I successfully got CRBA and passport for my baby.

[Anifowose017 2]

On 8/19/2021 at 8:07 AM, Bruce Wayne said:

I want to give an account of my experience in case it helps others looking to apply.

 

I'm a US citizen and my wife is a Nigerian citizen. My baby was born in November 2020 in Nigeria. I started gathering information from the American Citizen Services of my local US Consulate in January 2021. It was very detailed and self explanatory. There required me to fill out some forms and send it along with some supporting documents via email.

 

The forms I filled were the  DS-2029 (CRBA application), DS-5507 (affidavit of physical presence and parentage), and DS-11 (passport application) but I didn't sign them. You are only allowed to sign them in front of a consular officer.

 

Documents I submitted were:

 

- Original government issued birth certificate, evidence of my US citizenship (current and expired US passport and naturalization certificate)

 

- Passport/identification document for my wife (her Nigerian passport and driver's license)

 

- Evidence of physical presence in the US (this was a bit tricky for me because I didn't have much of my tax papers which I left back in the US. I submitted the few tax papers I had plus my passport stamps, college degree, Social Security Statement from www.ssa.gov, you can also obtain your IRS transcript which shows your tax history. Just Google "Get IRS transcript") You can also submit hospital records, utility bills etc.

 

- Parents' marriage certificate, if applicable (I submitted my government issued marriage certificate).

 

- Other proof of parents' relationship (I submitted a bunch of pictures of my wife and I together before we got married, our wedding, after we got married).

 

- Prenatal records and other evidence of mother's pregnancy (I submitted ultrasound scans, hospital receipts, hospital records, pictures during her pregnancy, and after her pregnancy).

 

- Evidence of parent's location at time of conception (passport stamps were sufficient).

 

That's all I sent via email. I got denied twice. They asked for notarization of the DS-5507. I had to call the office several times for clarification between February and June. I often got inconsistent or vague answers or no response until I finally got through to someone in June who said I don't need notarization unless one parent wouldn't be attending the appointment. She scheduled me for an appointment in August.

 

All I needed to do was bring the original copies of the documents I emailed above and one photocopy of each. It was honestly time consuming and stressful for me making sure everything was in order.

 

On the day of the appointment, we showed up two hours early, waited a while before being called into the building. A lady called us to the counter, asked for our appointment letter then original copies of the documents before requesting for the photocopies. She went through them and was satisfied. She directed us to another window to pay. I paid and waited.

 

About 20 minutes later, another lady called me up to the counter. She said everything was okay but it would be more helpful if I could provide my transcript. I told her I didn't have it in person because I left it back in America. However, I had it on my phone. She said I could email it to them and they'll print it. I emailed it, they checked it and were satisfied.

 

She asked me a few questions like how my baby was conceived and how long I had been out of the United States. She asked to see our pictures again and asked my wife some questions like her travel history to the United States, when we met, how we met, when we got married, and other basic relationship questions. She was satisfied with the answers and said she'll be granting the CRBA and passport. It will be ready for pickup in 4 to 5 weeks. I asked about applying for SSN and she gave me a paper containing instructions. She told me the SS card could only arrive at a US address though.

 

I was really happy with the successful application but I don't think I'll be going through this route anymore. I will rather have my next child delivered in the US to avoid this amount of work. Although, I heard it's usually easier after your first child since they'll have your records and documents on file and you can pretty much use the same documents to apply.

 

If you have any questions, feel free to ask or PM me .

After the interview, how long before you received the CRBA and passport please?

[Bruce Wayne 6]

On 9/26/2022 at 3:30 PM, Anifowose017 said:

After the interview, how long before you received the CRBA and passport please?

It was about a month.