Hellobee Boards

Good morning! The process is easy if you have the right documents. Basically i had to prove not just that i was American but also that i had lived in the U.S. a certain number of years. I've found the best way to do this is with transcripts (high school, college, grad school). You also need some "proof" the baby is yours, like ultrasounds, photos of you pregnant, etc.

http://mexico.usembassy.gov/eng/eacs_report_birth_abroad.html

You and your husband are both US citizens (I think) so it should be even easier for you.

You can make an appointment as soon as the baby's born and request the CRBA and passport simultaneously. We got he passport first (maybe within 3 weeks) so we were good to travel!

I made an appointment online on the American Embassy in Paris' website. I filled out the forms found online for consular report of birth, social security card and US passport. The documents were pretty easy to get together, the biggest thing was getting passport photos taken which isn't easy with a 2 week old!
Like Sloaneandpuffy, I had to prove that I had lived in the United States for a minimum of 5 years, 2 of which had to be since the age of 14. I requested high school transcripts and brought those as proof of my time in the US. However, I did not need to prove that the baby was mine with photos. Her French birth certificate was proof enough.
My husband and I went to the appointment, it took about 1 hour and we received the consular report of birth abroad and the passport about 4 days later.

I think the requirement is different if you're both US citizens but it seems rather non-specific. do you have old passports with entry/exit stamps?

I agree with @looch, it sounds highly complicated. Planning to give birth at a different country other than one you're residing in would take a whole lot of planning and $$$. Even if money isn't a problem, airlines won't allow pregnant women on board past a certain date, so that would mean you'll have to travel and find accommodations way in advance and then stay there a few months after your LO is born. I "think" you're supposed to go to your embassy at your country of residence, but then your LO won't be able to fly anywhere without a passport. So you'll have to either apply at LO's country of birth (which won't be your legal resident) and hope they can process the paperwork for you, or you'll have to fly back to where you're residing and leave LO there to do the paperwork, which all need to be translated and notarized because it's not their own country. I think most developed countries have a 3 month limit so you'll have to leave and come back regardless. So I'm wondering if it's even possible to do. It just sounds really, really complicated.

I actually have LO's appointment this Friday. This is what I need to submit: http://sweden.usembassy.gov/consulate/acs19.html

But they emailed me a reminder and said: "Proof of U.S. citizen parent’s physical presence in the U.S.: High school and college ranscripts, military records, and employment records are best, as they show periods of time in the U.S. Apartment leases and notarized letters from employers may be also be accepted. Diplomas, bank statements, and Social Security statements are not recommended, as they do not show proof of physical presence. Please make sure you bring sufficient documentation to cover the required period of physical presence. Applications with insufficient documentary proof of physical presence may be denied or delayed."

Oh bugger, thanks for reminding me of this! I forgot I need to register LO's birth! I've been too busy trying to get LO's Aussie passport to think about the American one. One of the issues we're going to have is that there's no consulate in Brisbane, so we'll have to either get down to Canberra or figure something else out. Maybe something to consider - unless you're in a country's capital, there's no guarantee there will be a consulate, so check beforehand.

Wait a minute, Kosovo....did you have a different user name at some point?

If it's just driving through, then maybe they won't even check for the baby's passport so all is good? I would email the Embassy in Kosovo for their advice and see what they say. It might be more common than we all think.

@Arden: I've only been to Kosovo once and we flew, so I have no idea how arduous the drive is. I'd be more nervous about delivering my child on the side of the road, my first labor was only 12 hours, so I don't know if I could have made it to a hospital in time.

I would also be worried about how I'd pay for services...no idea what your insurance covers, if you have to buy supplemental insurance, etc. I don't know about Austria, but just driving over the border into Switzerland wouldn't fly. They'd see your car has plates from a non EU country and you better believe they'd control your car. I've also heard stories where they've had police board the train in order to arrest people who were trying to come in via train.

In any event, I hope it works out, whatever you end up doing. Good luck to you and your family!

@Arden: My son's godfather is originally from Kosovo, we were there about 3 years ago for his wedding. We were just outside of Pristina. We were only there for about 3 days, we didn't have a huge amount of time to do anything, so we plan to return another time when my son is older and now that his parents have pretty much retired there.

What about looking into a hospital that is used by the UN Peacekeepers? They might make special provisions for you, no idea, but I agree, I'd not be comfortable with medical treatment there unless I personally knew the medical staff, but even then, who knows. I'd be most nervous about NICU care if needed.

I really think the issue you're going to have is that you are residing in one country and delivering in another. I am sure though, the consulates know what to do in these events, women have been known to deliver while on vacation, so there's got to be an action plan in place. I think the issue is that you're dealing with a country that some people don't recognize as a country, so who knows what the policy is, YKWIM?

@Arden: yes, for sure. We have to keep in touch.