drrich

My wife and I (both UK citizens) are living in Baltimore MD (H1B visa) and are expecting a baby (delivery in Baltimore) in November. We have flights booked for early December and (all things being well) we plan to travel home to the UK for Christmas with family.

How quickly is it possible to get a US birth certificate and passport? Who do you go to get a birth certificate and how quickly can you do it? Fortunately we are near DC if it comes to that for the passport step ...

Thanks for any help...

drrich

Search Results

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?p=8245657
http://britishexpats.com/forum/showt...rtificate+baby

Ozzidoc

US birth cert usually within 10 days.

Our daughter's USPP arrived within 3 weeks of our application. (March 2010)

meauxna

Hi, welcome, and thanks for searching for your answer!

If the worst comes to worst, timewise, you can get a passport issued same-day through the passport agency (you have to go to one of the big offices). This happened to my husband, where we had a trip booked and his naturalization oath ceremony was scheduled for a week before our departure. Since he would be required to travel as a US citizen, we had to get that passport fast..

Let me know if you need more detail when the time gets closer, and/or google 'passport authority' to get to the details.

jackattack

More info on "what we did" was posted in the thread that you already discovered. But for us:
Baby born Jan 5th
Flight taken Jan 17th
It's possible but requires attention to detail and knowing what and where you have to go (research in advance of the birth since afterwards you'll be a little tired and if it's your first, you'll be in shock too)

Enjoy. Best time to travel with them. Our daughter slept most of the way from LA to Sydney. Much more restful than doing it now she is 3.

drrich

Thanks a lot for the answers so far.

So the passport, I think I had figured out The birth certificate is the bit I am stuck on - where does one go to get it? I can't google my way to that answer.
I will go read jackattack's 'what we did' thread.

Encouraged by the lower limit mentioned above ... theoetically we will have from 2-6 weeks. Somewhere between no problems and tight!

Thanks all.

drrich

Actually I had seen jackattack's post, searched for a 'Clerk-Recorder' in Baltimore and got stuck... Is this the same post in all places?

In reply to other posts, yes, first time!

meauxna

I googled to this:

http://vsa.maryland.gov/html/birth.cfm
OTHER WAYS TO OBTAIN BIRTH CERTIFICATES:

Same day service: Birth certificates for individuals with valid, government-issued photo identification who were born in Maryland are available for same day service at the Division of Vital Records in Baltimore. Same day service is also available at local health departments in all jurisdictions except Montgomery County, Baltimore City, and Baltimore County for individuals born after 1939.

drrich

Thanks a lot - I had seen this page, but assumed it is for adults needing their own birth certificate rather than babies. I doubt our baby will have a 'valid, government-issued photo identification' at that point - or maybe only we need one?

Certainly they will be worth calling during the week (and I might be lucky and understand some of the conversation ;-) I'll report back

AlienUk

I live in MD, I was given a paper thingy-majig at the hospital and went into the health depeartment and immediately exchanged it for the real thing on the spot. Needed it for AOS. I am in Charles County, not sure whether it varies county to county.

JAJ

Bear in mind that if a US birth certificate is not printed within 3 months of birth it is not acceptable for proving British nationality. This includes situations where birth certificate is lost and replaced.

For that reason, getting a British consular birth certificate is strongly recommended.

julian123

Can you, please help me with the information how to get a Birth Certificate asap in San Francisco? The due date for my baby to be born is in one week and on the beginning of July I have to fly to another country. I can't find any information... Thank you!!!

ian-mstm

I found this with a 10 second search on Google: http://www.sfdph.org/dph/comupg/reco...ec/default.asp.

Ian

drrich

JUst posting now for the benefit of anyone who like's updates! Baby was born on the 3rd of November (or 11/3 as I am learning to call it). So travel by Dec 14 is looking feasible - a very considerate baby.

I have done some further research and it seems to me that this is a 3-step process:

1. Get birth certificate
- initiated at the hospital
- planning to call Offic e of Vital Records on Monday.
2. GEt a Social Security Number
- I think this is necessary for 3 (not sure where I go this from).
- Triggered by saying Yes to a SSN question when the Birth Certificate lady came round at the hospital.
3. Get passport.
- For which I believe I will need:
- BAby's birth cert.
- Baby's SSN.
- Parental IDs (US -based is best - there is a specific list - go my US drivers' licence Friday for this reason)
- Can't guarantee this is complete as working from memroy.

I will try to 'give back' by completing the story if/when we have each bit...

Thanks all for you help.

Mummy in the foothills

Congratulations on the new baby, was it a girl or boy?