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Submitting CRBA without child present?

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  • Submitting CRBA without child present?

    Hi, I have a complicated situation. I have a son in Moscow born to Russian mother. We were never married. I am US citizen. My son lives with his mother, and the mother does everything in her power to prevent me from seeing my son. Heck, she even has court enforcement proceedings against her. So there is actually no way for me to go to the embassy with my child to submit a CRBA. I was wondering if anyone knows the US code that outlines CRBA processing. I am trying to figure out if exigent circumstances would allow me to submit a CRBA on my own, without the mother and child present, so that later on in life my son could actually obtain a US passport if he so desires. Otherwise, in this situation the mother would be allowed to dictate the terms of my child being able to receive US citizenship and seems odd that a non cooperative mother should legally have that power. So trying to understand how to proceed in such a complicated case.

    thanks

  • #2
    I don't see anything in DS-2029 that says the child must be present, but I found an embassy page saying that you are required to bring the child, so I guess it's probably the case that the child needs to be present. I don't know if they can make any exception for your circumstances.

    But your son doesn't need to have a CRBA to be a US citizen. He is a US citizen when the conditions in the law are met. The same evidence that can be used to apply for a CRBA can be used to apply for a US passport at any age. Now, the complication here is that your son was born out of wedlock to an American father, and in that case, in addition to your physical presence of 5 years before the child's birth that is needed, two additional things must happen before your child turns 18 in order for your child to get US citizenship from you: 1) the child needs to be legitimated, paternity acknowledged, or the child's paternity is determined by a competent court, and 2) the father needs to voluntarily agree in writing to support the child until the child turns 18.

    You don't need to apply for a CRBA to meet these additional conditions. 8 FAM 301.7-10(C).d(2)(b) says that "Acknowledgement may be made under oath or affirmation in any form before a consular officer or other official authorized to administer oaths." And 8 FAM 301.7-10(C).c(6-7)​ provides lots of forms of evidence which can be used to prove you agreed to support the child before they turned 18. Normally, when one applies for a CRBA for a child born out of wedlock to an American father, as in your case, the acknowledgement and agreement of support are both met when the father completes either DS-2029 section B, or DS-5507 part II. I don't know if the US consulate will let you submit this for the record without applying for a CRBA, but if not, then in principle, you can sign the statement under oath in front of a notary public or any other official authorized to administer oaths, and have it documented that it happened before your child turned 18, and it should cause your child to be a US citizen under US law. Then, your child should be able to use this, plus the evidence of your physical presence, to get a US passport at any age, even after 18.

    This is my personal opinion and is not to be construed as legal advice.

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    • #3
      The embassy agreed to see me without the child and submit the application. So I have appointment in a week. In my case I had to go through a Moscow family court to get written into the birth cert. But before the court made a decision, the mother voluntarily signed the necessary doc. As part of that I had to do a written affirmation of my fatherhood, needed by the family services agency in Moscow. So the court decision has no text about my fatherhood being established in the court proceedings. Though the court protocol/transcription shows the discussion. Nonetheless I have the birth cert, my attestation, my parental rights are acknowledged here, and mother is on record being in violation of a Russian court. And since birth I have been supporting financially, but mother is non communicative and refuses to enter into an official alimony agreement. So upon being written into the birth cert, I opened account for my child, send him money (his access to that account is from 18 years old), as well as send to the mother, all electronic, with receipts. And prior to me being written into the birth cert I sent the mother money via paypal and transferwise, with all receipts saved. So I have quite a bit of evidence, not sure what is worth translating. I suppose for the appointment the main thing is to have the birth cert and translation, the attestation and translation, my physical presence evidence, plus photos of me with the child, written communication with the mother (I have ultrasound photos, etc, etc, all pertaining to the birth).

      If they require DNA that will be tough since the mother will not take him for the analysis. So hoping what I present is sufficient. I already filled out a 5507, thought about filling out 5525 about exigent circumstances, but that is for passport, and here I am just talking about CRBA, and I am writing separate explanation about the unusual circumstances.

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