CRBA and Passport Approved

[Ben Dover 2]

Just thought I'd give some insight into my experience applying for a CRBA and getting approved the first time as it seems a lot of posts here talk about getting denied (sometimes multiple times) before finally getting approved. 

 

I'm a US citizen; my wife is not. We currently live in Lagos, Nigeria, where my daughter was born, so I applied for the consular report of birth abroad and passport at the Lagos US Consulate. 

 

I like for my family to always have valid passports in case of emergency or last minute trips, so I started reading the Consulate website and gathering evidence even before my daughter was born in order to hit the ground running. During my wife's pregnancy, we were already gathering lots of evidence of her pregnancy such as her pregnancy photo shoots, ultrasounds, medical reports, hospital receipts and appointment records to satisfy the prenatal records requirement. 

 

High school transcripts and college transcripts were obtained as evidence of physical presence.

 

For proof of parents' relationship, we provided our marriage certificate, about a dozen pictures of us in several different countries and at several different points over the years showing we have been together for a while. I also provided itineraries, passport stamps and residence permits showing we were living in various countries together and therefore had access to each other.. 

 

As evidence of parents' location during the time of conception, I submitted the stamped passports showing we were both in Nigeria. 

 

My passport was provided and US citizenship proof, and I also provided my US driver's license as further ID as well and my wife's passport and ID. 

 

We provided photos of my daughter at birth, at her naming ceremony and at various stages (although you are not required to provide "growing up pictures" unless the child is at least 1) just to have extra proof. 

 

Once my daughter was born, I filled out the Application for Consular Report of Birth Abroad, Application for a US Passport, and Affidavit of Physical Presence, and we took some passport pictures (2x2 inches, eyes open), sent these along with the birth certificate and our passport scans, by email requesting the earliest date possible. Despite applying just 5 days after my daughter's birth in late December last year, they didn't give us an appointment until mid-March, so plan well ahead if you plan to travel with your young one. 

 

On the date of the interview, we arrived with all the requested documents/photos and 2 photocopies of each. I was called up to a window by a woman who requested the required documents. She browsed through and labeled each set and then told me to make the payment of $235 or the naira equivalent, cash only. She then asked me to sit down while she more thoroughly went through the documents for about 20 minutes before handing them off to the interviewer at the next window who went through the documents for about another 20 minutes and then called both my wife and I up for the interview. 

 

Questions asked by the interviewer: 

 

1. To both of us: How did you meet? 

2. To my wife: When did you get married?

3. To me: Where did you go to school?

 

After the brief interview, she asked us to both raise our right hands and confirm that we had given truthful information, sign the forms and then said the CRBA and passport were approved and would be ready for pickup in 3 weeks. She then asked us to turn our sleeping baby around for a quick look just to confirm it is the same person in the photo. 

 

The Lagos Consulate doesn't seem to be as strict as others I've read stories about because there were a few things that I thought should have been seen as red flags that they didn't even ask about. We also made sure we had a massive stack of evidence and didn't take any chances so that may have helped. For example, the website asks for 1 copy of each but the appointment confirmation email asks for 2 of each so we went with 2 to be safe. 

 

The biggest thing is to just to be prepared and remember that the burden of proof is on you, so bring more than enough. There was a guy there who was applying for a CRBA for his 3 kids, and I overhead him say he didn't have any prenatal evidence and also didn't bring cash as required, so he had to go out and try to get money before the deadline they had given him.  

 

Final tip for those in Lagos: ignore those touts in the parking lot who tell you to surrender your bag or cell phone for safekeeping (for a fee) because they are not allowed in the Consulate. We were allowed in with both of those things. 

 

 

 

 

[Ronald P 18]

I will be applying for a CRBA within the next couple months after the baby is born (Ecuador). I seen a checklist from their embassy website that also asked for “pregnancy photos.” Did you do a professional shoot or did you just take photos yourself. Were you in the photos too? Just wanted to get some info on what that exactly meant. Thanks 

[Ben Dover 2]

We just took photos of my wife visibly pregnant, while out at various places, while she was being examined during her check up and my wife wanted to have professional photos to later show our kid, so we also submitted those shots (but professional photos are not a requirement). I was in the professional shots, which we took as a family.