NoelleB

Sorry --- this is completely wrong!  All time physically spent in the US --- in any status or even undocumented --- counts toward the physical presence requirement.  Any time a person was physically in the US -- without documents, as a tourist, while adjusting status, as a green card hold r r, whatever --  counts.  It's exactly what the label says -- physical presence.
 
However, if both parents are US citizens at the time of the child's birth, the requirement becomes residence instead of physical presence.  At least one of the parents must prove they resided -- lived -- in the US.  There is no required amount of time, just that it be residence and not just visiting the US from a residence abroad.

No, SSA doesn’t get you US citizenship. And they certainly won’t just get you a SSN when you show up with a foreign birth certificate and no proof of baby’s US citizenship. 
 
You have to file CRBA at the US embassy Manila. 

With a CRBA you are considered a USC by birth. Go become president now!

I think the person who wrote the question is long and gone. However, I do want to answer this question for future reference, and my experience. This is in regards to Mexico’s US Consulates in particular the Embassy (Consulate Agency mails the packet to the US embassy in Mex City)
1.As of Nov 2017, (when I applied for the crba) you do not need to translate the child’s birth certificate, the marriage certificate, the hospital certificate, nor the ultrasounds (provided it’s in Spanish).
Please send an email to the consulate if you have any questions and any updates (as this is the best course of action).
I translated the birth and the marriage certificate , and it was kind of a waste of money. 
2: Their requirements on the web page were to say the least a little bit confusing. I had my child’s certified copy of his birth certificate since we registered his birth. However, on their web page they give as an example a birth certificate from Guanajuato. A week before the appointment, I literally freaked out because I took a closer look at the example. It had more information in regards to the time of birth etc. My child’s certified birth certificate does not have time of birth, nor does it say “vivo”.
I  pleaded, and cried (honest truth) at the civil registry to get them to give me  in time. 1. The annexed pages of the birth certificate (in the annexed copy it has the hospital certificate)  “certified “. They basically photo copied, and have it “certified” from the head of the civil registry. 
2. And a certified copy of the fiel Del Libro. Again they photocopied it, and had it certified. 
It looks a bit different from the original cerrtified version ie. No color. 
 
On the day of the appointment, I handed in the certified copy of the birth certificate (the one that I originally  had); and the photocopied certificate copies. Basically, the woman at the consulate said I only needed the certified copy one (that I originally had) not the photocopies ones. However, I asked her keep all of it. All that work, and don’t forget the waterworks! 
I also handed in a photocopy of the hospital certificate that I made way before registering the baby at the civil registry. 
Extra Info: 
3.  I put everything in order as it says in the checklist. However, the woman at the consulate requested the documents not really in that order. I did however have everything in folders ie. One folder had my US passport for example. (to prove my citizenship). Another folder had the ultrasounds, doctor’s notes, hospital bill, etc. <~put those in order by date,  all with their respective copy. 
 
4. I spent much more time in the physical presence “section”. I sent emails, and talked to many answering machines . This takes time so be prepared. I sent a request form for my elementary records in August and they finally sent me through  email that said record about two weeks before the appointment date. They also sent me through snail mail the above said doc to my old us address. I got lucky that they accepted the email version, but I did have many other original documents proving my physical presence. 
 
I was really stumped in that wonderful question #24 that almost everyone has troubles with. I mean who can remember exact dates in particularly if you were born in the US.?! 
So basically I went to a lot of other embassy’s web sites to look for what they actually want. The web site link is from the US embassy in Argentina. Just scroll down for the physical presence part in particularly the time line. The US embassy in Australia, furthermore,  has a side note explaining about the physical presence bit (do the best that you can recall). 
 
The documents that I handled in were ;  
1. A certified copy of my US birth certificate, and the original birth card. <~shows the date when it was issued. 
2. A certified copy of my Mexican birth certificate <~shows the date when it was first issued.
3. My baptism certificate. 
4. My school record (elementary)
5, a health immunization record 
6. A test that I took while in elementary. 
7. My high school transcript 
8. My high school diploma 
9. My SAT results (I kept the original record)
10. My college transcript 
11. My college degree 
12. My drivers license history record ~this record I had to pay online to obtain. It does show the original date that you took the written and the drivers test. And the date that was issued. 
13. My drivers license 
14. My credit card statements. Basically showing the dates that I went shopping, in the US etc. 
15. Another certified copy of my Mexican birth certificate _it shows on the back the date in which I asked them to retrieve it at the Consulate, and the cost of it. 
15. My social security statement. 
So basically I had 12+ years of proof. 
As a tip, and to help the officer, I put color post notes to show the dates that I had written under question #24.
 
I recieved my child’s passport, and CRBA 4 weeks later. 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 

Better hurry, you only have 17 years and 361 days left to do the CRBA  😂

The law and policy refers to physical presence within the US. It makes no mention of status, other than being a USC at the time of birth.

Hello Visajourney!
      Im new here but so far its been great to have found such great help! I just wanted to share my experiences and see if it will help anyone out there that is going through what i went through. So here goes:)
      I am an american citizen. I got married very young. So i didnt know that children of USC could acquire citizenship through the parent. I found out when i went to the US embassy website to renew my passport. So i already had 2 sons that were 6 and 1. And i was pregnant at the time. So i went through all the requirments and decided i had everything i needed. I got all my prenatal care, kids' shot records, my shot record, proof of physical presence (which were school records) and my passport to take with me to the appointment. I was not married in the courthouse just in the church so thats important because the embassy considers that not being married so i only had to show physical evidence for 1 year. So we went to the appointment went through security got a ticket and waited for an hour. The officer called our number we took all the evidence and they told us to sit down and wait til they called our name. So its kind of nerve wrecking but  we only waited for 30 minutes and then they called us back and told us we were approved to go and pay the passport and bring back the receipt. We also had to pay fedex envelope. They told us congratulations and to wait 2 to 3 weeks to get the CRBA and passport. Well they came 16 days later. We were very happy!
      Well here comes the hard part. After that i married my husband in the courthouse so we could file a petiton for him. I was pregnant at the time. We just thought we will just get the baby a passport like our sons and everything will be fine. Wrong! lol. See its easier to report a birth if the american citizen is the mother and if its out of wedlock. Anyways after i had the baby we went to report her and they denied it saying i needed more physical evidence  Which was very hard because i married at 14. I was very sad so i remembered going back to the US when i was 16 because i got sick. I took that and a apostilled birth certificate and hoped for the best. I went back and this time i got a sweet consulate officer who really helped me out! God bless him! Anyways we got approved and now we are just waiting for the passport and CRBA to arrive  

Actually, for CRBA purposes, they are interested in every day you were physically present in the US -- it's not about residence, it's about presence.  You should fill it out as accurately and completely as you can.  

Hi NoelleB: Thanks for your detailed response and for sharing your experience. We had a successful visit at the embassy and I will add to your post above. 
 
1. I also went ahead and translation the important documents (birth certificate and marriage certificate) but not the ultrasounds. We did not need them. Yes, it is always good practice to check though!
 
2. Yes, after looking at different embassy websites in Mexico, some of the instructions are different. I think the best course is to do your best to bring the required documents. I requested a copy of the certificado de alumbramiento from the local civil registry and it was a signed copy, but not with the official seal. In the end, just a regular copy was sufficient. 
 
3. True, they requested it in a certain order but the official didn't ask for it that way (see list). This list was the order that we had to put it in outside the embassy while waiting in line. So, one tip is if you come early in the am have everything organized and you can be the first to get in!
Favor de tener los siguientes documentos en orden:
confirmación de cita Forma DS-2029 (solicitud de CRBA) Acta de nacimiento original del niño(a) Acta(s) de nacimiento o naturalización de papá y/o mamá americano(s) Acta de matrimonio si están casados Identificación de ambos padres SI TRAE COPIAS adjunte una cada una Same as you, the most important part was establishing physical presence. He asked me questions like, 'How long have you lived in the US?' I used my high school transcript and college transcript for this. I went ahead and brought many other documents like a social security statement , tax filings and W2s. He also took copies of pictures of us together before, during and after the pregnancy , including in the hospital. Although, it may not be necessary to make copies of everything (he made copies of some things), it is a good idea to bring your own. 
 
It was an overall, lovely experience. Looking back I would have been more relaxed about it. But I am glad I was over prepared and not under prepared! We got her passport and CRBA roughly three weeks after.
 

I don’t have much to add from an immigration standpoint (sorry about that) but I will say that if this is your first baby especially (or even if it’s not) having family around you is ideal. You will need a ton of help the first few months. If it turns out you can’t get back to the UK then consider hiring a baby nurse or have your fiancé take some time off work/paternity leave. Good luck with everything.