A Consular Report of Birth Abroad (CRBA) is a formal document certifying the acquisition of United States citizenship at birth for a child born abroad to a U.S. citizen parent or parents who meet the requirements for transmitting citizenship under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).
CRBA applications must be done before the child’s 18th birthday. We recommend that the parents apply for the CRBA as soon as possible after the child’s birth.
Eligibility Requirements
To apply, your child must have been born in Eswatini and you must travel to the U.S. Embassy in Ezulwini for the in-person interview.
To be eligible to apply for a CRBA online, you MUST answer all the following criteria with YES.
- Was the child born in Eswatini?
- Is the child under the age of 18?
- Was at least one parent a U.S. citizen or U.S. non-citizen national when the child was born?
- Can you use an internationally accepted credit card or a U.S. dollar bank account to pay online for your Consular Report of Birth Abroad application?
- Are you a biological parent of a child born abroad who is applying for that child?
If any of the above statements do not apply to you, you MUST apply by completing a paper application (DS-2029).
How to Apply for a Consular Report of Birth Abroad
You can now apply for a CRBA electronically at U.S. Embassy Eswatini! This new online feature allows U.S. citizen parents to complete a CRBA application online, upload all required documents, and submit payment prior to the in-person interview.
Step 1. Create a MyTravelGov account. MyTravelGov is a secure, encrypted portal. To learn how to create your account, visit MyTravelGov or watch this video . For more information, check our how-to-guide.
Step 2. Once you have created a MyTravelGov account, access your electronic CRBA (eCRBA) application, complete it and submit it online. You may review the necessary documents for the eCRBA application in advance by reviewing this checklist .
Step 3. Pay online. eCRBA requires payment using the U.S. government’s official payment site pay.gov, a secure online payment system used by many U.S. government agencies. Pay.gov accepts payment in U.S. dollars from a credit card (MasterCard, Visa, American Express, Discover) or U.S. bank account. If you are unable to pay online, you may make a payment on the day of your appointment in cash. If you use Pay.gov, do NOT make another (or duplicate) payment for a CRBA ($100) at the Embassy.
Step 4. Schedule your appointment. To schedule an appointment at U.S. Embassy Eswatini. Please use the following link: U.S. Citizens Services (state.gov). Please schedule your appointment at least 5 working days after payment submission. This provides time for your payment to be processed prior to your interview.
Step 5. Attend your scheduled in-person interview with your original documents, matching those scanned into the eCRBA portal. Original documents will be returned to you after review. The child must be present at the time of application. Generally, both parents attend the interview.
Step 6. During your CRBA appointment, you may also apply for your child’s first passport. The payment for a passport should be done at U.S. Embassy. Both parents/guardians must authorize the issuance of the child’s passport. If one parent/guardian cannot attend the interview with the child, they must show parental consent by completing Form DS-3053 “Statement of Consent.”
Step 7. The CRBA and Passport will arrive to the Embassy for collection. We will inform you via email when the documents have arrived.
Step 8. If you wish to apply for your child’s social security number (SSN) outside of the United States, we will prepare an SSN package together with your child’s CRBA and new passport which you need to send to the Federal Benefits Unit (FBU) located in London directly.
Need Help?
- You can access eCRBA 2.0 Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
- You can review eCRBA Customer Application Procedure
- You can contact us for questions or concerns at MBAConsular@state.gov
Other Important Information
- If you do not qualify to use the eCRBA, please bring completed paper form DS-2029 . Your DS-2029 form should be completed electronically. Fill in the form as completely as possible, including all dates parent(s) was physically present in the United States during their lifetime. You will find more details on the procedure on our website . The application must be brought to your appointment. Do not sign the application. Print all applications and documents single sided. They can be printed on A4 or U.S. letter paper. Please email us the DS-2029 when you request an appointment by sending an email at consular@state.gov with subject line “CRBA – DS 2029 – CHILD’S SURNAME, Given Name”.