Birth

Appointments are required to apply for a Consular Report of Birth Abroad (CRBA). To schedule an appointment click here.

A Consular Report of Birth Abroad (CRBA) is an official document certifying the acquisition of U.S. citizenship at birth of a person born overseas to a U.S. citizen parent(s). If you are a U.S. citizen and the parent of a child born outside of the United States, you should document your child’s U.S. citizenship with a CRBA.

If you arrive at the consulate for any CRBA service without an appointment, you will be asked to return after securing an appointment. Thank you for your cooperation with this policy, which will ensure that services are offered in a more efficient manner, with shorter wait times.

WARNING: False statements made knowingly and willfully in passport applications, affidavits or other supporting documents are punishable by fine and/or imprisonment under the provisions of 18 USC 1001 and/or 18 USC 1542.

Important: Determine whether your biological child qualifies for U.S. citizenship

Your biological child has a claim to U.S. citizenship if he/she meets ONE of the following five conditions. One of these conditions must have been met prior to the birth of the child:

  1. BOTH of the child’s biological parents are U.S. citizens and one of the parents has resided in the United States at some point.
  2. Only ONE of the child’s biological parents is a U.S. citizen, the child’s parents are MARRIED at the time of birth, and the U.S. citizen parent has been physically present in the U.S. for a period of at least five years, two of which must have been after the age of 14.
  3. The child was born to an UNMARRIED, MALE U.S. citizen who has been physically present in the U.S. for a period of at least five years, two of which must have been after the age of 14. In this case, the U.S. father must agree in writing to support his child until the child reaches the age of 18 years.
  4. The child was born on or before June 11, 2017 to an UNMARRIED, FEMALE U.S. citizen who has spent at least 365 days of uninterrupted physical presence in the U.S. at any time prior to birth.
  5. The child was born after June 11, 2017 to an UNMARRIED, FEMALE U.S. citizen who has been physically present in the U.S. for a period of at least five years, two of which must have been after the age of 14.

In advance of your appointment, please complete Form DS-2029: Application for a Consular Report of Birth Abroad (PDF 345 KB). We recommend filling it in electronically. The application must be complete, including a list of every period of time you were physically in the United States prior to the birth of the child, even for one day, but should not be signed before your appointment. FAILURE TO FOLLOW INSTRUCTIONS MAY RESULT IN LENGTHY DELAYS.

To file a Report of Birth, the child must have been born less than eighteen years from the reporting date.

The day of the interview; the following documents should be provided

  • Parent’s ID (U.S. passports, Certificate of Naturalization if applicable, Paraguayan I.D. card)
  • Original or certified copy of parents’ Marriage Certificate and original or certified proof of termination of any previous marriages. If the marriage took place in Paraguay, the certificate should be legalized by the office of the Civil Registry (stamped on the back).
  • Evidence of parents’ physical presence in the U.S. (transcripts, school or university records, employment or rent payments, etc.)
  • Child’s copy of “Acta de Nacimiento” (Copy of “Acta de Nacimiento” issued and legalized by the Paraguayan Civil Registry)

This document MUST be legalized by the Civil Registry (stamped on the back).

  • Documentation of any prenatal medical care that the mother received in Paraguay or elsewhere during pregnancy with names and addresses of physicians, clinics or hospitals where care was received. (i.e. sonogram)
  • We strongly recommend that parents apply for a U.S. Passport for their child at the same time that they apply for the Consular Report of Birth Abroad.
  • We also recommend to bring photographs of the pregnant mother.

If applying for a U.S. Passport:

Once these documents are presented, a CONSULAR REPORT OF BIRTH ABROAD and a U.S. PASSPORT can be prepared.

Yes, we must see the baby or child we register.

The Consular Report of Birth costs $100.00 or the equivalent in guaranies.

The Passport costs $ 115.00 or the equivalent in guaranies.

Please note that we can only accept U.S. dollar or Guarani cash currency.

The Consular Report of Birth (FS-240) is a light blue certificate resembling those issued in the United States which serves as evidence of the child’s U.S. citizenship.

All applications are permanently filed by the Department of State. For a fee of $50.00, one replacement copy may be obtained by writing to:

U.S. Department of State
Passport Services
Vital Records Section
1111 19th Street, NW, Suite 510
Washington, DC 20522-1705
(Request for a FS-240 must include the original FS-240 or a notarized affidavit attesting to its disposition.)

Virtually all children born in Paraguay are Paraguayan by law. This also includes children who are born citizens of the U.S. All birth must be recorded with the Paraguayan government. Paraguay does not accept dual nationality (American / Paraguayan). All U.S. citizens are required by law to present a valid U.S. passport to enter and leave the United States (Section 215 b of the Immigration and Naturalization Act).

 

 

ADOPTEES: Occasionally, American citizens try to register the birth of adopted babies with the Embassy and attempt to obtain citizenship for the child in this way. Babies of other parents born and adopted abroad by American citizens are not born Americans and do not qualified for American passports.  They must travel to the U.S. on immigrant visas.  It is illegal to attempt to obtain U.S. passports by fraud.

 

 

Some examples of documentary evidence which may be considered to demonstrate that physical presence requirements have been met may include (but are not limited to):

  • Wage and tax statements (W-2)
  • Academic transcripts
  • Employment records
  • Rental receipts
  • Records of honorable U.S. military service, employment with U.S. Government or certain intergovernmental international organizations; or as a dependent, unmarried child and member of the household of a parent in such service or employment (except where indicated).
  • U.S. passport stamps may be considered a part of the evidence submitted, but should not be the sole documentary evidence. Drivers’ licenses do not constitute evidence of physical presence.

If you have other children who have been issued with a Consular Report of Birth Abroad, this may be considered as supplemental evidence. Please also read important information regarding Supporting Documents.

Generally, immediate family members may accompany passport or CRBA applicants to their appointment interviews at a U.S. embassy or consulate, and all minor children must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.  Passport or CRBA applicants also have the option of being accompanied by an attorney at their appointment interview.  Attendance by any third party, including an attorney, accompanying an applicant is subject to the following parameters designed to ensure an orderly appointment interview process and to maintain the integrity of the adjudication of the application(s):

  • Given space limitations in the consular section, not more than one attendee at a time will be allowed to accompany an applicant (or the applicant’s parent or guardian if the applicant is a minor).
  • Attendance by an attorney does not excuse the applicant and/or the minor applicant’s parent or guardian from attending the appointment interview in person.
  • The manner in which a passport or CRBA appointment interview is conducted, and the scope and nature of the inquiry, shall at all times be at the discretion of the consular officer, following applicable Departmental guidance.
  • It is expected that attorneys will provide their clients with relevant legal advice prior to, rather than at, the appointment interview, and will advise their clients prior to the appointment interview that the client will participate in the appointment interview with minimal assistance.
  • Attorneys may not engage in any form of legal argumentation during the appointment interview and before the consular officer.
  • Attendees other than a parent or guardian accompanying a minor child may not answer a consular officer’s question on behalf or in lieu of an applicant, nor may they summarize, correct, or attempt to clarify an applicant’s response, or interrupt or interfere with an applicant’s responses to a consular officer’s questions.
  • To the extent that an applicant does not understand a question, s/he should seek clarification from the consular officer directly.
  • The consular officer has sole discretion to determine the appropriate language(s) for communication with the applicant, based on the facility of both officer and applicant and the manner and form that best facilitate communication between the consular officer and the applicant.  Attendees may not demand that communications take place in a particular language solely for the benefit of the attendee.  Nor may attendees object to or insist on the participation of an interpreter in the appointment interview, to the qualifications of any interpreter, or to the manner or substance of any translation.
  • No attendee may coach or instruct applicants as to how to answer a consular officer’s question.
  • Attendees may not object to a consular officer’s question on any ground (including that the attendee regards the question to be inappropriate, irrelevant, or adversarial), or instruct the applicant not to answer a consular officer’s question.  Attendees may not interfere in any manner with the consular officer’s ability to conduct all inquiries and fact-finding necessary to exercise his or her responsibilities to adjudicate the application.
  • During a passport or CRBA appointment interview, attendees may not discuss or inquire about other applications.
  • Attendees may take written notes, but may not otherwise record the appointment interviews.
  • Attendees may not engage in any other conduct that materially disrupts the appointment interview.  For example, they may not yell at or otherwise attempt to intimidate or abuse a consular officer or staff, and they may not engage in any conduct that threatens U.S. national security or the security of the embassy or its personnel.  Attendees must follow all security policies of the Department of State and the U.S. embassy or consulate where the appointment interview takes place.

Attendees may not engage in any conduct that violates this policy and/or otherwise materially disrupts the appointment interview.  Failure to observe these parameters will result in a warning to the attendee and, if ignored, the attendee may be asked to leave the appointment interview and/or the premises, as appropriate.  It would then be the applicant’s choice whether to continue the appointment interview without the attendee present, subject to the consular officer’s discretion to terminate the appointment interview.  The safety and privacy of all applicants awaiting consular services, as well as of consular and embassy personnel, is of paramount consideration.