How to Fill Out Form DS-2029: Consular Report of Birth Abroad

Form DS-2029 is the application you file at a U.S. embassy or consulate to obtain a Consular Report of Birth Abroad (CRBA) for a child born outside the United States to at least one U.S. citizen parent. To fill out Form DS-2029, complete Section A in advance with the child’s details, both parents’ biographical and marital histories, and a chronological record of the citizen parent’s physical presence in the United States; Sections B and C are sworn statements you sign in front of a consular officer at the interview.¹ The fee is $100, and the application must be filed before your child turns 18.²

Before You Start

The form only works if your child actually acquired citizenship at birth, so check the rule that applies to your family before you spend time on the physical-presence table. When both parents are U.S. citizens, at least one must have lived in the United States or an outlying possession at some point before the child’s birth, with no minimum duration. When only one parent is a U.S. citizen and the other is a non-citizen, the citizen parent must have been physically present in the United States for at least five years before the birth, two of them after age 14. When the other parent is a U.S. national but not a citizen, the requirement is one continuous year of physical presence.³

Different thresholds apply when the parents were not married at the time of birth. A U.S. citizen mother must have been physically present in the United States or an outlying possession for a continuous period of at least one year before the child’s birth. A U.S. citizen father must meet the same five-years/two-after-14 rule that applies to married couples and must also have a genetic relationship with the child, agree in writing to provide financial support until age 18, and establish paternity by legitimation, written acknowledgment under oath, or court order before the child turns 18.⁴

Time spent abroad in the U.S. Armed Forces, in federal government employment, or working for a qualifying international organization counts toward the physical-presence requirement. That credit also extends to the dependent unmarried children of people in those positions.³

What Section A Asks For

Section A is the part you complete before your appointment.¹ It opens with the child’s information: full legal name, sex, date of birth, and place of birth (city and country). Enter the name exactly as it appears on the foreign birth certificate you will present.

The bulk of Section A collects parallel information for each parent. Expect fields for full name, any previous legal names, date and place of birth, citizenship status at the time of the child’s birth, current address and contact information, and complete marital history. That marital history matters: list dates and places of all marriages and how each ended, and be ready to back up divorces or a prior spouse’s death with certified documents.

Match every name across every document. If the local birth certificate spells a parent’s name differently than the parent’s passport, come to the interview with something explaining the discrepancy, such as a legal name-change decree. Small inconsistencies are one of the most common reasons consular officers request additional documentation.

Listing Physical Presence in Fields 2j/3j and 2k/3k

The critical fields are 2j/3j and 2k/3k, where each citizen parent lists periods of physical presence in the United States and any qualifying time abroad in government service. The consular officer uses this table to verify the parent accumulated enough total time to meet the statutory threshold, so treat it as the core of the application rather than a summary.

Fill these fields out chronologically with specific dates, not approximations. “September 1998 to May 2002, attended State University, Ohio” is far more useful to the reviewing officer than “approximately four years in college.” Cover every year from the citizen parent’s birth through the child’s date of birth. Gaps invite follow-up requests that delay your case.

Build the table from records you can prove. Evidence the State Department accepts includes school transcripts, employment records, tax returns, bank statements, medical records, utility bills, and rent receipts.¹ Passport entry and exit stamps establish specific dates. Social Security earnings statements confirm years of U.S.-based employment. Military service members should draw dates from the DD-214 separation statement or Leave and Earnings Statement.⁵ Where documents don’t cover a period, a sworn affidavit from someone with personal knowledge of your presence in the United States during that time can fill the gap.

Sections B and C: The Sworn Statements

You do not sign Sections B and C in advance. Both are affirmations administered by the consular officer at the interview.

Section B applies only when the child was born out of wedlock and the father is the U.S. citizen parent. In that section, the father swears under oath to provide financial support for the child until age 18. This is the written support agreement required by 8 U.S.C. 1409.

Section C is the general affirmation, where the parent or guardian swears that the information in the application is true. Both parents typically attend and sign what applies to them.

Documents to Bring to the Interview

The signed form is only useful with the documents that back it up. Bring originals and one photocopy of each of the following.⁵

The child’s foreign birth certificate, with an English translation if needed.
Proof of the citizen parent’s U.S. citizenship: a valid U.S. passport, previous CRBA, naturalization certificate, or Certificate of Citizenship.
The parents’ marriage certificate, plus divorce decrees or death certificates ending any prior marriages.
The physical-presence evidence you used to build fields 2j/3j and 2k/3k.
Both parents’ government-issued photo IDs.
A recent passport-style photo of the child.
If the parents were unmarried, evidence placing both parents together around the time of conception, such as passport stamps, travel records, photographs, or correspondence.

Translation format varies by post. Some embassies accept an informal translation you prepare yourself; others expect a signed statement from the translator certifying accuracy.⁶ Check with your embassy before the appointment.

If the documentary evidence does not clearly establish a genetic or gestational relationship between the child and the U.S. citizen parent, the consular officer may request DNA testing. The test must be performed by an AABB-accredited lab, results must be sent directly from the lab to the embassy, and the test must show at least 99.5 percent certainty of parentage.⁷

Submitting the Form and Paying the Fee

The State Department accepts CRBA applications through its MyTravelGov portal, where you can complete and submit Section A electronically and manage the case online.⁸ The $100 CRBA fee is paid online through the eCRBA portal when possible, or at the embassy cashier window on the day of your appointment if online payment is not available.⁹ The fee is non-refundable, even if the application is ultimately denied.

The passport application and Social Security number request are not part of eCRBA. If you plan to apply for the child’s first U.S. passport at the same appointment, bring a completed paper Form DS-11, a separate passport photo, and the passport fee.¹¹

At the Interview

The child and both parents attend the appointment. The consular officer reviews your original documents, administers the oath for Sections B and C, and may ask questions about the family’s history and the citizen parent’s time in the United States. The officer can approve the case on the spot or request additional evidence. If more evidence is needed, you generally have 90 days to provide it before the case is administratively closed, after which you would refile and pay the fee again.10U.S. Embassy and Consulate in Nigeria. Frequently Asked Questions about the Consular Report of Birth Abroad (CRBA)

If a Parent Cannot Attend

When the parents were unmarried and the U.S. citizen father cannot appear, he must complete and notarize Form DS-5507 (Affidavit of Parentage, Physical Presence and Support) and submit it with a copy of the ID he used at notarization.¹² If you are also applying for the child’s passport, the absent parent must submit a separately notarized Form DS-3053 (Statement of Consent for Passport Issuance).¹³

The attending parent may instead proceed by presenting a birth certificate listing only the applying parent, a court order granting sole custody, or a death certificate for the non-applying parent.¹²

After Approval

The CRBA is printed at Department of State facilities in the United States after your interview. Some posts report roughly three weeks; others four to five weeks, depending on workload and mail transit.⁶ The DS-2029 asks you to choose whether to pick up the completed CRBA at the embassy or have it mailed.¹

If Your Child Is Already 18

The DS-2029 must be filed before the child’s 18th birthday.² An adult born abroad to a U.S. citizen parent who was never issued a CRBA cannot use this form. Two other paths are available: applying for a U.S. passport directly, which involves the same acquisition-of-citizenship review, or filing Form N-600 with USCIS for a Certificate of Citizenship.¹⁴ The N-600 is not a naturalization application; it asks USCIS to recognize citizenship already acquired at birth, and the analysis is based on the law in effect on the applicant’s date of birth.

1
U.S. Department of State. Application for Consular Report of Birth Abroad of a Citizen of the United States of America
2
U.S. Department of State. Birth of U.S. Citizens and Non-Citizen Nationals Abroad
3
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 U.S. Code 1401 – Nationals and Citizens of United States at Birth
4
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 U.S. Code 1409 – Children Born Out of Wedlock
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U.S. Embassy in Japan. Checklist for Reporting Birth in Japan to U.S. Citizen Parent(s)
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U.S. Embassy and Consulate in Spain and Andorra. Consular Report of Birth Abroad (CRBA)
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U.S. Department of State. Information for Parents on U.S. Citizenship and DNA Testing
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MyTravelGov. Welcome to MyTravelGov
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U.S. Embassy and Consulate in Nigeria. Checklist for Consular Report of Birth Abroad (CRBA) with First-Time Passport
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U.S. Embassy in Japan. eCRBA FAQs

At the Interview
The child and both parents attend the appointment. The consular officer reviews your original documents, administers the oath for Sections B and C, and may ask questions about the family’s history and the citizen parent’s time in the United States. The officer can approve the case on the spot or request additional evidence. If more evidence is needed, you generally have 90 days to provide it before the case is administratively closed, after which you would refile and pay the fee again.10U.S. Embassy and Consulate in Nigeria. Frequently Asked Questions about the Consular Report of Birth Abroad (CRBA)
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U.S. Embassy in the Dominican Republic. CRBA – If Only One Parent Can Attend
13
U.S. Department of State. Statement of Consent – U.S. Passport Issuance to a Child
14
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Instructions for Application for Certificate of Citizenship (Form N-600)