Verification Documentation

Proof of Citizenship

 *Some of the links below are PDF files, which can be downloaded using Adobe Reader. If you do not have Adobe Reader, download the latest version of Adobe Acrobat Reader from here.

You may prove U.S. citizenship with any one of the following:

• Previous U.S. Passport (mutilated, altered, or damaged passports are not acceptable as evidence of U.S. citizenship.)
• Certified birth certificate issued by the city, county or state.
  A certified birth certificate has a registrar's raised, embossed, impressed or multicolored seal, registrar's signature, and the date the certificate was filed with the registrar's office, which must be within 1 year of your birth
• Consular Report of Birth Abroad or Certification of Birth
• Naturalization Certificate
• Certificate of Citizenship

A Delayed Birth Certificate filed more than one year after your birth may be acceptable if it:

• Lists the documentation used to create it, and
• Is signed by the attending physician or midwife, or, lists an affidavit signed by the parents, or shows early public records.

If you do not have a previous U.S. passport or a certified birth certificate, you will need:

1. Letter of "No Record found",  issued by the Vital Statistics office of the state of your birth stating your name, date of birth, which years were searched for a birth record and that there is no birth certificate on file for you
2. AND as many of the following as possible:
   • baptismal certificate
   • hospital birth certificate
   • census record
   • early school record
   • family bible record
   • doctor's record of post-natal care

These documents must be early public records showing the date and place of birth, preferably created within the first five years of the applicant’s life.

You may also submit an Affidavit of Birth, form DS-10, ( *PDF document) from an older blood relative, i.e., a parent, aunt, uncle, sibling, who has personal knowledge of your birth. It must be notarized or have the seal and signature of the acceptance agent.

If you were born abroad AND do not have a Consular Report of Birth Abroad or Certificate of Birth on file, you will need:

1. If you claim citizenship through birth abroad to one U.S. citizen parent:
   • Foreign birth certificate,
   • Proof of citizenship of your U.S. citizen parent, AND
   • An affidavit of your U.S. citizen parent showing all periods and places of residence or physical presence in the United States and abroad before your birth.
2. If you claim citizenship through birth abroad to two U.S. citizen parents:
   • Your foreign birth certificate,
   • Parent’s marriage certificate, AND
   • Proof of citizenship of your U.S. parents and an affidavit of your U.S. citizen parents showing all periods and places of residence of physical presence in the United States and abroad before your birth.

The following are NOT proof of citizenship:

• Voter registration cards
• Army discharge papers

Information on foreign-born children adopted by U.S. citizens.

If you travel extensively, you may request a larger 48-page passport at no additional cost. To do so, please attach a signed request for a 48-page passport to your application.

For minors under the age of 14:

The citizenship evidence submitted for minors under the age of 14 must list both parents' names.