Finally, after months and months of reservations, I was finally able to complete my goal of reporting my daughter's birth abroad and applying for her passport at the US Embassy in Tokyo, Japan. Through a series of unfortunate events, it has taken us nine whole months before we could take the two hour long trip to Tokyo. To be honest, there was a lot of stress revolving around this trip because we desperately needed her passport. With the pandemic and not having family or support within Japan, if I or my husband get sick, we would want her to be able to fly out of the country to family abroad. 

Nevertheless, despite all my wishes and prayers, issues after issues popped up, and the embassy is notorious for having their appointments fill up quick, so it was about a month between appointments. The night before this most recent appointment my daughter spiked a 102 fever! We were floored, as she was fine the entire day. I felt absolutely cursed and hopeless, and I'd be lying if I didn't shed a few tears, as I searched the embassy website for yet another, available appointment nearly two months away.

Miraculously on the day of the appointment, 30 minutes before our train, her temperature dropped and I never moved so fast in my life! Thanks to my husband, 7/11 clerk, and impeccably punctual trains, we were able to to make it to our appointment in time!

So, what do you need to report your child's birth abroad and passport? Keep reading to find out!

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A Consular report of Birth Abroad is "a formal document certifying the acquisition of United States citizenship at birth for a person born abroad to a U.S. citizen parent or parents who meet the requirements for transmitting citizenship under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).". 

So, although my daughter was born in Japan, she is still entitled to American citizenship because I am American. So, for the U.S. to recognize that and to obtain American citizenship for her, I needed to apply for this document, which will then act as her American birth certificate. 

It is recommended that you apply as soon as possible and before the child turns 18.

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STEP ONE: FILL OUT DS-2029 FORM

The first step for applying for the CRBA is to fill out the DS-2029 FORM. If you are applying at the Tokyo embassy, you can fill out the form, upload all of your identification, and pay for the CRBA all online. However, you must as YES to all the questions on this page. 

If you cannot answer YES or prefer to go old school, then you will have to print out the DS-2029 form, single sided, and fill it out manually. You can find the form here.

STEP TWO: FILL OUT DS-11 (PASSPORT APPLICATION)

Although I am not sure if you MUST apply or the passport at the same time, but that is what I did. So, next fill out the passport application online and print it out single sided.

STEP THREE: PASSPORT PHOTO

You will need one 2"x2" photo of your baby. This can be quite tricky on so many levels! One, baby. Two, Japan. In order to get over these obstacles. I just sat my baby against a white wall and my husband dangled her favorite toy in front of my face and I snapped a hundred pictures with my potato android. The first time we were trying to apply, we just laid her down on a white sheet and did the same thing, but that was when she couldn't roll over lol! After that, I went to remove.background, which automatically removes the background and makes it white. You can read all the photo guidelines here. After having a nice picture, it was time to print it out. I then went to pic-chan, and they resized the photo and allow you to align it so that it meets the American passport photo requirements. After that, there's a code that you can use to print out two photos at your nearest convenience store for 200 yen! The embassy accepted her photos with no problem, not even a second glance!

STEP FOUR: PROOF OF CHILD'S BIRTH + ENG. TRANSLATION

This can be two things: Koseki Tohon if one of the parents is Japanese or if neither is Japanese, then a "Shusshou Todoke Kisai Jiko Shomeisho" or a "Shusshou Todoke Juri Shomeisho", these can obtained by the ward office you registered your child's birth at. You will need to translate these certificates into English, but they do not need to be completed by a professional. You can find the template here.

STEP FIVE: MARRIAGE CERTIFICATE

If you or your spouse is Japanese and were married in Japan, you can just use the Koseki Tohon again or a "Konin Todoke Juri Shomeisho", which you can get from the place you registered your marriage. You will also need to translate these certificates into English, but they do not need to be completed by a professional. You can find the template here.

If married in the US, you will need to provide an original / “certified-copy” Marriage Certificate issued by city/county/state, and it must have a file date.

STEP SIX: EVIDENCE OF PARENT'S U.S. CITIZENSHIP

I was able to just use my passport, but if for some reason, your passport is expired or invalid, here is a list of other acceptable identification.

STEP SEVEN: EVIDENCE OF PHYSICAL PRESENCE

If only one parent is American, they must prove they were in the U.S. prior to the birth of their child for at least five years or two years after the age of 14. This is a very important piece of obtaining citizenship, and yet they didn't even ask to see my evidence. Evidence can be school transcripts, w-2 forms, and pay stubs.

STEP EIGHT: BOTH PARENTS ID's

We used our passports. 

STEP NINE: APPLICATION FEE

The CRBA was 100$ and the Passport was 115$. You can pay in dollars or yen.

STEP TEN: SELF ADDRESSED LETTERPACK

You will need to buy one self-addressed letter pack so that they can mail you your passport and CRBA! Letterpack plus will make you sign, but letterpack light will allow the mail carrier to leave your parcel in your mailbox. 

OPTIONAL

• Affidavit/Name Change document: You may fill out this document if you want your child to have a different name than what is on their passport.
• Proof of termination of ALL prior marriages for both parents: You must bring proof of all divorces or death certificates.
• Proof of relationship: if the parents were not married at the time of birth, you must bring proof that you were physically together before the child was born and proof of the relationship. 

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ATTEND THE INTERVIEW

We needed to make an appointment online, and we were to arrive no earlier than 15 minutes before our interview. Despite the strict rules, you are allowed to bring baby food and a stroller. We didn't have to wait at all, and were lead right in after the guard checked if we were on the list. 

We were called about five minutes after turning in our reservation sheet. The lady just asked for my documents and checked them for mistakes. After that, she asked me to pay at a separate window for the passport (I paid for the CRBA online). After paying, she said an officer will call us. After waiting for about 30 minutes, we were called over and he asked me some questions (I guess to verify I was American), and then he asked my husband and I to raise our right hand and take an oath that everything submitted is true. After that, he stamped everything and we were free to go!

We were told it would take 6-8 weeks for her passport to comeback, which is quite a long time, but we are just so happy for this to be over with! I'll update you soon on applying for a social security card.