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Posted by Carrie Hamilton
on 5/15/2009, 7:50 pm, in reply to "Re: Baby Passport"
124.170.227.207
Have the baby here!! You can stay in the hospital a humane 5 days in order to get a bit of rest and feeding truly established; you aren't chucked out after 24 hours as I've heard in the US.
I've had an easy time getting US passports for both my babies while here in Australia. As I recall, both parents DO have to sign passport applications (and even be present at the interview at the consulate here) out of a concern over one parent taking a child overseas without the other parent's consent. (Wasn't there some Sally Field movie about that?) Anyway, we found it sort of a lovely rite of passage both times to go up into the MLC centre with the baby and do all the official stuff.
There are two parts to doing it here - you get the Consular Report of Birth Abroad (the equivalent to a US state birth certificate) and the US passport simultaneously. They are separate forms though, and the consular report of birth abroad one is a bit of a bear, actually. (Getting a Social Security number is the third step, which we opted to defer.)
In any case, what's important is best wishes for a safe delivery and welcome to our newest Australian-American!
--Previous Message--
: Thank you so much! This is all exciting and
: overwhelming, and your advice is very much
: appreciated! I am off to scan the links you
: provided!
: Thanks again!
:
: --Previous Message--
: Hi Sherr,
:
: Congratulations on your pregnancy! I've gone
: through the process of getting US passports
: for my sons and wanted to pass on some info
: to you...
:
: One thing to note is that an infant CANNOT
: travel on the mother's (or father's)
: passport, they need to have their own. This
: is true for both Australia and the US. Here
: are the website links for both:
:
: The Australian Government website
:
:
: https://www.passports.gov.au/Web/Newppt/ApplyingU18.aspx
: "Children cannot be included in an
: adult's passport. Each child, including a
: newborn infant, must be issued with their
: own passport."
:
: The US Department of State website
:
:
: http://travel.state.gov/passport/get/minors/minors_834.html
: "All children regardless of age,
: including newborns and infants, must have
: their own passport"
:
: I think it's easiest to apply for the baby's
: US passport while you are in the US, then
: get the Australian one when you come back to
: Australia. I think it's slightly less
: paperwork, but either way I think both
: parents need to sign the applications AND
: appear with the baby when submitting them.
:
: I'm not sure how long it takes to receive
: the baby's US birth certificate (each state
: is different, not sure where you will be or
: how long you planned to stay there after the
: birth), but once you have that, then you can
: apply for the US passport. The passport
: could take up to 6 weeks to process.
:
: You should check out both websites to
: research what works best for you. It's
: possible to get the Australian one in the
: US, and the US one in Australia, but it's
: more paperwork.
:
: Good luck!
: Jennifer
:
: --Previous Message--
: Hi! We are expecting a baby and hope to be
: born in the US. I am Aussie, hubby is
: American, but we live in Oz. We have been
: told that an infant can travel on the
: mother's Australian passport for up to 3
: months, so returning to Australia after the
: birth is easy.
:
: We also want to make sure that the baby also
: has a US passport, and we have been told
: that both parents need to sign the US
: passport application. Here's the questions:
:
: 1. Do both parents need to sign a US
: passport application if one of the parents
: in not a US citizen?
:
: 2. Would it be easier to travel back to OZ
: and apply for a US passport in Sydney or
: will this look a little weird with a US
: birth ceritifcate but not a US-obtained
: passport?
:
: Anyone with experience / information is very
: much appreciated!!
:
: Thanks,
: Sherr
:
:
:
:
:
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