CRBA application questions

[ar & rk 3]

We are filling the CRBA DS-2029 application for our newborn. I am a USC who acquired the citizenship 15 years ago. Prior to that I was a permanent resident (green card holder) for 7 years. My wife is a Canadian citizen and our baby was born in Canada just 2 weeks ago. I have a few questions about the application:

1.  In section 2j, the application asks about "precise periods of time spent in the US". I understand the presence in the US requirement and more than qualify for it even during the last 6 years (only made short trips to Canada and remained in the US most of the time). My question is if I should list all dates spent in the US in 22 years since I have been in the US? In other words, how thorough do we need to be here?

 

2.  I have the dates during which I was outside of the US for the past 7 years but do not have specific dates prior to that (there were only 3 or 4 trips during the first 15 years and they were always less than 1 week). 

 

3.  For evidence of presence in the US, I am including last 7 years of W2 statements, 7 years of federal tax transcripts, 7 years of utility and auto insurance bills and college transcripts that span 6 years. Is that sufficient evidence? Is there anything else that I should submit? 

 

4. The US consulate website in Toronto instructs to submit the application online, but the application says there is no online option in Canada (seems like a discrepancy on consulate webpage). Should we mail or email the application? 

 

5. I was checking to see if appointment slots are available for CRBA. The consulate page has an option to schedule appointments but there is no open slots available in foreseeable future. Should I just email or call them to schedule the appointment? 

 

Anything else that I should consider including? I really appreciate all the feedback I can get. Thanks!

 

[Mike E 11,739]

5 minutes ago, ar & rk said:

My question is if I should list all dates spent in the US in 22 years since I have been in the US?

Better safe than sorry. So yes.

 

6 minutes ago, ar & rk said:

years but do not have specific dates prior to that (there were only 3 or 4 trips during the first 15 years and they were always less than 1 week). 

Make a conservative guess. 
 

 

 

[Pleasework89 47]

When I applied for my kids, I just sent them my school transcripts (8 years worth of transcripts after the age of 14). Also, if you were  green card holder you can use that. You applied under the 5 year rule, right? So you should be good. Email the consulate to be sure. 

[ar & rk 3]

On 6/8/2023 at 12:11 AM, Pleasework89 said:

When I applied for my kids, I just sent them my school transcripts (8 years worth of transcripts after the age of 14). Also, if you were  green card holder you can use that. You applied under the 5 year rule, right? So you should be good. Email the consulate to be sure. 

thanks for the feedback. Did you do the online application or paper? How did you submit the form and scheduled the interview? Their website is not working and says the online option is not available for Canada. 

[Pleasework89 47]

4 hours ago, ar & rk said:

thanks for the feedback. Did you do the online application or paper? How did you submit the form and scheduled the interview? Their website is not working and says the online option is not available for Canada. 

I applied in person. It was actually the only option for me. There was no appointments options for CRBA available at the embassy's appointment system. I emailed the embassy letting them know about giving birth and they gave me a checklist and forms to fill out. I applied for CRBA and baby's first US passport with my foreign spouse.

 

I actually emailed the embassy quite often to check and recheck everything so I wouldn't have to make multiple trips. I showed up with a binder with all the things listed on their checklist. At the embassy after they reviewed all the paperwork they just made us swear that all the information is correct and then we paid and left. We got an email weeks later to pick up the CRBA and passport. 

 

If the online system is down, email the consulate and bug them about it. But you also don't have to feel the pressure to do it right away. I did it 5 months after giving birth. I gave birth in winter and the first few weeks I was a zombie. 

[ar & rk 3]

13 hours ago, Pleasework89 said:

I applied in person. It was actually the only option for me. There was no appointments options for CRBA available at the embassy's appointment system. I emailed the embassy letting them know about giving birth and they gave me a checklist and forms to fill out. I applied for CRBA and baby's first US passport with my foreign spouse.

 

I actually emailed the embassy quite often to check and recheck everything so I wouldn't have to make multiple trips. I showed up with a binder with all the things listed on their checklist. At the embassy after they reviewed all the paperwork they just made us swear that all the information is correct and then we paid and left. We got an email weeks later to pick up the CRBA and passport. 

 

If the online system is down, email the consulate and bug them about it. But you also don't have to feel the pressure to do it right away. I did it 5 months after giving birth. I gave birth in winter and the first few weeks I was a zombie. 

thank you for this feedback! I will plan on reaching out to them directly. Did you submit every record of presence in the U.S. even if you did not have an evidence of it or only the time period for which you had an evidence of presence? I have lived here 22 years and have records covering 12 years. Not sure if I should also include the remaining 10 years for which I do not have records. 

[Pleasework89 47]

10 hours ago, ar & rk said:

thank you for this feedback! I will plan on reaching out to them directly. Did you submit every record of presence in the U.S. even if you did not have an evidence of it or only the time period for which you had an evidence of presence? I have lived here 22 years and have records covering 12 years. Not sure if I should also include the remaining 10 years for which I do not have records. 

Yes. I lived most of my life in the US until I moved abroad in my 20s. I wrote down the times but only submitted 8 years worth of US presence. My school transcripts I had mailed abroad. They only needed 5 years of official proof. You mentioned you were a naturalized citizen? I think that should be evidence too? You needed 5 years presence to apply for citizenship,  right? 

 

When I applied, the embassy didn't really nitpick my application, they just looked at the stuff...not too much scrutiny. But like I said,  email them. And don't stress too much. From what info you posted, you have more than enough info. 😊 

[ar & rk 3]

On 6/12/2023 at 7:33 PM, Pleasework89 said:

I applied in person. It was actually the only option for me. There was no appointments options for CRBA available at the embassy's appointment system. I emailed the embassy letting them know about giving birth and they gave me a checklist and forms to fill out. I applied for CRBA and baby's first US passport with my foreign spouse.

 

I actually emailed the embassy quite often to check and recheck everything so I wouldn't have to make multiple trips. I showed up with a binder with all the things listed on their checklist. At the embassy after they reviewed all the paperwork they just made us swear that all the information is correct and then we paid and left. We got an email weeks later to pick up the CRBA and passport. 

 

If the online system is down, email the consulate and bug them about it. But you also don't have to feel the pressure to do it right away. I did it 5 months after giving birth. I gave birth in winter and the first few weeks I was a zombie. 

so we applied the eCRBA and requested an interview at Toronto consulate. 
Can I ask you what country/consulate you applied the CRBA and scheduled the interview? We tried using the calendar app to schedule an interview but it said to instead email TorontoCRBA@state.gov so we did. We received an automated response with a survey to request an interview date, which we did. They gave us the option to pick from 3 dates and we requested a date in the second week of July. Its been 2 weeks since we submitted this and we have not heard anything back. From what I am hearing, applying/walking in person at Toronto consulate is not an option. Is that true to your knowledge? 

[Chancy 6,241]

*** Removed related thread.  Please post your related questions/updates in this thread to keep the discussion in one place. ***

 

5 hours ago, ar & rk said:

Hi folks, I submitted an online CRBA application on MyTravelGov website for my baby born last month. I then tried scheduling an interview on their online calendar app but at the top it instructs to email Toronto Consulate at TorontoCRBA@state.gov which I did and received a link for a survey requesting an interview date. They gave us the option to pick from 3 days and we picked the second week of July. After submission, it said they would reach out to me confirming the appointment. Its been 3 weeks and we haven't heard anything. 

 

Has anyone else in Toronto submitted a CRBA? Is this the process that you followed? I am getting conflicting information from their citizens helpline with one person saying I need to fill out the calendar app (there is no open appointments on the calendar! for any months) and the second saying to follow the note on emailing TorontoCRBA@state.gov. Any insights from your experience is appreciated. 

 

[Pleasework89 47]

8 hours ago, ar & rk said:

so we applied the eCRBA and requested an interview at Toronto consulate. 
Can I ask you what country/consulate you applied the CRBA and scheduled the interview? We tried using the calendar app to schedule an interview but it said to instead email TorontoCRBA@state.gov so we did. We received an automated response with a survey to request an interview date, which we did. They gave us the option to pick from 3 dates and we requested a date in the second week of July. Its been 2 weeks since we submitted this and we have not heard anything back. From what I am hearing, applying/walking in person at Toronto consulate is not an option. Is that true to your knowledge? 

I applied at the Beijing embassy. They also don't take "walk-ins" here. My most recent embassy visit was last month when I renewed my US passport. When I scheduled the appointment there was no communication from the embassy AT ALL until a week before the appointment. They send me an email with their checklist as to what documents to bring. If you don't get anything from them...message them! After they emailed me the checklist, I message them with a bunch of follow up questions. When I did the CRBA and renewed a child's passport, the embassy required growth photos so I asked them how many to bring. 

 

I am sorry I couldn't be much help. Have you tried reddit pages for us expats in Canada? I usually do that for more specific US consulate/embassy questions for US citizens.