Information Regarding Consulate Registration of Birth and Dual Citizenship

| Wednesday, September 5, 2012
By Pedro Montesino


This content explains the way to getting a consular registration of birth and explains US dual citizenship laws.

Consular Registration of Birth:

Consular birth registration certificates are issued by a US consulate abroad. If your parents were United States citizens but were not physically in the USA when you were born, they might have registered your birth with a USA consulate to establish your right to US citizenship and create an official birth record. For you to have received a certificate of consular registration of birth, your parents ought to have registered your birth at a consulate within 5 years after you were born.

Multiple copies can be issued at the time of registration but duplicates cannot be obtained later. Therefore, parents should request at least several copies. In issuing the certificate, the consulate asks to see evidence that any residence requirements the law placed on your parents were fulfilled. The consular registration is conclusive proof of to US citizenship, but if your parents did not take the steps to get one when you were a child there is no way to obtain one now.

If your parents did not register your birth in time, you may either apply for a passport through a US passport office or at an American consulate abroad, or you may apply for a certificate of citizenship through the USCIS in the United States. You can typically get the passport much faster than the certificate of citizenship.

Dual Citizenship Information:

If a child is born on American soil and either or both parents are citizens of a different country, it is extremely probable that the child may have dual citizenship. Whether or not dual citizenship is created depends on the laws belonging to the parent's country or countries.

A child born in the US is always a US citizen from the perspective of the United States of America government, despite what the laws of the parent's homeland say. (The only exception to his rule is children born to foreign diplomats).

Any time a child is born to US citizen parents but the birth takes place outside US territory, again, the child may be entitled to dual citizenship. In this case, the child will, dependent upon the laws of the nation where the birth happened, usually have the nationality of the country in which he or she was actually born, along with US citizenship through the nationality of the parents. US law recognizes dual citizenship under these circumstances, and if you have acquired dual citizenship in this manner, under US law you will be entitled to maintain dual status for your lifetime.

Lastly , a person who becomes a US citizen through naturalization can retain dual citizenship if their country allows double citizenship. If you're considering seeking US naturalization, check with the embassy of your home country to find out whether this might impact your legal status in your nation of origin.




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