reporting the birth abroad of a u.s. citizen

A presentation by the U.S. Embassy London

A Consular Report of Birth (CRBA) is an official record confirming that a child born abroad to a U.S. citizen parent or parents acquired U.S. citizenship at birth and serves as proof of citizenship. In order to obtain a CRBA, the birth of a child must be reported before the child’s 18th birthday.

Your child may be eligible for a CRBA if you or your partner are U.S. citizens. If you are unsure of your child’s claim to citizenship, you should check the Transmission Requirements. If your child is eligible for U.S. citizenship, you should proceed with the

following steps to register the birth with the Embassy.

You will need to: •Complete Form DS-2029: Application for Consular Report of Birth; • Furnish Supporting Documents; •Schedule an appointment; and •Pay the application fee.

You may complete the form on line using electronic version of the DS-2029 (PDF, 1004kb). The completed form should be downloaded and printed on separate sheets of white A4 or letter-size paper. If completing the form by hand, please download and complete with a black ink pen, using block letters.

Both parents should complete the form, even if only one parent is a U.S. Citizen.

DO NOT sign the form

until you are in front of a Consular Officer!

You are required to furnish:

•Your child’s foreign birth certificate;

•Your child’s foreign birth certificate;

This is the British birth certificate issued by the local authorities. It must include both parents’ names.

•Your child’s foreign birth certificate;

•Evidence of both parents’ Citizenship and Identity;

•Your child’s foreign birth certificate;

•Evidence of both parents’ Citizenship and Identity; A current passport is the preferred

form of proof. A U.S. birth certificate or naturalization certificate is also acceptable, but you must also present photo ID.

•Your child’s foreign birth certificate;

•Evidence of both parents’ Citizenship and Identity;

•If you are married, the original marriage certificate or a certified copy;

•Your child’s foreign birth certificate;

•Evidence of both parents’ Citizenship and Identity;

•If you are married, the original marriage certificate or a certified copy; If you married in the U.S, please provide a

state certificate issued by the civil authorities. If your marriage certificate is in a language other than English, a certified translation must be provided.

•Your child’s foreign birth certificate;

•Evidence of both parents’ Citizenship and Identity ;

•If you are married, the original marriage certificate or a certified copy;

•If you have prior marriages, the divorce decree, annulment or death certificate of prior spouses;

•Your child’s foreign birth certificate;

•Evidence of both parents’ Citizenship and Identity;

•If you are married, the original marriage certificate;

•If you have prior marriages, the divorce decree, annulment or death certificate or prior spouses;

If divorced in the UK, please provide Decrees Nisi and Absolute. If your document is in a language other than English, a certified translation must be provided

•Proof that the U.S. Citizen parent has resided in the United States long enough to transmit citizenship to their child;

•Proof that the U.S. Citizen parent has resided in the United States long enough to transmit citizenship to their child.

The proof you can supply depends on several factors, for example, if the parents of the child are married or if they are both U.S. citizens. How you prove your physical presence will depend on your situation. Examples of acceptable evidence include but are not limited to: current/previous passports showing entry/exist stamps, school/college transcripts and military records. The more that you can provide, the easier it will be for the consular officer to approve the report of birth. Further information concerning physical presence requirements is available by clicking on this link.

•One passport photograph. Photographs must meet the specified requirements. Please note that vending machine photographs and photographs printed on a home

computer are not acceptable.

The photo should be:

• 2 inches by 2 inches square (51mm by 51mm)

• The head should be between 1 inch and 1 3/8 inches (22mm and 35mm) or between 50% and 69% of the image’s total height

2 in

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You are required to report the birth of your child in person through a pre-arranged appointment. On scheduling an appointment, you will receive a Confirmation Sheet. Please print this page and bring it with you to the interview. Residents of England and Wales, should click on London to arrange an appointment at the Embassy.

Residents of Scotland, click on Edinburgh to visit the website of the Consulate General for further information.

Residents of Northern Ireland, should click on Belfast to visit the website of the Consulate General for further information.

London

Edinburgh

Belfast

• Credit card - Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover, or Diners

Club;

• Debit card - Visa or MasterCard only;

• Banker’s Draft drawn in U.S. dollars only on a bank in the United

States made payable to the “United States Disbursing Officer” issued within the last 5 months;

• International Money Order to the exact U.S. dollar amount made

payable to the “United States Disbursing Officer” issued within the last 5 months; or

• Cash in U.S. dollars or pounds Sterling ( London or Belfast only).

We are not authorized to accept personal checks

The fee for a Consular Report of Birth Abroad is $100 and is paid on the day of the appointment. We accept:

It is recommended that you apply for your child's first U.S. passport at the same time as you report their birth; it is not necessary to book separate appointments for these services. Please note that the CRBA is not a travel document Further information is available from our website - http://london.usembassy.gov/cons_new/acs/passports/robirth4.html.

If your child is under the age of five, and you are applying for both a CRBA and first U.S. passport, you may also submit Form SS-5 to apply for a Social Security Number Card for your child.

You should hand the completed form to the Consular Officer at the time of your appointment. Please do not mail the form to the United States, as this may delay the application.

The Federal Benefits Unit of the Embassy will process the application. It will generally take 3-4 weeks for the card to be mailed directly to you from the United States.

If your child is over the age of 5, you should contact the Embassy’s Federal Benefits Unit for assistance.

•When reporting the birth of a U.S. citizen abroad, it is preferable that both parents attend with the child. If only one parent can attend, please contact the Embassy for further instructions.

•Parents should aim to arrive at the appointed time.

•All those entering the Embassy must adhere to Embassy Security procedures.

• Applicants can expect to wait at least 2 hours. They will be called to the window several times during the visit.

Slide 2 - Li’l Miss Independent – by csr-4n6 on Flickr Slide 3 – 3D Character and Question Mark – by o5com on Flickr

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