If you happen to be an American living in Paris, and you happen to have a baby while you are living in Paris, then you’re going to be in luck because that baby is automatically both American and French and will not have to spend a day each year at the prefecture arguing with the person on the other side of a plexiglass window. But, before that little Franco-American baby can officially get their American passport, you’ll need to take a little trip to the American Embassy to apply for a Consular Report of Birth Abroad, something I had never heard of until I had my baby and had to google how to let the US know he existed.

What Is A Consular Report Of Birth Abroad?

The Consular Report of Birth Abroad is like a substitute American birth certificate that essentially states that the baby is automatically American upon birth thanks to this and that law passed some time ago. It’s a useful document that is very necessary to have in order to get an American passport. This description seems pretty obvious, but if you happen to have been born in the US, such a document and the need for it is a completely foreign concept until you actually have a little dual-citizen baby and you start googling some logistical questions.

Prepping To Request Your Consular Report Of Birth Abroad

If you’re thinking that applying for this consular report of birth abroad at the US Embassy has got to be easier than the average visa appointment at the prefecture de police, you would be correct. However, the prep for the appointment is just as taxing, and in fact is very rooted in taxes–tax documents that is–so I hope you’ve saved yours. The American Embassy to France website has a very helpful page that explains step-by-step what you need to obtain the consular report of birth abroad akak CRBA, how to make the appointment, and what to bring. The tricky part is actually gathering up all the documents.

Yes, you need to have copies of your birth certificate and marriage license to prove who you are, that you’re the baby’s parents, that you’re married. But the weirdest part is that you need to also prove that you lived in the US for a substantial chunk of time, and everywhere you lived before moving to France to verify that you have the right to pass on citizenship to your child. This was weird to me, because I’m used to having to prove that I’m who I say I am in France. Now for this consular report of birth, I had to prove I was who I said I was as an American, and that I actually lived there.

Passport stamps aren’t sufficient to prove your residency, it has to be things like bank documents, work contracts, rental agreements, school transcripts, or W-2s, which were the easiest to find in old emails. What I couldn’t figure out was how many years I needed proof of residency for, especially because no set number of years is stated. I assumed I had to prove my residency for every year I lived in the US. Another American I spoke to said five years. A website I found said ten years. I went ahead and went back to 2011, but also had my undergrad transcripts and vaccination records just in case those helped. In the end, I don’t know how far back they looked.

Making your US Embassy Appointment

Unlike many French prefecture appointments, making the appointment is pretty straightforward. The link to book the appointment is readily available, the appointments are available about 2-4 weeks out instead of months, you get to pick your day and time. Imagine that. The Paris prefecture de police could never. This makes it so you can also wait until you have all of your paperwork to make the appointment since appointments are readily available.

Attending Your US Embassy Appointment For A Consular Report of Birth Abroad

At prefecture appointments, it’s usually best to score the earliest appointment available and get there the allowable 30 minutes in advance. This was not the case at the US embassy in France. There’s a long line of people waiting to get in, and the security guards don’t let anyone in until their appointed time, sometimes long after. We had an 8:45am appointment, which didn’t make sense as the embassy opened at 9:00am. We waited with the baby in the cold until they called in the 8:45am group near 9:15am, though they did give priority to folks with kids.

The security check was pretty thorough including two rounds of metal detectors and bag inspections. It is the Embassy after all. Some websites say you may only bring a clear bag with necessary items and absolutely no computers are allowed. The email containing your appointment information, however, does not say this, so many folks show up with a bunch of gear that they can’t bring in. Phones are confiscated and stored, to be claimed via a numbered ticket after your appointment. However they won’t even hold a laptop for you, so if you bring one you’re screwed. I guess you can hide it in the bushes somewhere.

As long as the wait outside and security check-in took, the system inside was far smoother. An automated kiosk asks you to select what you’re there for, then prints you a ticket. There are many, many windows open to help people, plenty of seats, and everyone who worked there was super friendly and helpful. Or maybe just by comparison to what I’m used to at a prefecture appointment. Once your number is called, you present all your paperwork to a clerk at a window, sign some forms, and then wait again for them to evaluate your file. After about half an hour of waiting, You’re called up again to receive the news of whether your file is approved or not.

At this point the clerk has evaluated all of your paperwork, but asks you to tell them about your life in America. I had no idea what she meant by this, so I just launched into a short, fact-based history of myself. Where I was born, when and where I moved to, where I went for undergrad, what I studied, where I worked, grad school, etc. She seemed satisfied, then had us sign one more document and told us congratulations on the new American in our family. They also give you a little American flag which is pretty cute.

Obtaining Your Child’s Consular Report Of Birth Abroad

Once you’re approved, you have to wait to actually receive the dang certificate. You can have this mailed to you if you have time and bring a large self-addressed, pre-paid envelope (the legal sized ones, not a normal letter size). If you forget to bring one, you can buy one there from a machine, which is so brilliant and convenient.

If you don’t have time to wait for it to arrive in the mail, you can come back to the Embassy and pick it up in person. To do this, you just return to the embassy between 10am and 11am on any weekday without an appointment and show the email you receive to the guards who will let you right in, after taking your phone again, of course. Then you just take a number and wait for them to bring the certificate to you. Et voila, it’s all done. Our CRBA was ready in about six business days from the date of our appointment, even though the folks who worked there said two to four weeks.