The Paper Chase Begins

Today we have already emailed back and forth to FHSA with a few questions, including a picture of the birth certificate I have on hand (to see if it will be suitable for USCIS). I filled out the online I-600A PDF and printed it and drafted the letter stating that we would be following up with the Home Study report, but there is still some confusion as to whether my birth certificate and the marriage certificate we have on hand will be OK for USCIS. (The instructions we have from FHSA say that copies of hospital / officiant signed certificates are not sufficient and both are copies of the original certificates, but they both have filing marks. In the case of the marriage certificate, I'm not sure there is any other form.) I'm still working on that, but I think Shannon is going to get a marriage certificate regardless as we have misplaced our certified copy anyway and it is relatively available to us. I tried to call the USCIS hotline figuring they would have the best resources to clarify what is actually required, but they are not allowed to give any advice other than what forms to fill out. They were unable to even give contact information for local office. While friendly, the hotline seemed like a waste of time and taxpayer dollars. Found an E-mail address for the local office on the USCIS website and sent email with several questions. I'm hoping for a response today, but not really expecting one until next week.