Consular Report of Birth Abroad

What is a Consular Report of Birth?

The birth of a child abroad to U.S. citizen parent(s) should be reported as soon as possible to the nearest American consular office for the purpose of establishing an official record of the child’s claim to U.S. citizenship at birth. The official record is in the form of a Consular Report of Birth Abroad of a Citizen of the United States of America. This document, referred to as the Consular Report of Birth or FS-240, is considered a basic United States citizenship document. An original FS-240 is furnished to the parent(s) at the time the registration is approved.

How do I know if my child is eligible?

If you and your spouse are both U.S. citizens and either of you have ever resided in the US prior to your child’s birth; your child became a U.S. citizen at birth. If only one of you is a U.S. citizen, the U.S. citizen parent will have to present evidence of a total of five years physical presence (not necessarily consecutive) in the U.S., two of which must have been after the age of 14 in order to establish that the child acquired US citizenship at birth. If you think you may have difficulty showing five years physical presence, you may want to consider giving birth in the US. The alternative would be to apply for an immigrant visa for your child. We urge you to take care of the formalities of applying for a CRBA and passport as soon as possible after the child’s birth in order to avoid future difficulties or delays that could arise if your child does not have a US travel document.

What documents do I need to apply?

In order to document your child’s U.S. citizenship, you will need to present the following information to the consular officer.  Items 1- 9 are required in all cases.

1. PARENT’S PROOF OF US CITIZENSHIP: U.S. passport, naturalization certificate, or official birth certificate from a US state or territory.
   
2. PROOF OF CHILD’S BIRTH: original or certified true copy of child’s birth certificate. It should show the child’s and parents’ names, date and place of the child’s birth.
   
3. PROOF OF PARENTS’ MARRIAGE: (if applicable) original or certified true copy of parents’ marriage certificate.
   
4. PROOF OF TERMINATION OF ALL PRIOR MARRIAGES OF PARENTS: original or certified true copies of divorce or death certificates.
   
5. COMPLETE ENGLISH TRANSLATION OF ANY NON-ENGLISH LANGUAGE DOCUMENT.
   
6. APPLICATION FOR CONSULAR REPORT OF BIRTH (DS-2029). 
   
7. US PASSPORT APPLICATION (DSP-11). PRINT PASSPORT APPLICATION FORM (DS-11)
   
8. TWO 2" X 2" PHOTOS WITH A WHITE BACKGROUND (HEAD SIZE 1"- 1 3/8") SHOWING THE CHILD’S FULL FACE WITH THE EYES OPEN.
   
9. SOCIAL SECURITY CARD APPLICATION (SS-5). PRINT SOCIAL SECURITY FORM (SS-5).

In some cases, the following may also be required:

Evidence of U.S. citizen parent's physical presence in the United States: This is required when only one parent is a US citizen even if that parent was born in the US. Merely maintaining a residence in the US (i.e. having a home in the US, maintaining voter registration, etc.) is not sufficient, you must actually be in the US for a total of five years. The following items may be used to demonstrate your presence in the US: school transcripts, old passports, employment records, social security records, cancelled checks, and tax records.

Affidavit of Parentage: This is required for a child conceived out of wedlock.

Evidence of parents physical presence together at time of conception: This is required if the child was conceived out of wedlock.

How much does it cost?

There is a US$65 fee for the Consular Report of Birth Abroad and a US$82 fee for the passport application for a total of US$147. It may be paid in US or Bruneian currency.

How do I submit the application?

A local staff member is available to answer inquiries Monday through Friday from 1:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.  Processing of applications is by appointment only.  Applicants can make an appointment by phone or email: 

Tel: (673) 222-0384
email: ConsularBrunei@state.gov

On the day of the appointment, both parents and the child will have to appear before a consular officer. The consular officer will take the oath of the U.S. citizen parent executing the CRBA application (DS-2029). Both parents will then execute the child’s passport application. Please do not sign the form(s) until the consular officer asks you to do so. 

How do I obtain a replacement or additional copies of a Consular Report of Birth Abroad?

The Embassy does not retain completed CRBA files. Rather, these are forwarded to the Department of State in Washington, D.C. Replacement or additional copies of the CRBA must therefore be requested from the Department of State. Additional information including fees and request requirements is available on the Department website: http://travel.state.gov/family/issues_birth.html