Mitch0526

She's not registering with the US embassy as a citizen. Our family lives in China together.

Hello,

I am a US citizen applying for a US tourist visa for my 2 month old daughter. We are just sticking with Chinese citizenship and getting a visa for her, just like her mother did. We have the option of doing the mail in application or interview. Obviously it would save a lot of hassle to mail it in, but I just wanted to make sure the success rate is the same for both. I could definitely explain in person better that she wouldn't immigrate through giving our story, but mailing it in would save a lot of trouble.

Should we just mail it in? Would there be any risk involved?

This is what it says in my application:

You qualify for the Drop Box and can continue the process by clicking "Continue".

If you want to opt for an interview, please click "Interview" and chose the location for your interview.

Not sure I totally get it. The priority is to keep my daughter's Chinese citizenship. If she does apply for the CRBA and passport and is approved, that would be a potential threat to her Chinese citizenship, which we don't want. In addition, she couldn't apply for the US visa. Am I still missing something?

Section 215 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1185) is not listed in on the US embassy in China's website.

I just called the US Embassy in China, located in Guangzhou, and they said we could not apply for the CRBA only and then still be eligible to receive a US visa. As soon as she is registered for her birth abroad and/or receives her passport, she will be automatically denied a US visa, if applied.

We just won't apply for the CRBA. Are you saying that she wouldn't be able to get a US tourist visa even if she doesn't register with the US consulate?

I emailed the US Embassy and they said that if I apply for the CRBA, I would need to also apply for a US passport as well. They also said in this case I wouldn't be able to apply for a US tourist visa since my daughter would be a US citizen.

RandyW, it looks like your plan wouldn't work, unfortunately. So we will just have to stick with Chinese citizenship, Chinese passport and US tourist visa only.

We have no intentions of moving back to the US. We plan on staying in China long-term and possibly receive her schooling here. We consider China our home. We just want to return to the US for month-ish visits every couple of years. Therefore, we feel like the best plan would be to have our daughter to firstly pursue Chinese nationality, since this is our home for the long-term and she can receive the benefits from being a citizen of the country she spends the majority of her time in. Of course, anything could happen and we would have to move to the US.

Jan22, we have two priorities in our situation. Keep the Child's Chinese nationality and her be able to travel to the US. What would you think is the best approach?

Ok, we will try and set everything up on the same day then. Thanks for all your help RandyW!

Right, so what RandyW was suggesting was to only get a Chinese passport with a US tourist visa. Technically our daughter is already a dual citizen because of her parents.

Thank you. Things make a lot more sense now!

Would it be possible to pursue a B-2 Tourist Visa for the US at the same time as the CRBA? I would like to do them both as soon as possible just in case we need to make a random emergency trip to the US. Also, traveling that long of a distance twice in a short time with a newborn is not something we would like to do, if possible.

That;s more clear, thank you. And with the Chinese passport, just add the tourist visa like my wife has?

Randyw, I will need to get her two passports and two visas? A US passport with a Chinese tourist visa and a Chinese passport with a US tourist visa? That seems like a lot of hassle and does not guarantee success that she will pass both applications/interviews. For example, how can she apply for a Chinese tourist visa from China.

If we are not concerned about US citizenship, is there an easier and better way? Her mom is not a US citizen....

And obtaining two passports is not an option? Use the Chinese passport when entering and exiting China and the US passport when entering and exiting China?

Randyw, you would suggest dual citizenship, but obtain a US tourist visa in the Chinese passport?

She is a US citizen at birth because of me and also Chinese citizen at birth because of her mother. There is a conflict there, isn't there? China wouldn't recognize this because it's dual citizenship. I'm sure there is some risk involved with China if I pursue dual citizenship with her. At the very least, we plan on her being a Chinese citizen because we have no intentions of moving to the US.

OneD, thank you. That is helpful. However, it seems like that is explaining for the case of the Child becoming a US citizen. I know that China does not recognize dual citizenship and there might be some repercussions involved if a Chinese citizen obtains dual citizenship (or so I've heard). My main question is what to do in the case of wanting the child to stay a Chinese citizen but be able to freely travel to the US?

Hello,

My wife is a Chinese national, while I am a US citizen and we have a newborn baby that we have chosen to have Chinese nationality.

We would like to be able to freely take our daughter to the US for visits, but are not sure the best means to do that. I have heard mixed opinions, but haven't really seen a good link where it is written out clearly what someone in this situation can/should do. Able to get a US passport? Also, I heard about a travel permit?

Thanks for the help!

Thank you. We will be looking soon for a hospital that would have a closer, personal feel to it when seeing a doctor than you get at a normal Chinese hospital.

The problem is not the expense of the medical care, but the doctor's visits in months 7-9 require us to basically be within very close distance of the hospital. A baby is usually not born on the exact due date. We have to consider cost of living at the place we go as well.

Most hospitals ask the patience to make monthly visits in the first two trimesters and then biweekly and then weekly as time gets closer and closer. Starting in month 7-8, we could find a place in Guangzhou to live for a few months if necessary, but not in HongKong. Living expenses are too high. We also are not going to be able to stay in Beijing for that long either. The only reason we were considering the US before was because if she could get through that one long flight at 7 months, the rest would be much more comfortable in my parents' house and them driving her to a nearby hospital however often she is needed. But we aren't really considering that option anymore.

Thank you Chris and ZhiJia for the hospital ideas in Guangzhou. Do you know anyone who has personally given birth at any of those places?

The thing about HongKong is, it's extremely expensive. Definitely out of our price range to stay there and do medical care. Plus, my wife wouldn't feel comfortable there because we don't know anyone there. She could feel relatively comfortable almost anywhere in Guangdong because we know people in most cities. Just need to find a good hospital. We know of one that has a good reputation, called VIP Birthing Center for The Second Affiliated Hospital of Guangdong Medical University. However, we haven't talked to anyone personally who has been there. Just wanted to see if anyone has any other options we could consider.

Thank you R2B for all the info about citizenship.

Also, has anyone given birth to a baby in Guangdong, China. That's where we live, and are not able to leave the province to have the baby if it's in China.

If I remember correctly what I've researched before, China doesn't offer dual citizenship. If the Child is born in China, he or she would be automatically Chinese. Born in the US, and would be automatically American. If born in China, he or she could still get passports from both countries.

Am I wrong on this or has something changed?

Thank you everyone. This is all a lot of helpful information. It looks more and more unwise for us to go this path.