Embassy of the United States

Citizen Services

Registering a Child as a U.S. Citizen

A child born abroad to a U.S. citizen parent or parents generally acquires U.S. citizenship at birth. While a child born in the United States receives a birth certificate from the state (such as Ohio or California) that is accepted as proof of U.S. citizenship, a child born outside the United States receives a document called a Consular Report of Birth Abroad from the U.S. Embassy.  This document is based upon the local foreign birth certificate, which must be obtained first. 

The Consular Report of Birth Abroad serves as proof of acquisition of U.S. citizenship at the moment of the child's birth, and is acceptable evidence for obtaining a U.S. passport and for other purposes where one must show a birth certificate or proof of citizenship.  Parents should apply for a Consular Report of Birth Abroad as soon as possible after the child's birth.  It cannot be issued if the child is already 18 years of age or older.

Please note that the U.S. Embassy in Podgorica can only issue a Consular Report of Birth Abroad for a child born in Montenegro.  If the child was born outside the United States but in a country other than Montenegro, then we can accept the application for the Consular Report of Birth Abroad here in Podgorica, but then we must forward that application to the U.S. Embassy or Consulate having jurisdiction over the child's place of birth in order for the Consular Report of Birth Abroad to be issued there.  For links to the web sites of all U.S. Embassies and Consulates worldwide, see Department of State's website.

Transmitting Your U.S. Citizenship to Your Child

U.S. law states that the U.S. citizen parent or parents must meet certain requirements in order to transmit U.S. citizenship to a child born outside the United States. The requirements vary depending on whether the U.S. citizen parent is the mother or the father, whether both parents are U.S. citizens, or whether the parents are married to each other. Full details about these different situations and their various transmission requirements are detailed at this separate link, here.

Generally, the requirements concern the amount of time that the U.S. citizen parent(s) lived in the United States prior to the birth of the child. With some exceptions and variations, the U.S. citizen parent must have lived in the U.S. for a total of five (5) years nonconsecutively at any time prior to the birth of the child. Two of those five years must have been after the U.S. citizen parent's 14th birthday.

The U.S. citizen parent(s) will be required to fill out an affidavit attesting to the time spent living in the U.S., and will be required to submit proof of that physical presence in the United States. Such proof can include school transcripts, employment records, or other proof of physical presence in the United States.

Application Procedures

In order to register the child as a U.S. citizen, the U.S. citizen parent(s) must download and complete the forms listed below. However, please do not sign any of the forms until you are at the Embassy. They must be signed in the presence of the consular officer.

Step One

Please complete each of the forms below:

• DS-2029 Application for Consular Report of Birth Abroad
• DS-11 Application for U.S. Passport
• SS-5 Application for a Social Security Card
• Affidavit of Parentage and Statement of Physical Presence

Step Two

Assemble all of the following supporting documents that apply to your situation:

• The child's original local birth certificate; We recommend that you request an international version of the birth certificate, as it will then be issued in multiple languages, including English;
• Evidence of the U.S. citizenship of the parent(s), such as a U.S. passport, original U.S. birth certificate, or original U.S. naturalization certificate;
• If one parent is not a U.S. citizen, then that parent's non-U.S. passport;
• The parents' original marriage certificate, if married to each other at the time of the child's birth;
• Evidence of the termination of any previous marriages of either parent, such as a divorce decree, annulment decree, or death certificate, if applicable;
• Proof that the U.S. citizen parent has met the law's above-noted requirement for physical presence in the United States, such as school transcripts, employment records, or other evidence.

Any documents in any language other than English or Montenegrin must be officially translated into English. The translation must be attached to the original document.

Step Three

Please call to make an appointment once you have all of the above-mentioned documents prepared.   Please see the Key Information box on the right-hand side of this page for full contact information for the Embassy.

Step Four

• The originals of all the supporting documents listed in Step Two above.  We will return the original documents to you at the end of your appointment.
• Two passport photographs of the child 5 cm x 5 cm, as per the specifications here.
• The required fees: US$65 for the Consular Report of Birth Abroad, plus US$85 for the U.S. Passport.  You can pay in dollars or euros cash; we do not accept credit cards.

Step Five

Once the Consular Report of Birth Abroad and the U.S. Passport have been printed and returned to the U.S. Embassy, we will contact you to pick them up.  Please allow 4-6 weeks for processing. 

You may also apply for the child's Social Security Card using the SS-5 Application for a Social Security Card.  We will accept your application and forward it to the Federal Benefits Unit based in Zagreb, Croatia.  You will receive the Social Security card for the child at a later date in a separate mailing, directly from the Social Security Administration in Baltimore, Maryland.  This may take several months.

If at a future date you wish to obtain another copy of the Consular Report of Birth Abroad, or if you wish to amend or correct that issued document, please follow the instructions on the State Department's web site.