Report Birth Abroad

General Information

The following persons born abroad are U.S. citizens at birth:

A child born to two U.S. citizen parents, at least one of whom resided in the United States or one of its outlying possessions prior to the birth of the child.

A child born before November 14, 1986 to one U.S. citizen parent and one foreign national parent. Prior to the birth of the child, the citizen parent must have been physically present in the United States or its outlying possessions for a period or periods totaling not less than ten years, at least five of which were after attaining the age of fourteen.

A child born on or after November 14, 1986 to one U.S. citizen parent and one foreign national parent. Prior to the child's birth, the citizen parent must have been physically present in the United States or its outlying possessions for a period or periods totaling not less than five years, at least two of which were after attaining the age of fourteen.

Note: The Immigration and Nationality Act states that periods abroad under the following circumstances may be counted as physical presence in the United States:

Service in the Armed Forces of the United States;
Employment with the United States Government;
Employment with an international organization as defined in Section I of the International Organizations Immunities Act.
In addition, time spent abroad as the dependent of a U.S. citizen parent in one of the three categories above is also counted as physical presence in the United States.

How to register your child as a U.S. citizen
One parent must come in person to a U.S. consular office. Please do not come shortly before closing time. The actual waiting time varies, depending upon your place in line and the number and urgency of the consular cases we are processing; you should expect to be present for a couple of hours. If you are also applying for a passport, then both parents and the child must appear.  Please see the section on passport application on the following pages.