Consular Notification thingy of Birth Abroad

I just did this last week.  I brought along my degree and an old passport but no transcripts.  I've lived in the UK the last 9 years and before that was out of the USA for some big chunks of time.  In the end, I didn't have to show any of those (besides my marriage certificate and my daughter's long-form birth certificate and our passports.) She just asked about where I went to university and then what I did in the following years (I'm 34).  Right as I was starting to go on about what I did two years after I graduated, she swiftly said, 'your daughter qualifies for a passport' and that was that.

Yeah, I didn't bring transcripts either-just the previous passport and I was quizzed about my school mascots, where the schools were, etc.  With DD1 it turned out that the interviewer's wife went to my high school, so that bit was a breeze

  With DD1 it turned out that the interviewer's wife went to my high school, so that bit was a breeze

Small world.

I got asked questions about why we moved around so many states, what my dad did, what companies he worked for, what school I graduated from. It made me wonder how they could find out if I was lying.

Small world.

I got asked questions about why we moved around so many states, what my dad did, what companies he worked for, what school I graduated from. It made me wonder how they could find out if I was lying.

I know, it blew me away.

I've suspected it isn't the answers themselves they are looking for, but your being able to understand them and answer them without too much hesitation--the kinds of things people might know from day to day life but not research on their own if they're trying to fool someone--like what the mascot of a high school is and what neighbourhood it was in.  I always thought it seemed like a kind of funny system, but I'm not complaining since I was already carrying a folder stuffed full of paperwork and didn't want to go getting official transcripts and such on top of it all. 

Just wanted to mention that I used the following to get my newborn's USA passport photos:

http://www.yourpassportphoto.com/

I think it worked out to be £4.50 for 4 photos (was going to do Costco but she was never up when I needed her to be.) I just got her USA passport back today, so must have been fine! You upload the photo and then use their website to resize it, etc. I've got a pretty basic digital camera and was able to figure it out!

I can also recommend using the Post Office's special delivery rather than the pricey courier service (that I had used previously).  I used the right amount of weight but inadvertently I had gotten an envelope that would have folded the documents they send back to you.  I was told this at two different windows but didn't want to spend any more money.  In the end it didn't matter as the embassy staff actually taped the envelope cover with the postage to a larger, more firm envelope!

We got it all back in just over two weeks.

Can anyone give me an average idea of how long it takes to get the British passport and American passport for a baby once you have sorted all of the paperwork and done the interview at the embassy? I want to book flights for the second two weeks of September and baby is due in May, just hoping there will be plenty of time to sort everything out (will have to work out the trip to the embassy around the Olympics so we don't get pay a fortune in train fare!)

J- It shouldn't take more than a couple of weeks. When we did our daughters in 2008 we had the passport in 7 days after the appointment at the Embassy. I have heard that they no longer issue the Report of Birth the same day and it should come in the mail. I absolutely recommend using a special delivery envelope rather than dealing with their crap courier service. Cheaper and much less of a hassle.

The UK passport took 10 days if I remember correctly and we did the Check & Send service through the Post Office - it helps as they made sure her picture was correct which can be an issue with infants.

So if you can do the appointment in June/July you'll have them in plenty of time. And the UK one you can do as soon as you have Registered the baby.

I just did both.

US passport and consular notification of birth form: 10 working days to receive both (together).
Sent off UK passport on Friday, 20 January using Post Office's check and send-I'll let you know once I get it!

Does anyone know if we have to have my daughter's British passport before attending the appointment for her US passport/notification abroad?  I just have to send the paperwork and photos (taking photos of a month old baby is a pain!) for the UK passport but I haven't made an appointment at the embassy yet.  According to the official website, one must bring:

"Any foreign passport that the child may currently hold or is included in"

But if we've only applied for it but don't have that yet would it be okay or do we need to wait?  We may try to go home for a visit in March so time is quickly becoming an issue!

TIA,
Tally

You don't have to have the British Passport first.

If you have it by the time you go to the Embassy take it with you. If you've not made an appointment yet and have already applied for the other passport you'll get it before your appointment.

I know I listed it on the US Passport application but don't recall if I actually had to provide it at the interview. But I did have it with me.

Thanks for your help WebyJ! 

My wife is American, with ILR.  Our little girl needs a US passport before she can travel to the US to see grandma as she is entitled to one.

I have been working my way through the embassy site trying to figure out everything that is required to complete the notification of Birth and apply for a passport.  

Firstly I need to sort out my own paranoid fears.  In some cases, in my experience and my wife's, US officials have kept original copies of vital documents.  Such as a copy of the marriage certificate when changing a name on a US driving license.  Has anyone ever had any experience of the US Embassy in London doing this?

The list of documents we have to provide (which seems to include and I'm the Brit) my birth certificate, change of name deed, divorce papers (Absolute AND Nici) and our marriage cert.  My wife needs to provide similar and also proof that she lived in the US for at least 10 years (I'm pretty sure having only held a us passport for 4-5 years and being 32 would strongly suggest 27 years at home but we need to contact her old high-school for her transcript etc!)  Well these are all very important documents, and I don't want to lose any of the originals.  I would simply get notified copies of them all but this would become serious expensive.

Am I merely being paranoid, or have other people found their original documents were retained?

I'm also finding it hard to work out how to book an appointment to do both the notification and passport application at once.  The US embassy site suggest this can be done but I can't find where to do it at all!  Only a link to book an appointment for a passport which I assume is what I want?

Secondly, we have to provide less documents for our daughter if we submit her British Passport.  However, I know that the US has an uncomfortably relationship with dual-nationality citizens and so I worry about submitting our daughter's passport as proof of identity for the notification of birth and US passport application .  Does anyone have any advice or experience with trying to do it this way?

On the subject of interviews my wife is terrified!  She has no idea (as she had no interest at the time) what her high school colours or mascot was!  But I'm sure she'll be fine as she is who she is!

Thanks for any advice or links!

Oh and our LO ALWAYS smiles when someone points a camera at her... DOH!

I had my ILR or maybe FLR when our twins were born, but can't remember tbh.  Was a hectic time: ) We were down at the London Embassy last year, around this time.
We took more documents down there than necessary, and everything was returned to us.  I'd never heard of them keeping originals before.  We actually made copies for them hoping it would take less time.

I took high school transcripts and had my military records scanned by my mom and sent over to us, just in case, but they never even asked for them.  They DID ask me a lot of questions like where I grew up and did I remember the highway that ran near where I lived.  The gentleman interviewing me grew up in Ohio, and I'm from Indiana, after we started talking about areas we both knew well, he was satisfied. 

They will not keep your originals, I also had to provide my prior divorce decree which to be honest would have also shown *proof* of my time in the US.  Any also my older children's birth certificates, could have helped too, if they had wanted proof.  (They were born in the US).   

Best advice I can give you, is take extra diapers, toys, snacks, drinks for baby AND you.  Cause you will be there a while.  We were there for almost 5 hours.  And the twins got bored quick.

It has been awhile and I'm going from memory, but all should be OK.    Oh and don't forget your little one, they will want to see her. 
Have fun, I actually enjoy being around a room full of Americans again, until about 2 hours in and and the twins got bored! Then it was chaos! haha

I'm also finding it hard to work out how to book an appointment to do both the notification and passport application at once.  The US embassy site suggest this can be done but I can't find where to do it at all!  Only a link to book an appointment for a passport which I assume is what I want?

Looking for that now, it can be done for sure.

**Found it**

https://evisaforms.state.gov/acs/default.asp?postcode=LND&appcode=1

Click the make an appointment button

Check the box that says:    Report the birth abroad of a child of a U.S. citizen and/or apply for the child's first passport, Report of Birth and Social Security Number.

Good Luck

Just wanted to share about my experiences earlier this week at the embassy applying for the passport and consular notification of birth abroad.  We were able to get an appt 2 weeks prior and drove up from Kent that morning for our 9 am appt. 

We parked in the lot underneath Hyde Park which was just outside the congestion zone (but £4/hour!) and I made sure we got in the correct line outside the embassy.  We left our phones in the car bc the website said they were banned but plenty of people in the line who had them were asked to leave them in a little cubby at the security check.  We did not send our paperwork in ahead of time because I never received an email about it but we were out by about 11:30.  There was a little photo booth once inside where you could get passport photos taken if needed.  The whole process seemed a little silly and repetitive (take this piece of paper to counter 6 and then wait to be called to counter 2 so they can look at another piece of paper, then pay at the cashier's and then wait to be called at counter 7...) but they were all very nice. 

I didn't bother to take my school transcripts because I had 3/4 of my passports and so took my actual degrees but they said that they weren't considered valid proof of time spent in the US.  I forgot to get the special delivery envelope and had to pay £14 for their courier service.  I'll post again when we actually get the passport!

I wanted to go have tacos (and buy corn tortillas!) afterwards but Ruby Mae was cranky and wouldn't have it so back to Kent we went.