Got a ref when applying for my sons passport

[Alaska2012 462]

I got my citizenship not too long ago and now I sent in my son's passport application. I sent in everything they asked for including a statement to why I alone signed the passport application.

I am sole guardian and the birth certificate I provided states that! Still the ref is regarding the guardianship. The birth certificate was evidence enough to get his visa but to get a passport I apparently need to provide something I don't have! I called the swedish authorities that provides birth certificates and such and asked if there were anything else they could provide me but they said that this is all I need!

So I wrote a letter explaining in detail why I alone applied for my son's passport and I thoroughly explained how birth certificates and guardianship works in Sweden. What else can I do?

[Hypnos 6,576]

Authorisation from both parents is usually required for a child to be issued a US passport. Exceptions are where one parent is deceased (and you need to provide a certified copy of the death certificate to indicate this), or you have been granted 100% sole custody by a family court judge (and you have to provide a certified copy of the court order to indicate this).

If the other parent is still alive and has not had their parental rights terminated, you will require their consent in order for the child to obtain a US passport (you are presumably applying under the Child Citizenship Act).

[Alaska2012 462]

But according to Swedish law I am sole guardian and the father has no saying in anything regarding my son. The birth certificate I provided has only my name as guardian. The swedish authorities doesn't issue any other documents regarding this and I have no court papers to present since it's not done in such way in Sweden.

It's like a catch 22! I have papers stating I am sole guardian but they aren't accepted because they aren't from a court signed by a judge!

[Anh map 2,098]

You may need to supply a copy of the applicable Swedish law. Perhaps the Swedish embassy can help you with this.

[Alaska2012 462]

Thank you Anh map! I will call the embassy first thing in the morning!

[Hypnos 6,576]

US law, not Swedish law, is relevant here. I doubt you will get DoS to bend on this; the passport application form for a child clearly indicates that parental consent from both parents is almost always required.

[Alaska2012 462]

I understand that US law is what goes on the US but that doesn't change the fact that I have sole custody in Sweden as well as in the US. I have documents supporting this however they aren't produced in a court signed by a judge because that's not how it's done in Sweden.

[Hypnos 6,576]

http://travel.state.gov/content/passports/en/passports/under-16.html#consent

"Both parents/guardians must appear in person with the child and provide consent, authorizing passport issuance to the child. If one parent/guardian is unable to appear in person, then the DS-11 application must be accompanied by a signed, notarized Form DS-3053: Statement of Consent from the non-applying parent/guardian.

If the child only has one parent/guardian, evidence of sole authority to apply for the child must be submitted with the application in the form of a:

- Court order granting sole legal custody to the applying parent (unless childs travel is restricted by that order)

- A court order specifically permitting the applying parent to apply for the childs passport

- Judicial declaration of incompetence of the non-applying parent

- Death certificate of the non-applying parent"

[NexGen 8]

Alaska2012 - you are dealing with lower level officers and their job is to issue passports based on a strict criteria. I suggest you reach out to the State Dept and request to speak to a higher level officer to get guidance on alternative documents they will accept in lieu of the court documents listed by Hypnos. It might be as simple as getting an affidavit from the child's father confirming that you have sole custody; assuming you are in contact with him. Or, maybe you need to get a legal opinion letter from a US law firm that specializes in family law/international adoptions. I don't know the answer but I think trying to get some guidance from the State Dept is key. Doesn't matter what the Swedish embassy says if the State Dept refuses to accept.

Edited December 31, 2015 by NexGen

[Alaska2012 462]

I have been on the phone 3 times today with the lady handling my son's passport. I called yesterday and she promptly returned my call today. We went back and forth about my son's birth certificate where it states that I am the guardian. She went to talk to her supervisor a couple of times but called me back immediately after each time. It looks like they will honor the birth certrificate, she said it might take a couple of tries but they were certain we would get there in the end! The only thing I have to do at the moment is sent in a statement saying my son was born out of wedlock and then we would go from there.

She also said that with each new birth certificate they see they learn something new at the same time as they go through the process and if the country where the child is from doesn't supply court orders or such then its not a requrement. A person will only be asked to provide documents that are available according to the country they are from.

So with that said, fingers crossed the rest will go smoothly! But i know that's hoping for much lol

[Sukie 1,439]

I have been on the phone 3 times today with the lady handling my son's passport. I called yesterday and she promptly returned my call today. We went back and forth about my son's birth certificate where it states that I am the guardian. She went to talk to her supervisor a couple of times but called me back immediately after each time. It looks like they will honor the birth certrificate, she said it might take a couple of tries but they were certain we would get there in the end! The only thing I have to do at the moment is sent in a statement saying my son was born out of wedlock and then we would go from there.

She also said that with each new birth certificate they see they learn something new at the same time as they go through the process and if the country where the child is from doesn't supply court orders or such then its not a requrement. A person will only be asked to provide documents that are available according to the country they are from.

So with that said, fingers crossed the rest will go smoothly! But i know that's hoping for much lol

We went through something a little similar when we went through the CR-1 process. The "instruction manual" they used specified something that Australia will not provide, and we got an RFE. So I had to photocopy the website info from the Australian Department of Immigration that stated the exact process and proved that what they asked for was impossible. I realized that sometimes we have to educate the State Department!

Best of luck!

Sukie in NY

[Hypnos 6,576]

Good luck. That's a surprising amount of flexibility for a federal agency.

[jayjayj 571]

Another option, which we had to use, is submitting a DS-5525 Statement of Special Family Circumstances. This form is used if the second biological parent is absent, missing, MIA, living in a place where they can't be contacted, dead, incarcerated, etc.

http://www.us-passport-service-guide.com/support-files/ds-5525-special-family-circumstances-passport-for-minor.pdf

Here is what bothers me about this situation, we had the exact same experience.

You went through the entire immigration process (multiple applications and interview), legally immigrated to the U.S. with your son, then became a U.S. citizen. Your son instantly became a U.S. citizen the minute you completed your oath ceremony, because he was legally present in the U.S., a minor, and one of his biological parents was now a U.S. citizen. The U.S. government then wants you to submit an N-600 for your son and pay another $600 for him to get a certificate showing he is a U.S. citizen, even though a U.S. passport also proves citizenship. Why is it $600? That seems incredibly expensive given the purpose of the form, especially when it involves a minor. I wonder how many people actually do the N-600, we did not and everyone I know who went through this also did not. We skipped right to the U.S. passport phase for my stepson. Then we ran into the slight passport delay you ran into. I do understand all the human trafficking issues and child abduction problems, but in these situations when the second biological parent is a foreign citizen and has no way to travel to the U.S., why are the applications being delayed. Think about it. Some countries don't recognize dual citizenship, so when a child now becomes a U.S. citizen in that case, his old foreign passport is invalid and without the U.S. passport, he could not legally travel outside the U.S. to visit his foreign biological parent. If the State Department refused to ever issue him a passport without the foreign parents consent, he would be trapped in the U.S. until he turned 18. You could also have a situation where a foreign parent, possibly out of spite, has the ability to block a U.S. citizen minor from obtaining a U.S. passport by refusing to issue consent.

[lilsweetie 30]

Here is what bothers me about this situation, we had the exact same experience.

You went through the entire immigration process (multiple applications and interview), legally immigrated to the U.S. with your son, then became a U.S. citizen. Your son instantly became a U.S. citizen the minute you completed your oath ceremony, because he was legally present in the U.S., a minor, and one of his biological parents was now a U.S. citizen. The U.S. government then wants you to submit an N-600 for your son and pay another $600 for him to get a certificate showing he is a U.S. citizen, even though a U.S. passport also proves citizenship. Why is it $600? That seems incredibly expensive given the purpose of the form, especially when it involves a minor. I wonder how many people actually do the N-600, we did not and everyone I know who went through this also did not. We skipped right to the U.S. passport phase for my stepson. Then we ran into the slight passport delay you ran into. I do understand all the human trafficking issues and child abduction problems, but in these situations when the second biological parent is a foreign citizen and has no way to travel to the U.S., why are the applications being delayed. Think about it. Some countries don't recognize dual citizenship, so when a child now becomes a U.S. citizen in that case, his old foreign passport is invalid and without the U.S. passport, he could not legally travel outside the U.S. to visit his foreign biological parent. If the State Department refused to ever issue him a passport without the foreign parents consent, he would be trapped in the U.S. until he turned 18. You could also have a situation where a foreign parent, possibly out of spite, has the ability to block a U.S. citizen minor from obtaining a U.S. passport by refusing to issue consent.

Jayjaym - you hit the nail on the head! The is EXACTLY my situation. I have basically been given no choice but to file the N600 because my ex doesn't want to sign the passport form. Yes, we have THAT kind of relationship where he will do whatever he can to make my life difficult even if it is illogical and petty.

[Alaska2012 462]

Lilsweetie you will still not be able to get your kid a passport without your ex signing the documents. But by filing the N-600 he might change his mind since the kid won't be able to travel back to Canada to see him without a US passport