Consular Notification thingy of Birth Abroad

I travelled to the US when my son was 2 months old and I was ignorant of these rules. I was told on entry that I needed to get him a US passport, but not specifically why or that I had to, so I was still ignorant and we got through. This was 6 years ago, the political climate was different then.

We traveled in December 2004 and the Homeland Security officer said (and I quote) "I do not want to let your son in on a UK passport, it could affect his right to US citizenship later on, if the law changes.  It is the current law that he travels to the US on his US passport."  We explained that we were ignorant of the rule.  He relented, but repeated "I really do not want to do this..."
Got the US passport this year and will always use it to travel since we know better.
It was quite tense.  He meant business.

This is totally unsurprising to me in today's political climate. Thanks Grace for enlightening us, that is very helpful info.

All of you parents out there with dual US/UK children: Be forewarned. As a lawyer I can tell you, you don't want your children to be in someone's constitutional law textbooks one day, "The Supreme Court took a significantly more restrictive view of citizenship by descent in the case of Meggles Sister's son v. Rice, where..."

Note also that using a foreign passport to enter the US could one day be taken as an indication of intent to relinquish US citizenship. Under current law/practice, it is probably not sufficient, but the statute itself hasn't been changed since the days when dual citizenship was not permitted. It's only the interpretation (and that could change again, even if it is unlikely to do so!).

Oh, man.  I'm going to have to actually get my rear in gear and do something about this.     Frankly, it's the money that's been stopping me since I found out that I needed to register them.

Thanks for the clarification Misch.  Next question: the Military Selective Service Act requires all males aged between 18-26 to register for compulspory military service. Would this apply to a US citizen male born and living outside the US? 

Thanks for the clarification Misch.  Next question: the Military Selective Service Act requires all males aged between 18-26 to register for compulspory military service. Would this apply to a US citizen male born and living outside the US? 

Yes it does. Which is just another reason I refuse to have my sons registered. Why should they be faced with fighting for a country which forced citizenship on them? Very hot topic for me!!

I want my children to have the choices and extra options given by dual citizenship. I imagine that if it came to a draft and they didn't want to serve, they could then renounce the citizenship. As an adult, it's then their choice then to make. In my case, if I don't do it and something happens to me, it would likely not get done and they may never have the options.

It is not possible to report the birth of a child over the age of 18.

Source: http://www.usembassy.org.uk/cons_new/acs/passports/childindex.html

What was keeping me from getting it was the travel to London to do that. Now on my tasklist for 1996.

Oh, man.  I'm going to have to actually get my rear in gear and do something about this.     Frankly, it's the money that's been stopping me since I found out that I needed to register them.

Same here.  My dad paid for Aillidh to become a US citizen.  We were stony skint at the time.  Surprise, surprise!  Here we are again! 

He doesn't mind paying for Roisin's registration.  I just need to get off my ars* to do it.

It is not possible to report the birth of a child over the age of 18.

That gives me three years to get moving. 

The Homeland security officer went so far as to ask if I had my son's birth certificate with me (which I didn't) and I explained that he was two months old, getting the British passport was cheaper and quicker and that we intended on getting the US passport when we got back, we just wanted to see my family for Christmas...
He still carried on with "Well, I reallllly don't want to let him in....blah blah"
But in the end, he did allow us in.

When we explained at the US embassy (they did ask why we traveled with the British passport), they re-emphasized that we MUST travel into the US on our US passports according to current US law.

Next question: the Military Selective Service Act requires all males aged between 18-26 to register for compulspory military service. Would this apply to a US citizen male born and living outside the US? 

I didn't know all males had to register for that. I thought it was only if the US had to issue a draft for a war, etc. that any male between 18-26 had to register for the draft. I know in the UK there used to be National Service, which was a compulsory 2-year military service for young men of that age range.

This brings to mind the question: If this is mandatory, what would happen if said males lived abroad? Would they have to report to their closest US Embassy? What if said males were dual citizens? What if the UK issued a draft as well? Which country would they serve?

I must admit that I'm a bit behind the news for the US so don't hear much except what's reported on the UK news (when I actually watch it).

However, I did read the following off the Selective Service System website (http://www.sss.gov/):

The Selective Service System is America's proven and time-tested hedge against underestimating the number of active duty and Reserve Component military personnel needed in a future conflict. In peacetime, the Agency is minimally staffed and heavily dependent upon part-time personnel and volunteers throughout the United States to keep viable the Nation's ability to conduct a draft that would be timely, fair, and equitable in a crisis. As a part of that readiness, virtually all men in the U.S. are required to register with Selective Service within 30 days of their 18th birthday*. Men must be registered to be in compliance with federal law and stay eligible for student loans and grants, government jobs, job training, all security background clearances, and U.S. citizenship for immigrants.

*The italics are mine.

And I just found the answers to my own questions on the same website:

DUAL NATIONALS
Dual nationals of the U.S. and another country are required to register, regardless of where they live, because they are U.S. nationals

ALIENS AND DUAL NATIONALS
U.S. non-citizens and dual nationals are required by law to register with the Selective Service System. Most are also liable for induction into the U.S. Armed Forces if there is a draft. They would also be eligible for any deferments, postponements, and exemptions available to all other registrants.

However, some aliens and dual nationals would be exempt from induction into the military if there is a draft, depending on their country of origin and other factors. Some of these exemptions are shown below:

• An alien who has lived in the U.S. for less than one year is exempt from induction.

• A dual national whose other country of nationality has an agreement with the U.S. which specifically provides for an exemption is exempt from induction.

• [Some countries have agreements with the U.S. which exempt an alien national who is a citizen of both that country and the U.S. from military service in the U.S. Armed Forces.] An alien who requests and is exempt under an agreement or bilateral treaty can never become a U.S. citizen, and may have trouble reentering the U.S. if he leaves.

• An alien who served at least a year in the military of a country with which the U.S. is involved in mutual defense activities will be exempt from military service if he is a national of a country that grants reciprocal privileges to citizens of the U.S.

During a draft, any claims for exemptions based on any of the above categories would be granted or denied by a man's Local Board.

Military examiners make the final decision about who will be accepted into the military.

i cant read through 6 pages so i'll just ask a simple question.  My wife and I are both Americans living in the UK.  We just found out she is pregnant.  Do we need to do anything now?  Or do we wait until the child is born to sort out paperwork.  There is a chance that we will be brought back to the US before the baby is born.  Any suggestions?

You don't need to do anything in regards the registration as a US citizen until after the baby is born.

great, thanks for the answer.

Just wanted to pop in to say we just did this on August 10. Despite it being the same day the airports shut down in the UK due to the terrorism threat, it went quite smoothly. I'll even confess that despite the email request to do so, we did not send any of our applications or documents ahead of time (we'd just moved and things were too chaotic). We also had to have the pictures taken after we checked in and it was easy peasy. Our our 'appointment' was at 10:30 and we were done by 12:30ish.

My only real complaint is how stroller un-friendly the embassy is (not to mention wheelchair)!