How can I obtain a birth certificate if I was an immigrant?

According to the Department of State both your birth record and national identity documents are available in Iraq.

"Although these documents are theoretically available from Iraqi authorities, frequently they may be withheld in individual cases for political or other reasons. In other cases applicants may be reluctant to obtain documents for fear of retribution. There are two type of personal identification documents typically possessed by Iraqi nationals: 1) Iraqi ID card "Aljinssiyah", and 2) Nationality Certificate "Shahadat aljinssiyah".

You can only get a birth certificate from the place you were born, as only they have the record of your birth on file. That would be Iraq for you. A birth certificate was needed for your immigration. Nobody immigrates without a certified birth certificate.

I'm sure you can order a certificate by mail. I was born in a foreign country and have ordered 3 or 4 of my birth certificates by mail.

You don't need a birth certificate to change your name. First, only a US citizen can change his name in the United States, so if you are a US citizen, all you need is proof of your current name. Your US passport works perfectly for this, as would your US Certificate of Naturalization or Citizenship. A foreign birth certificate is not proof of a legal name for a US citizen. An immigrant who has become a US citizen is reborn when he became a US citizen, at which time the option exists to be reborn with a new name. Your day of birth is now the time you became a US citizen.

You must have had a birth certificate to immigrate

There may be one in your immigration file. You can request it by use of a Freedom Of Information

request. Details here: http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.eb...