A Consular Report of Birth Abroad (CRBA) is a formal document certifying the acquisition of United States citizenship at birth for a person born abroad to a U.S. citizen parent or parents who meet the requirements for transmitting citizenship under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). United States non-citizen nationals are also eligible for a Consular Report of Birth Abroad, using the non-citizen option.
CRBA applications must be made before the child’s 18th birthday. We recommend that parents apply for the CRBA as soon as possible after the child’s birth.
To be eligible to apply for a CRBA online, you MUST answer all the following criteria with YES.
- Was the child born in the People’s Republic of China?
- Is the child under the age of 18?
- Was at least one parent a U.S. citizen or U.S. non-citizen national when the child was born?
- Can you use a dollar-denominated credit card to pay online for your Consular Report of Birth Abroad application?
- Are you a biological parent of a child born abroad who is applying for that child?
If any of the above statements do not apply to you, you MUST apply by completing a paper application (DS-2029) which usually takes longer to process.
Do you wish to apply electronically for a Consular Report of Birth Abroad (eCRBA)?
Please be reminded:
To schedule a CRBA appointment in Beijing, please send an email to BeijingACS@state.gov. CRBA appointments in Beijing cannot be reserved using the online appointment system.
To schedule a CRBA appointment in Shanghai, please send an email to ShanghaiACS@state.gov. CRBA appointments in Shanghai cannot be reserved using the online appointment system.
To schedule a CRBA appointment in Guangzhou, please send an email to GuangzhouCRBA@state.gov. CRBA appointments in Guangzhou cannot be reserved using the online appointment system.
To schedule a CRBA appointment in Shenyang, please send an email to ShenyangACS@state.gov. CRBA appointments in Shenyang cannot be reserved using the online appointment system.