Instructions

Before we can provide passport services for a child born abroad of American parent(s), a Consular Report of Birth Abroad must be prepared to establish the child’s claim to American citizenship.

A child born abroad, on or after November 14, 1986, 2:00p.m. EST, of one American and one alien parent acquires U.S. citizenship at birth if the American parent has been physically present in the United States prior to the birth of the child for a minimum period of 5 (five) years, at least 2 (two) of which were after the age of 14 (fourteen).

A child born abroad to two U.S. citizen parents receives U.S. citizenship at birth if one of the parents has resided in the United States or one of its outlying possessions before the birth of the child.

A child born abroad to an American citizen mother and out of wedlock acquires U.S. citizenship if the mother has been physically present in the United States prior to the birth of the child for a minimum period of one continuous year.

Appearance in person of both parents and the child is required.

What documents are required?

1. Child’s birth certificate (International extract)
2. Parent’s marriage certificate (International extract) If married in the United States, please provide a state certificate issued by the civil authorities.The birth and marriage certificates obtained in North Macedonia should be in English.  This is available by requesting International extracts from the civil registry office (Maticna sluzba).
3. Evidence of American citizenship of the parent(s).
4. If either parent has previously been married, proof of termination of previous marriage(s), i.e. death certificate, divorce decree, etc.  If the document is not in English, it should be translated.
5. Evidence of the required residence in the United States.  Physical presence is the actual time when the American citizen parent was physically within the borders of the United States. This means that any travel outside the United States, including vacation, should be excluded. Maintaining a residence in the U.S. does not constitute physical presence. Examples of evidence include school transcripts, tax returns, proof of employment, or any other document which shows that you were physically in the United States.Note: Any periods of time spent overseas with the United States Military/Government or qualifying international organization (such as the United Nations) may be computed as physical presence in the United States for transmission of citizenship purposes. Time spent as a dependent of such person may also be computed as physical presence. Military records or other proof may be requested.
6. Mother’s pregnancy book (pregnancy records)
7. Discharge paper from the hospital.
8. Form DS-2029-Application for Consular Report of Birth (PDF 52 KB). Please complete this form legibly and correctly. Instructions on how to complete this form are given on the reverse side of the form.  Please do not sign the form until instructed by the Consular Officer to do so.
9. Form DS-5507 (PDF 36 KB) – Should be completed only by the U.S. citizen parent if s/he is not present at the time when the application is filed and for all out of wedlock born children. If the U.S. citizen parent cannot come to the Embassy to sign the form, s/he should notarize the form and mail it to his/her spouse along with a notarized copy of his/her U.S. passport.
10. Form SS-5-FS (PDF 163 KB): This form is an application for a Social Security Number Card for your child if he/she is under the age of 5 at the time of application. Please contact the SSA Office at the US Consulate General in Naples at https://it.usembassy.gov/u-s-citizen-services/fbu/ for instructions on how to submit the application. It cannot be submitted through the Consular Section in Skopje.

Note:  If you wish to return your original documents please present the originals together with photocopies. Upon examination, the originals will be returned to you.

Fees: The fee for a Consular Report of Birth Abroad is $100.00 dollars or the equivalent in North Macedonia denars, payable in cash or by credit card (accepted credit cards are: Visa, Master Card, Discover, American Express and Diner’s). Payment in Euros or with check cannot be accepted.

Please complete the attached forms to enable us to prepare the Consular Report of Birth Abroad.

Instructions

Both parents and the child need to be present at the Embassy to execute the passport application form. For proof of identity, both parents’ passports are required. If the second parent is absent, the application must be accompanied by the absent parent’s notarized written Statement of Consent, Form DS-3035, authorizing passport issuance for the child. The statement should also include the child’s name and date and place of birth.

What documents are required?

A completed passport application Form DS-11: Application for a U.S. Passport.

Please complete all white sections of the form legibly and correctly. Please do not sign the form until instructed by the Consular Officer to do so.

1 Photographs. Your photograph must be:

• In color
• 2 x 2 inches in size
• Taken within the past 6 months, showing current appearance
• Full face, front view with a plain white or off-white background
• Between 1 inch and 1 3/8 inches from the bottom of the chin to the top of the head
• Taken in normal street attire:
  • Do not wear a hat or headgear that obscures the hair or hairline
  • If you normally wear prescription glasses, a hearing device, wig or similar articles, they should be worn for your picture
  • Dark glasses or nonprescription glasses with tinted lenses are not acceptable unless you need them for medical reasons (a medical certificate may be required)

Fees: The passport fee for a child under 16 years of age is $135.00 and for a child of 16-18 years is $165.00. The fee may be paid either in cash, in U.S. dollars or North Macedonia Denars or by credit card (accepted credit cards are: Visa, Master Card, Discover, American Express and Diner’s). Payment in Euros or with check cannot be accepted. A child born to U.S. Military personnel may be entitled to a no-fee passport. Please check with your Personal Affairs Office on base.

1. We suggest arriving 15 minutes before your scheduled appointment to allow time for security checks at the Embassy entrance.
2. When you arrive, let the guards know that you have an appointment with the American Citizen Services Unit. You will be asked to show a picture ID.
3. Please do not bring mobile phones, cameras and other electronic devices with you.  If you do, they will need to be left with the guards, which will delay your entry into the embassy.
4. You will be asked to pass through the metal detector.
5. Once you enter the compound, you will be directed to the Consular Section.
6. Inside the Consular Section, our staff will be expecting you at windows number 8 or 9.

 

Generally, immediate family members may accompany passport or CRBA applicants to their appointment interviews at a U.S. embassy or consulate, and all minor children must be accompanied by a parent or guardian. Passport or CRBA applicants also have the option of being accompanied by an attorney at their appointment interview. Attendance by any third party, including an attorney, accompanying an applicant is subject to the following parameters designed to ensure an orderly appointment interview process and to maintain the integrity of the adjudication of the application(s):

• Given space limitations in the consular section, not more than one attendee at a time will be allowed to accompany an applicant (or the applicant’s parent or guardian if the applicant is a minor).

• Attendance by an attorney does not excuse the applicant and/or the minor applicant’s parent or guardian from attending the appointment interview in person.

• The manner in which a passport or CRBA appointment interview is conducted, and the scope and nature of the inquiry, shall at all times be at the discretion of the consular officer, following applicable Departmental guidance.

• It is expected that attorneys will provide their clients with relevant legal advice prior to, rather than at, the appointment interview, and will advise their clients prior to the appointment interview that the client will participate in the appointment interview with minimal assistance.

• Attorneys may not engage in any form of legal argumentation during the appointment interview and before the consular officer.

• Attendees other than a parent or guardian accompanying a minor child may not answer a consular officer’s question on behalf or in lieu of an applicant, nor may they summarize, correct, or attempt to clarify an applicant’s response, or interrupt or interfere with an applicant’s responses to a consular officer’s questions.

• To the extent that an applicant does not understand a question, s/he should seek clarification from the consular officer directly.

• The consular officer has sole discretion to determine the appropriate language(s) for communication with the applicant, based on the facility of both officer and applicant and the manner and form that best facilitate communication between the consular officer and the applicant. Attendees may not demand that communications take place in a particular language solely for the benefit of the attendee. Nor may attendees object to or insist on the participation of an interpreter in the appointment interview, to the qualifications of any interpreter, or to the manner or substance of any translation.

• No attendee may coach or instruct applicants as to how to answer a consular officer’s question.

• Attendees may not object to a consular officer’s question on any ground (including that the attendee regards the question to be inappropriate, irrelevant, or adversarial), or instruct the applicant not to answer a consular officer’s question. Attendees may not interfere in any manner with the consular officer’s ability to conduct all inquiries and fact-finding necessary to exercise his or her responsibilities to adjudicate the application.

• During a passport or CRBA appointment interview, attendees may not discuss or inquire about other applications.

• Attendees may take written notes, but may not otherwise record the appointment interviews.

• Attendees may not engage in any other conduct that materially disrupts the appointment interview. For example, they may not yell at or otherwise attempt to intimidate or abuse a consular officer or staff, and they may not engage in any conduct that threatens U.S. national security or the security of the embassy or its personnel. Attendees must follow all security policies of the Department of State and the U.S. embassy or consulate where the appointment interview takes place.

Attendees may not engage in any conduct that violates this policy and/or otherwise materially disrupts the appointment interview. Failure to observe these parameters will result in a warning to the attendee and, if ignored, the attendee may be asked to leave the appointment interview and/or the premises, as appropriate. It would then be the applicant’s choice whether to continue the appointment interview without the attendee present, subject to the consular officer’s discretion to terminate the appointment interview. The safety and privacy of all applicants awaiting consular services, as well as of consular and embassy personnel, is of paramount consideration.