What is a Consular Report of Birth Abroad or CRBA?
A Consular Report of Birth (CRBA) is evidence of United States citizenship issued to a child born abroad to a U.S. citizen parent or parents who meet the requirements for transmitting citizenship under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). In simple words, applying for a CRBA is the way a U.S. citizen can transmit his citizenship to a child born abroad.
Do all children born abroad qualify for a CRBA?
In order to transmit U.S. Citizenship to your child using this method there are a couple of conditions in order to qualify:
- At the time of birth, one or both of the parents must be a U.S. Citizen.
- The transmitting parent (U.S. Citizen) must have a minimum time of physical presence inside the United States or its outlying possession, before the child is born.
Most of the cases require five years of physical presence before the child is born, two of them have to be after the age of 14, however the law that applies on each case may be different. For detailed information regarding physical presence requirements, please check the travel.state.gov website: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/legal/travel-legal-considerations/us-citizenship/Acquisition-US-Citizenship-Child-Born-Abroad.html. - There has to be a biological relationship between the child and the transmitting U.S. citizen.
- There has to be a legal relationship between the child and the transmitting U.S. citizen.
- The applicant (child) needs to be under 18 by the time you apply.
If the applicant is over 18 and qualifies for requirements 1 to 4, please contact us for specific procedures.
How much does it cost to apply?
The application fee for the Consular Report of Birth Abroad is $100.00 and is non-refundable. You will have to pay this fee at the time of the appointment. You can pay in cash or credit card; no checks or debit cards are accepted.
How do I start the process to apply for a CRBA?
You need to fill out a DS-2029 form in order to apply for the CRBA. Before you get to the form you need to collect the following documents:
- Ecuadorian birth registration (Inscripción de Nacimiento o copia de Acta Registral de Nacimiento) issued within the last 30 days
You get this from the Ecuadorian Civil Registry - Proof of citizenship for U.S. Citizen parent(s)
U.S. passport, U.S. birth certificate or Naturalization/Citizenship certificate - Proof of ID for parents
for U.S. Citizens: U.S. passport
for Non-U.S. Citizens: Ecuadorian cedula or foreign passport. - Marital status documentation of parents, if applicable
Current or previous marriage certificates. If the current/previous marriage is/was in Ecuador, a copia de Acta Registral de Matrimonio is required.
Divorce decrees for previous marriages in the United States.
Death certificates, if applicable. - Physical presence documentation of transmitting parent
Anything that can support your physical presence in the United States for a long period of time. Please keep in mind that residence is not the same as physical presence, in this process you need information/documentation that can prove your physical presence in the United States.
For example: having a driver license does not prove you where physical more than the day that you got the license, since it can be obtained without actually living in the United States. On the other hand, having transcripts shows that you have been present in school for an x period of time, even some of the transcripts count the days that you were present.
We understand that this may be difficult to understand, this is why we have dedicated an specific section to explain this particular item.
I have collected the information, what is the next step?
You need to fill out correctly the form to apply for a CRBA. The form to apply for a CRBA is the DS-2029 Form (PDF 326kb), which can be downloaded from the travel.state.gov website.
The form includes instructions on the first pages however we recommend you read the “How to fill out properly the DS-2029 form” webpage.
Now you have to submit your application
Make sure you have reviewed all the requirements on this website and email the Consular Section where you wish to have your appointment.
U.S. Embassy in Quito
Please send the e-mail to acsquito@state.gov with the requirements mentioned below.
U.S. Consulate in Guayaquil
Please send the e-mail to guayaquilcrba@state.gov with the requirements mentioned below
Please send:
- Ecuadorian birth registration (copia de Acta Registral de Nacimiento o Inscripción de Nacimiento) of the child
issued within the last 30 days- The first two pages (page 1 of 5 and 2 of 5, not the instructions) of the DS-2029 form (PDF 326kb)
Please use your child’s name as the subject of the email.
Our mailboxes have a 2MB limit, if your files are over this size please split or compress the files. We recommend you send the files in PDF format.
You may apply at the Consular Section of your choice but we recommend that you apply in the Consular Section that covers your district.
The Consular Districts are divided in provinces.
- The U.S. Embassy in Quito covers: Bolivar, Carchi, Chimborazo, Cotopaxi, Esmeraldas, Imbabura, Pastaza, Pichincha, Morona Santiago, Napo, Orellana, Santo Domingo de los Tsachilas, Sucumbios and Tungurahua.
- The U.S. Consulate in Guayaquil covers: Azuay, Cañar, El Oro, Galápagos, Guayas, Loja, Los Ríos, Manabí, Santa Elena and Zamora Chinchipe.
What if my child does not qualify. Can I still transmit my citizenship?
If your child does not qualify for this process of citizenship, you can still transfer citizenship under other possible scenarios. Please reach out to USCIS for more information at https://www.uscis.gov/us-citizenship/citizenship-through-parents.
