Nigel84

I had sent in my application for citizenship by descent for my passport. It was returned back stating that my birth certificate was not issued within three months of my birth. However, it was. I was born in California and on the Certificate of Live Birth record it shows my parents signing it the day after my birthday and it was accepted by county registar 50 days after my birth. Well within 3 months. California does not let you keep the actual original record card as it goes to the county records. The hospital at the time 25 years ago instead made a photo copy of the record before it was filed with the county. I figured this would be issue so I went last year to the county registar and got an official copy of the record.

Was I rejected because my official copy was obtained from last year? California will only give official copies of county records. It clearly shows the original Certificate of Birth that was signed a day after my birthday and accepted by the county 50 days after.

JAJ

I don't know what's wrong with the British Embassy. It's not a question of whether you are a British citizen or not. This just makes it look like they refuse passports on a whim, if identity documents do not meet the standard they want. And what are you supposed to do if your birth certificate does not measure up to what they want?

It might be a better idea to PM the member "British Consul" who could perhaps point you in the right direction.

Alternatively, you could apply for a Certificate of Entitlement to the Right of Abode stamped in your US passport. http://www.ukvisas.gov.uk

Unlike passports, ROA stamps have formal rules for eligibility and there is an appeal process if refused. The only problem is that you might have to travel to DC to giver your biometrics.

Nigel84

I am with you JAJ, I do not understand what the issue was. The Certificate of Live Birth itself was filled out on the day of my birth and is still currently on file in the County records being that is my original and only birth certificate. California only issues certified copies so it shouldn't matter when the certified copy was obtained.

I do not have baptismal records and my parents didn't keep the hospital bills or insurance statements from my birth. The hospital doesn't keep records past 20 years so the only documentation I can provide to prove my birth is a certified copy of my birth certificate. I had included my Mom's original UK birth certificate, my US passport, a copy of my Driver's license, and the certified copy of my birth certificate which I figured would be acceptable.

I contacted Dean and he was of great assistance. Very awesome of him to assist like he has.

Hopefully everything will go through this 2nd time

JAJ

Dean is doing great work, although I would observe that he really should not have to get involved in trying to sort out problems with a (British) passport service.

It is accepted and understood that applicants for a British passport should have to provide proof of identification. But these practices at the Embassy appear to go way beyond what the Passport Office in Britain does - if the Passport Office refused or sent back applications in Britain at the same rate, there would be a national outrage with stories in the media, questions from MPs, etc.

Nigel84

I agree. I know Dean is a very busy man and he shouldn't have to be dealing with these type of passport issues. I am extremely appreciative of the assistance he was able to provide.

Proof of identification is a given when applying for another form of identification however it's rediculous how they are turning down legitimate documents. It's not a case of people not having proof of identity it seems to be a case of the Embassy being picky on their standards.

Nigel84

Update on this:

Got a call from the embassy this morning. For people in the US, certified copies of the original birth certificate made AFTER 3 months of birth is not acceptable on its own. Additional documentation IS required. Luckily I have been calling around trying to figure out what church I was baptized at while waiting on the embassy. Now the big question is will the copy I get of my baptism from my church be sufficient? I asked the lady from the embassy but she wasn't able to let me know. She said she would have to take a look at it to determine.

She did mention that if no other documents could be acquired I would be required to get a letter from the hospital stating that they no longer carry records.

At least this time I didn't get everything back since they called and I have a specific place to send the additional docs as well as a phone number. So now it's a case of trying to get any documentation I can scrounge.

JAJ

This is where I think the Embassy have a problem ... your birth was registered within 3 months of birth (presumably).

Are they getting confused between the situation where a birth was originally registered late, as opposed to a situation where someone loses their birth certificate and needs a replacement? And if the USA authorities accept the birth certificate, why shouldn't they?

Lots of people in Britain need to replace their birth certificates and they don't get this kind of hassle from the Passport Office there, so unclear why the Embassy have such a problem.

And if one doesn't have the additional evidence they want, what happens then - do they expect a British citizen to go without a passport for life?

Nigel84

Yep it was. The Certificate of Live Birth was filled out the day of my birth and it was officially physically filed into the registrar records within 50 days of my birth. The Embassy states they want the CERTIFIED COPY be printed within 3 months of the birth as well Which is ridiculous because state governments sometimes aren't even that efficient at getting the certified copy to the parents.

I was able to track down the church that did my baptism so I went and got a copy of my baptismal record.

So I sent in today:

-Baptismal record
-Original registration card for my first year of pre-school
-Original registration card for my second year of pre-school
-Immunization Record Card starting at my first immunization (doesn't have my parents names on it though but the lady at the embassy said to send it)

So hopefully these four documents will be deemed sufficient enough for the embassy

JAJ

Unclear if this is a rogue policy in Washington, or whether it applies to all Embassies - but the Passport Office in Britain certainly don't reject birth certificates on this basis. The newspapers would be full of it if they even tried.

The problem is that there is no law in Britain governing the issue of passports, so Embassies can make up whatever rules they like.

Someone who is a British citizen but unreasonably refused a passport may have no option other than to apply for a Right of Abode stamp - which cannot be refused on a whim - and then get a British passport in the United Kingdom.

Nigel84

I got a call today from the embassy. They stated everything is good now with the documents I gave and my passport will be arriving next week. Looks like this is over for me with a happy ending

JAJ

Once you have your passport, take good care of it, keep copies and do not throw it out when it is expired.

It's really not clear why they have such a problem with US birth certificates. If is is a genuine concern, they should least be transparent about it in their instructions and explain why.

You may want to apply for a British consular birth certificate:
http://ukinusa.fco.gov.uk/en/help-fo...-registration/

Nigel84

I agree that they should state more clearly the requirements they have of the US birth certificates. In reality they should state they want the US birth certificate as well as backup documentation proving the birth parents stayed as the parents on all US first time applications. I am sure this would help stop a lot of returned applications.

I will look into the consular birth certificate although reading through that documentation that seems like it might be another pandora's box For now I will be happy once I have the passport with paperwork in hand and just be happy I completed that hurdle.

JAJ

If they have just accepted your documentation for passport purposes, then getting a consular birth certificate will be straightforward. It should make things easier if your passport is ever lost.

Nigel84

I didn't need to prove my parent's marriage with my passport application so it would be a case of trying to locate my parent's marriage certificate and making sure it meets the requirements. I think I may pursue this in the future but for now I will settle for the passport. I will however make copies like you stated in case it ever becomes lost.

Nigel84

Got my shiny new passport today Thanks to everyone here that helped me with obtaining it. You guys are great