Child being born in Colombia......*sigh*

[Hoda]

Yeah, yeah....She wants another one. Thank goodness, my wife wants to wait a little while. Our son, has started sleeping through the WHOLE NIGHT & I love it, DAMMNIT!!! Any-Who, could lswote or someone who is familiar with the process give me a quick refresher of the protocol for a U.S. citizen having their child born outside of the U.S.?

Thanks much...

[Hoda]

... in response to Child being born in Colombia......*sigh*, posted by Hoda on Jan 21, 2005


Now, on to the "easy" part....lol

[Gator]

... in response to Child being born in Colombia......*sigh*, posted by Hoda on Jan 21, 2005


You would apply for a  Consular Report of Birth Abroad which establishes US Citizenship.  This is done through the US Embassy in Bogotá  You will need:

Original or certified copy of the Colombian birth certificate (Colombian notaries issue two types of birth registrations; The embassy requires the "long form" of the certificate)

Original or certified copy of parents' marriage certificate

Proof of the termination of any previous marriages (death or divorce certificates)

Current and all expired passports (U.S. and foreign) of U.S. citizen parent(s)

In your case only one parent is a U.S. citizen  You must provide proof of physical presence in the United States before the child was born.  For children born after 1986, five years presence is required required, two of which must have been after the age of 14. Proof of U.S. physical presence can include previous and current passports, income tax returns, school records, W-2 statements, rent receipts, pay stubs, etc. A simple statement attesting to is not sufficient. At the same time see ifyou can make application for a US Passport for the child.  TGhis might save you time and money as you also have to apply in person at the embassy for the passport.

*PHYSICAL PRESENCE: This is the actual time when the parent was physically present in the United States, not simply as a resident. This means that any travel outside the United States, including vacation, can and should be excluded. Please submit old passports if available, as evidence. If unavailable, other evidence may be required. Note: Any periods of time spent overseas with the United States Military/Government etc. may be computed as physical presence in the United States for transmission of citizenship purposes. Time spent as a dependent of a United States Military/Government employee may also be computed as physical presence. Military records may be requested.

Good luck and remember, 100's of others have gone through the process.

[lswote]

... in response to Re: Child being born in Colombia......*s..., posted by Gator on Jan 21, 2005

I had problems when I registered because they wanted proof that my wife and I were physically together when the baby was conceived, so I had to show both our passports as well so they could see we were in the same country during the approximate time of conception.

[Avispa]

... in response to Re: Re: Child being born in Colombia......., posted by lswote on Jan 21, 2005

Oh, that's good. I thought they might have wanted videotape.  :-)

[thundernco]

... in response to Re: Child being born in Colombia......*s..., posted by Gator on Jan 21, 2005

You normally submit the paperwork for the passport at the same time, along with the pics of the little one.  Go into to ACS by 9, fill out your paperwork by 10, see the man(or woman), go to lunch and return after 3 same day for the certificate.  You'll get the passport via Deprisa 10 days later.  Easy as pie, did it for both our kids. -TNC

[OkieMan]

... in response to Gator is right on. , posted by thundernco on Jan 21, 2005

Hey Thundernco,
I would like to ask you a question concerning the birth of your children.  I don't mean to be too nosy, but I am curious about why your children were born in Colombia, and not the US?  Is it because your wife's family is in Colombia and she wants to be near them when she gives birth? Or maybe, it's an economic reason. I realize that  the medical costs in the US is ridiculous.  My first wife (american) and I had 3 sons. Naturally, they were born in the states.  Since this latin experience is new to me, I had never considered this aspect of a marriage to a latina.  Probably due to my age, I don't really think I will want more children; but just in case, I am curious about all of this. Please explain.  By the way, what is the quality of medical care in Colombia? What are the hospitals like, and OB-GYN, etc? The closest I have been to something like this was when I was in the Air Force over 25 years ago.  I was stationed at RAF Lakenheath, England for 2 years. I became good friends with several people on the hospital staff.  Anyway, since we were all military personnel, I found out that a guy could put his wife in the hospital to have the baby and it only cost us $25, at that time.  The bad deal for me, concerning the money, was that my oldest son was not due to be born until we had already come back to the States.  Well, I found out that our military insurance was not the same in the States, and it cost me a small fortune for the doctor, the hospital, etc. Plus, my son had complications and fortunately, there was a lot of pediatric specialists at the Children's Hospital in Oklahoma City.  So, I had to take out a loan to pay the medical costs.  But, at least my son came home 12 days later. God was good.  My son is now 24 and married, and I have a big healthy grandson who is about to turn two!  But, to get back to my question, I am curious if medical costs is one of the factors in you decision?

                         OkieMan

[thundernco]

... in response to Re: Gator is right on. , posted by OkieMan on Jan 21, 2005

I'm fairly private, some even say paranoid, but the main reasons were:
 1. We were living in CO when our children were born.
 2. Dual citizenship easier if born in CO (Consular Report of Birth Abroad).  
 3. Lets face it, the mother is doing the hardest part in all of this and it's best if she can have her support system around her.
 4. The care is ridiculously inexpensive by North American standards, while being very high quality.

We had top of the line EPS private insurance with the best supplemental we could purchase.  Aside from the regular premiums, my youngest child's birth only cost an extra $1.50 out of pocket at one of the best hospitals in Cali.  Our child was ill at about 1 month, NICU; and the care was excellent.  As good as anything I've ever seen (and I have a fairly decent background in the area). -TNC