Obtaining Proof of U.S. Citizenship
If you have a right to U.S. citizenship, what's next?
If you believe you are a U.S. citizen, you'll want a document to prove it.
If you were born on U.S. soil and there is a record of your birth, a standard U.S. birth certificate issued by a state government is your primary proof of U.S. citizenship. (Birth certificates issued by hospitals are not official records and do not serve as proof of citizenship.)
If you were naturalized in the United States, you will have a naturalization certificate.
However, if your birth took place outside the territorial United States and you have a right to U.S. citizenship through your parents, you will not have either of these documents. (Such rights are discussed in detail in the article U.S. Citizenship by Birth or Through Parents.) In this case, you will have to apply for either a U.S. passport or a certificate of citizenship.
U.S. Passports
If you were born abroad to U.S. citizen parents, you can apply for a U.S. passport in the same way as someone born in the United States. However, you will have the added requirement of establishing your citizenship claim. The evidence you'll need to have on hand may include:
- proof of your parents' U.S. citizenship
- evidence that your parents complied with any applicable U.S. residency requirements, and
- evidence that you fulfilled any necessary residency requirements, or that you were excused from doing so because you didn't know about the law.
Evidence may take the form of birth or citizenship records, work or tax records, or affidavits from you (and perhaps even from your parents or grandparents), for example, explaining why you were unaware of your claim to U.S. citizenship.
Passports are available from passport offices in the United States or at U.S. consulates abroad, but experience shows that you have a better chance of succeeding by applying to a U.S. consulate.
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