Obtaining a US passport for a child

Hi everyone! I'm new to the forum and had a question about obtaining my child's first US passport. I hope I'm posting in the right place.

I'm a dual US-UK citizen, married to a UK citizen, living in Canada. My child, who is due in a few months, will have three citizenships from birth: American, British and Canadian.

I know that all US citizens must enter the US on a US passport, but having read through the rules to obtain a first-time US passport for a minor, it appears I must do it in person. I'm nowhere near a US consulate office. I'd have to fly to the nearest consulate and it's a pricey flight.

We will be travelling to the UK and US later this year or early next year, so we'll have to get a passport. We were planning on only getting a US passport, considering it's the only one really needed at this point, but it would be cheaper to get a UK passport and then obtain the US passport while visiting the US, instead booking flights to a city with a consulate and pay for a hotel to apply in person.

Is it absolutely necessary for an infant who is a US citizen to have a US passport when first entering the US? I'm guessing it is, but I thought I'd check.

Thanks

Yes, you really should get the passport before entering the US. Will they turn you away? Probably not. There are many people who didn't even know about the requirement and thus traveled to the US only with UK passports for their children. If it were me, I would do the consulate in the UK even though it would mean a flight.

Yes, you really should get the passport before entering the US. Will they turn you away? Probably not.

That's what I thought. My husband had a green card, but abandoned it for living outside the US for too long, which the US didn't like, so he's already detained for 30+ minutes each time we enter the US. I want to cut down on the hassle when entering, so I guess we'll be going on an expensive mum and baby trip to the consulate office later this year! Fun!