Since Crosby was born here in the UK and not in the US, we had to register her birth with the US government and US Embassy in London in order to gain her American birth certificate, social security card and number, and American passport. We wanted her to become an official American as soon as she was able. Unfortunately, just because Crosby was born in England does not mean she automatically gains British citizenship. Now, if the reverse situation happens (a British couple has a baby in America), that child does gain automatic American citizenship....
Since we knew we wanted to take Crosby on a trip back to the US in the spring, we wanted to secure her American citizenship paperwork and passport as soon as possible. However the process requires an in-person visit to the US Embassy in London, so a bit of time was needed for me to recover so I could be up for a day out with a newborn in tow.
First, we had to register Crosby's birth in the UK and obtain her UK certificate of birth. Then we had to have Crosby's passport photo taken (of course not simple task since the US passport photo has to be a different size than a British passport photo!). I was very proud of taking Crosby on my own for her photograph to be taken. It was my first outing with her on my own, and I went right after my parents left to go back home. She will use this photo until she is five years old. I think it's crazy because she has already changed, just a few weeks after this was taken.
Once we had her photograph taken and had her UK record of birth paperwork in order, we were then able to make an appointment at the US Embassy for our in-person appointment.
Last month when Crosby was just over one month old, we took a quick day trip down to London to visit the US Embassy there to apply for Crosby's paperwork in person. We were able to just drive straight into the city, park right on the square by the Embassy and Crosby was a perfect baby for the big excursion. We walked through the square in front of the Embassy and took this picture in front of the US Embassy there.
With Dad/Scott in front of the gates of the US Embassy, Crosby sleeping through most of the visit there!
Crosby's US passport has finally arrived. Hooray! Just in time for Crosby's first trip with mom to the US!
5 comments:
Oh gosh, that building looks so familiar. I had a dreadful time last summer, when they rejected my photo - even though we'd done it SO carefully. We nearly didn't get it all sorted out in time to get back into the US. It was very stressful. Glad you had an easier time of it.
How cute Crosby is with her little passport! We are taking Tess to the Embassy on Tuesday to get all of this done. I hope it's as flawless as your visit was. Do you have to get a Visa for Crosby in order to get back into the UK after your trip home? We are going for a visit to the states in August and I know we have to have a Visa for Tess if we want to get back into the UK. Thankfully my husbands work is paying for it and sorting it all out (otherwise it would cost us over 800 pounds - yikes!)
What a cute kid! We have to do this on Friday with our new little boy. Does anybody have an idea of how long it takes? I'm trying to do the whole thing (report of birth/SS#/passport application) in the same day (though I know we won't actually get the documents until later)
Mike, the whole (morning/day) at the embassy took a few hours but then we waited a few weeks for the passport, social security card and birth certificate to come through. I think we arrived about 9am and left there around 12:30pm if that helps you. Just be prepared to wait for a while!
good to know - thanks very much!
Post a Comment