Registering a Child's Birth With the US From Australia

To register an Australian-born child as a US citizen, you apply for a Consular Report of Birth Abroad (CRBA) online, then attend a US consulate with the child. The US Embassy recommends applying for the first US passport at the same time. A notary or JP is needed only when a parent cannot attend and signs a form elsewhere.

Key takeaways

• A CRBA is evidence of US citizenship for a child born abroad to a US citizen parent who meets the conditions in the Immigration and Nationality Act. It must be applied for before the child turns 18.
• You apply through eCRBA on a MyTravelGov account, pay online, then book an in-person appointment at the Consulate General serving your area.
• The child and at least one parent, preferably the US citizen, must attend with original documents, including the full registry birth certificate.
• If the US citizen parent cannot attend, they complete Form DS-5507 and have it notarised by a US notary, or witnessed by a JP in Australia.
• For the passport, an absent parent's consent goes on Form DS-3053, notarised by a notary or JP and less than three months old.

Does your child qualify?

A CRBA does not make a child a US citizen. It records that the child already acquired citizenship at birth through a US citizen parent, under the Immigration and Nationality Act. Whether that happened depends mainly on two things: whether one or both parents were US citizens at the birth, and how long the US citizen parent had been physically present in the United States before the birth.

In broad terms, where one parent is a US citizen and the other is not, the US parent generally needs a set period of physical presence in the United States, part of it after turning 14. Additional rules apply to children born outside marriage to a US citizen father. These are summaries; the consular officer decides eligibility at the interview. The US Embassy's FAQ asks parents to list all periods of physical presence in the United States to the best of their knowledge, even if only the month and year are known, because the officer needs them to decide the child's eligibility.

How does the online application work?

The US Embassy's CRBA page sets out four steps: create a MyTravelGov profile, complete the online application, submit payment online, and schedule an appointment. Its FAQ explains that eCRBA asks for the same information as the paper form, but lets you upload documents, pay and book online, and check the application's status. After paying, you are directed to book an interview at the Consulate General serving your area, allowing 72 hours between payment and the appointment so the payment can be processed.

The FAQ says eCRBA cannot be used for a child born outside Australia, or conceived using assisted reproductive technology such as IVF; those families are asked to contact the consulate for instructions. Payment is through the US government's pay.gov site, in US dollars. We do not quote the fees.

What to bring to the interview

If the transmission requirements are met, the embassy lists these documents:

Item	What the embassy asks for
The child	The child and at least one parent, preferably the US citizen parent, must attend
Birth certificate	The child's full certificate from the Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages; decorative copies are not accepted
Marriage	The parents' registered marriage certificate, if applicable, and evidence ending any previous marriages
US citizenship	The US parent's US passport or naturalisation certificate
Physical presence	Documents showing the US parent's time in the United States before the birth, such as transcripts, employment records, military records or W-2s
Absent US parent	Form DS-5507, notarised, if the US citizen parent cannot attend
Return envelope	A self-addressed Express Post or Registered Post envelope, at least A4

Physical presence evidence is where applications stall. Gather school and university transcripts, old payslips, tax statements and anything else that places the US parent in the United States over the years, not just a current passport.

When a parent cannot attend: DS-5507

This is the first point where a witness comes in. The embassy says that if the US citizen parent cannot attend the appointment, they must complete Form DS-5507, the Affidavit of Parentage, Physical Presence and Support, and have it notarised by a public notary in the United States or a Justice of the Peace in Australia. The form is submitted in their absence.

1. Download the current DS-5507 from the State Department and complete it, but do not sign it.
2. List every period of physical presence in the United States as fully as you can.
3. Sign before the witness: a JP in Australia, or a notary in the United States if the parent is there.
4. Send it with the application, together with the physical presence evidence the form refers to.

An Australian notary can also witness it if you prefer, but the embassy's page names a JP for signing in Australia. Our guide on notaries and JPs explains the difference.

The first passport, and DS-3053

The embassy recommends applying for the child's first US passport at the same appointment as the CRBA. Its page on passports for children under 16 says US rules require both parents' consent. Both parents can attend and sign the DS-11 before the consular officer, or the parent who cannot attend can give consent on Form DS-3053, notarised by a public notary or a JP. The embassy adds three practical points:

• Use the US date format (mm/dd/yyyy), or spell out the month.
• The JP or notary must record the details of the ID the parent shows when signing, not their own registration number, and a copy of that ID goes with the form.
• The notarised form must be less than three months old at the interview.

The passport page also says the child's birth certificate for the passport must be the original full certificate naming the parents who sign, and that a CRBA is not accepted in its place. A parent with sole custody, or one who cannot obtain the other's consent, has separate options on the embassy's page. Our guide to the DS-3053 in Australia covers that form in detail.

The Social Security number, and the Australian side

The embassy's passport page says every applicant must give a Social Security number on the DS-11, and it has separate guidance for children who have never been assigned one. Its eCRBA FAQ also addresses applying for a Social Security number alongside the CRBA, so read that section before the interview rather than leaving the field blank.

None of this changes your child's Australian status. A child born in Australia is generally an Australian citizen from birth if a parent was an Australian citizen or permanent resident at the time, and Australia allows its citizens to hold another citizenship. The Department of Home Affairs explains Australian citizenship. An Australian passport is a separate application to the Australian Passport Office, and the registry birth certificate you ordered for the consulate is the same one Australia uses.

Do you need an apostille?

No apostille appears on the embassy's lists for a CRBA or a child's passport lodged at a US post in Australia. The consulate sees the Australian originals and the witnessed forms directly. An apostille becomes relevant if an Australian document is going to an authority in the United States itself; in Australia, only DFAT issues it. Our guide to apostilles for the USA covers that case.

Common mistakes to avoid

• Bringing a decorative birth certificate instead of the full registry certificate.
• Thin physical presence evidence: a passport alone rarely shows years in the United States.
• Signing a DS-3053 too early, so it is more than three months old at the interview.
• Using the Australian date format on US forms.
• Booking the interview within 72 hours of paying.
• Waiting until the child is nearly 18: the CRBA must be applied for before then.

An illustration

This is an illustration, not a real case. A US-born father and an Australian mother in Perth have a daughter. The father grew up in the United States, so he gathers his high school and college transcripts and old W-2s, completes eCRBA and pays online. He is working away on the interview date, so he signs a DS-5507 before a JP, and a DS-3053 consenting to the passport, with the JP recording his licence details. The mother attends the Consulate General in Perth with the daughter, the full WA birth certificate, their marriage certificate, a copy of his US passport and both forms.

In short

A child born in Australia to a US citizen parent who meets the physical presence rules can be documented with a Consular Report of Birth Abroad, applied for online through eCRBA before age 18, with an in-person interview. Bring the full registry certificate, marriage and citizenship documents and physical presence evidence, and apply for the first passport at the same time. If a parent cannot attend, DS-5507 and DS-3053 are witnessed by a JP or notary. For other countries, see our guide to registering a birth overseas, and our notarisation service explains witnessing.

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If a US form needs witnessing and you would like a notary, send us the form and where it will be lodged, and we will explain each step before you book.