Birth Abroad
Reporting Of Birth Abroad
Whenever an American Citizen child is born outside of the US, a legal document called the Consular Report of Birth Abroad (CRBA) is issued to the child. The CRBA serves as original evidence of US citizenship and functions the same way as a birth certificate does in the U.S.
A CRBA must be applied for in the Consular district in which the child was born. In Pakistan, these districts are Islamabad, Lahore, Karachi, and Peshawar. If you are unsure of the Consular district in which your child was born, you should verify it at the time that you call for an appointment. Due to the amount of time involved in processing the CRBA, and to ensure a better speed of service, CRBA’s are done on an appointment basis only. To schedule an appointment for a CRBA for a child born in the Islamabad Consular District, please contact the ACS section by calling 92-51-208-2000 during business hours or by email at acs_islamabad@state.gov
Eligibility for Citizenship
Eligibility for citizenship must be documentarily proven before a CRBA is provided. These are only for children born after November 14, 1986 and who are under the age of 18.
- A child born in wedlock to 2 US citizen parents is a citizen as long as one of the parents has resided in the US sometime prior to the child’s birth.
- A child born in wedlock to one US citizen parent and one Alien parent is a citizen as long as the US Citizen parent was present in the US for 5 years prior to the child’s birth, two of which were after age 14.
- A child born out of wedlock to a US citizen mother is a citizen as long as the mother was physically present in the US continuously for 12 months at any time prior to the child’s birth.
- A child born out of wedlock to a US citizen father is a citizen as long as paternity is clearly and convincingly established, the child is legitimated for the purpose of citizenship, and the father commits to financially support the child. The father must have been physically present in the US for 5 years prior to the child’s birth, two of which were after age 14.
- A child born before November 14, 1986 or over the age of 18 is ineligible for a CRBA, but may still be eligible for a passport and citizenship. Contact the Embassy for more information.
PLEASE BRING THE FOLLOWING ITEMS WHEN YOU APPLY FOR A REPORT OF BIRTH ABROAD (Links to the online version of each form follow the form name. Clicking on the link or blue text will allow you to complete the form prior to arriving at the Embassy, thus saving you time.):
- Completed application for Consular Report of Birth Abroad (DS-2029/SS-5)
- Completed Application for a Passport (DS-11)
- Two recent identical photographs of the child. Photographs should be 2 x 2 inches, non-glossy, color photos with white background, front pose; head should not be covered and both ears should be visible. Polaroid photos are NOT acceptable.
- The total fee is $150. (CRBA--$65 and passport--$85)
- Child's birth certificate issued by both the hospital and the local government authority, with three sets of photocopies.
- Both Parents’ Passports (regardless of their nationality) with three sets of photocopies AND/OR their Naturalization certificate
- Parents' original marriage certificate, with a photocopy.
- Divorce/death certificate, showing termination of all prior marriages, with photocopies.
- An affidavit of physical presence form, if only one parent is U.S. citizen, stating precise periods of physical presence in the U.S. and documentary evidence substantiating these periods. Examples of such evidences are:
- old passports
- school records
- employment records - If only one parent is able to be present at the time of the passport application, the applying parent must bring his or her ID and a signed statement from the non-applying parent consenting to the passport issuance to the child. This statement needs to be notarized. The statement may be handwritten or typed and is generally done on form DS-3053
NOTE: ALL DOCUMENTS MUST BE PRESENTED IN THE ORIGINAL. IF THE DOCUMENT IS NOT IN ENGLISH, THEN BOTH THE ORIGINAL IN THE FOREIGN LANGUAGE AND A CERTIFIED ENGLISH TRANSLATION WITH PHOTOCOPY ARE REQUIRED.