How to Complete the CRBA Application (DS-2029)

 

The instruction pages of the Form DS-2029 contains line-by-line instructions.  Here, we have emphasized the fields that tend to be completed incorrectly.

• Field # 1
  Enter the name of the child exactly as it is recorded on the original birth certificate.  The designation of first, middle, and last names must be the same on the Form DS-2029 and Form DS-11 (if concurrently applying for a passport).
• Field # 3
  Enter the child’s date of birth as reported on the original birth certificate, first listing the month, then day, then year.
• Fields # 5/11
  Enter the Mother’s and Father’s names as each appears on the parent’s passport and/or government issued identity document.  In the case of the U. S. Citizen parent(s), please make sure the information entered in this field matches the most recent U.S. passport.
• Fields # 6/12
  Enter all legal names ever used by mother or father, including name at birth or any maiden name(s).  Most naturalized U.S. citizens have only one last name on their U.S. passport, in this field they would include both last names as is on their foreign birth certificate, if applicable.
• Fields # 8/14
  Enter each parent’s date of birth (not the child’s date of birth)
• Fields # 10/16
  Enter the address (or neighborhood) where each parent customarily resides.
• Field # 20
  Check the “yes” box only if the child’s two parents were married to each other at the time of birth.  Check “no” if one or more of the parents was married to someone else or if the parents married after the child was born.
• Field # 21
  Enter the date, place, and marriage status only if you answered “yes” that the child’s two parents were married to each other at the time of the child’s birth.
• Fields # 22 and 23
  If you have never been married, enter “none.”  If either parent is currently or was ever married, please provide the spouse’s full name, the date and place of marriage, and current status (still married, divorced with date, or death with date).
• Fields # 24 and 25
  List all dates you have been present in the United States. The transmitting U.S. Citizens parent will have to write down all the dates that s/he has been physically present inside the United States.  Please see below for more detailed instructions on this section.  If you require additional space to write down the information please continue on Section D of the DS-2029 form.
• Field # 28
  The section only needs to be completed if the child was born out of wedlock to a U.S. citizen father and a non-citizen mother.  Please do not complete this section until you are in front of the consular officer at your CRBA appointment.
  • If the U.S. citizen father will not be present for the appointment, leave Field #28 blank and have him complete Form DS-5507 listing the periods of time he spent in the United States.  Parts II and III of the DS-5507 should be signed in front of a notary and the other parent must bring the original, notarized document to the interview.

• Fields # 29 and 30
  Please do not complete these sections.

How to Provide Precise Periods of Time in United States (Field 24)

We know that this is the most complicated part of this form, so we urge you to please pay close attention to details.

On the list of dates you provide in field # 24and/or 25, you need to fill out only the dates that you have been physically present in the U.S.  This means that if you left the U.S. for even one day, those dates should not be included on this list.  The time you spent in Cabo Verde will not be reflected in this list, except as gaps in your U.S. presence.  We encourage you to refer to passport stamps, prior plane tickets and flight itineraries, and other documentation to complete these fields.  Please bring whatever documentation you used to your appointment.

TIP: All entry stamps into Cabo Verde or other countries mean that you had left the United States, so those dates should be listed on the right side.

For example:

• Your expired Cabo Verdean passport has your U.S. immigrant visa and an entry stamp dated October 13, 2010.
• You have tax returns showing your income as a mechanic for 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2016.  You also have a completion certificate from an 18-month specialization course completed in July 2013.  Finally, you have a lease from the house in Brockton, MA you’ve rented since 2015.
• Your Cabo Verdean passport has an entry stamp into Praia dated November 28, 2013, and an exit stamp dated January 3, 2014, from your first trip outside the United States since immigrating.
• Your Certificate of Naturalization is dated July 18, 2016.
• Your new U.S. passport has Praia entry/exit stamps from another holiday visit to Cabo Verde from December 10, 2016 through January 28, 2017.
• You have your emailed flight itinerary and Praia entry/exit stamps from your trip to Cabo Verde for the birth of your child between September 26, 2017 and October 30, 3017.  Your child was born October 3, 2017.

You should bring all bolded documents to your interview as supporting evidence.

Based on the example scenario, your Field 24 would look like the image above.