Baby's Esta Visa

[eatlovepray90]

Hello,

I am a US citizen, currently residing in the UK. I have birth to my baby in the UK, but didn't get a chance to register his birth, submit CRBA, or start the process of his US naturalization. My supporting documents are in the US. I'll be visiting the USA soon, and will his British passport and ESTA visa be sufficient for his entry into the US? I was reading somewhere that I should naturalize him as a US citizen as soon as possible to avoid complications at Customs. Will I be safe?

Also, I'll be visiting for 6 weeks. Is it possible to naturalize him in the US and apply for his US passport? What the process of naturalization of a child?

[newacct]

Hello,

I am a US citizen, currently residing in the UK. I have birth to my baby in the UK, but didn't get a chance to register his birth, submit CRBA, or start the process of his US naturalization. My supporting documents are in the US. I'll be visiting the USA soon, and will his British passport and ESTA visa be sufficient for his entry into the US? I was reading somewhere that I should naturalize him as a US citizen as soon as possible to avoid complications at Customs. Will I be safe?

Also, I'll be visiting for 6 weeks. Is it possible to naturalize him in the US and apply for his US passport? What the process of naturalization of a child?

Your child is already a US citizen, automatically and involuntarily, from birth (I am assuming you met the requirements in the law for transmitting citizenship to a child born abroad at the time of the child's birth; otherwise I'm not sure why you are talking about a CRBA; that is only for children who were citizens from birth) -- as a US citizen, he can't "naturalize".

You could try to get an ESTA for the child (I am not sure whether the application asks for other nationalities and whether it will still let you fill it out if you put that the child has US citizenship), and if he gets an ESTA, he can travel to the US on his British passport and try to enter under the Visa Waiver Program. Technically, it is "unlawful" for a US citizen to enter or leave the US without a US passport (with certain exceptions for children entering by land), but there is no penalty or other consequence for violating this law. Plus, if the officer is convinced that your child is a US citizen (which would be hard to do at a border since it depends on complicated conditions like whether you met the residency requirements to transmit citizenship), they cannot deny entry to a US citizen no matter what. So either way, your child will be able to enter the US if they make it to the port of entry.

As a US citizen, your child could just apply for a US passport when in the US, but 6 weeks may be too short to receive the passport and materials back, especially since they will need to adjudicate his/her citizenship, so it's probably not a good idea to apply for it in the US. You can just wait until you guys get back to the UK to apply for a US passport (along with CRBA). Or, you could even apply before you go on your trip, and get it when you come back.