Consular Report of Birth Abroad
The U.S. Consulate General Guadalajara strongly encourages all U.S. citizens who have children born in Mexico to register them as U.S. citizens as soon as possible after birth. Upon registration, the child will be issued a Consular Report of Birth Abroad of a Citizen of the United States of America (CRBA), which is an official record confirming that the child acquired U.S. citizenship at birth. A CRBA can be issued only at an American Consular Office overseas, and only before the child reaches 18 years of age.
Parents seeking to obtain a CRBA for a child must be able to demonstrate to the interviewing consular officer that:
• At least one of the parents is a U.S. citizen (prior to the child’s birth);
• The child is the biological child of the U.S. citizen parent(s); and
• If only one of the parents is a U.S. citizen, the U.S. citizen parent was physically present in the United States prior to the birth of the child; if both parents are U.S. citizens, at least one of them must have resided in the United States prior to the child’s birth. The period of physical presence in the United States required to transmit citizenship to a child born abroad varies, depending on the date of birth of the child and the marital status of the parents.
• Scheduling CRBA Appointments
Appointments for the Consular Report of Birth Abroad (CRBA) can be scheduled on-line here. Applicants with appointment confirmations may proceed directly to the Consulate’s public entrance for security screening.
In preparation for your appointment, please download the following:
1. The CRBA application form DS-2029, and
2. The Affidavit of Parentage and Physical Presence
In addition to the application form, the parent(s) must provide:
• Mexican Birth Certificate: Bring the child’s long-form birth certificate which is issued by the local authorities.
• Secretary of Health (Secretaria de Salud) Hospital Certificate of Birth: Issued by the hospital and with the child’s footprint at the bottom. If your child was born prior to 2000, you will also need to bring the hospital identification bracelet, crib card, discharge orders, or a hospital bill.
• Evidence of Parent’s U.S. Citizenship: Please present one of the following documents for one or both parents: US Passport (valid or expired); original U.S. birth certificate; original Certificate of Naturalization; or Certificate of Citizenship.
• Evidence of Both Parents' Identity: Driver’s license, State ID card, School ID, Mexican Voting Card, Passport.
• If the child’s father is the US citizen, proof of parents’ relationship:
o If parents were married prior to the date of birth, please provide an original or certified copy of the marriage certificate and divorce decree from previous marriages (if applicable).
o If parents were not married at the time of birth, please provide proof of the existence of the relationship at the time of conception (personal letters and cards, dated photographs, telephone bills, Western Union receipts).
• Prenatal Documents: Ultrasounds, prescriptions, and medical records.
• If only one parent is a US citizen, proof of physical presence in the US:
o In most cases, the citizen parent must prove at least 5 years of physical presence in the US, at least 2 of which are after the age of 14.
o The period of physical presence need not be continuous.
o Presence must be proven with concrete evidence (official school transcripts, tax form 1040s with W-2s and pay stubs).
In certain cases, documents in addition to those listed herein may be required.
The application and physical presence statement may be picked up in person, downloaded, or they may be e-mailed upon request. Completing the forms prior to the scheduled appointment is required.
The application fee for a CRBA is $65 USD + delivery service fee. We encourage you to apply for the child’s passport at the same time as you apply for the CRBA, as a passport is required for all travel to the United States. Please follow this link for passport requirements for minors as well as associated passport fees.
Additional information is available on the Internet at
http://travel.state.gov/family/issues_birth.html
