

No formal limit. However, repeated rejections within a short period create a paper trail that can hurt your immigration application later — USCIS or IRCC officers can request the Embassy file history. The right approach is to ensure the first submission is complete and correct.

If you have had a prior rejection, do not simply resubmit. Get the case reviewed by an expert (we offer this as a free assessment), identify the gap, and submit a complete new dossier addressing the original rejection reasons explicitly.

Our NABC service has a near-100% acceptance rate because we:

• Do a pre-application records search to confirm no birth certificate exists (avoids the wrong-route issue)
• Reconcile all date-of-birth discrepancies in primary documents before applying
• Draft customised affidavits tailored to USCIS / IRCC / Home Office expectations
• Apostille all India-origin supporting documents
• Submit a single, complete, organised dossier rather than a piecemeal submission
• Track and follow up until issuance
• Re-submit at no extra service fee if any technical query arises

Our experience across thousands of NABC cases means we know what each authority looks for — and we build the application to match.

India For NRI is India's #1 expert service for obtaining Indian birth certificates — trusted by 10,000+ NRIs across 50+ countries for apostille, NABC, name correction, and all birth certificate needs