# Born in the USA



## Ms B (May 9, 2008)

My husband and I are both British and living in the US with H1B visas. We are expecting our first child at the end of October which will be born in the US. I want it to have a British passport (I think traveling will be easier if we all have the same passport) so I was wondering:

1)	Is it possible to get a British passport for our baby while we are in America?
2)	If yes, approximately how long will it take? We are hoping to spend Christmas in England.

Also what will happen with our visas? Will we have to get the baby put on our visas or won’t it matter because he/she will be born in the US? If we have to alter our visas is this something that we can do here?

Thanks. 

B x


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## twostep (Apr 3, 2008)

Congratulations to the pending family addition!
Your child will be a US citizen. 
I cannot answer your question about UK citizenship/documents. Tttp://www.ukba.homeoffice.gov.uk/britishcitizenship/ This is the closest I came up with Have you contacted the nearest UK Embassy?


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

Be sure to register the birth of your child with the nearest British embassy or consulate. Not sure how the Brits do these things, but for the birth of a US citizen overseas, you have to bring the baby in to the consulate along with all your own identity papers, the baby's birth certificate, and little bitty passport pictures (well, actually, the same size as regular passport pictures, but of the baby).

You should also apply right away for a US passport for the baby. Baby won't need a visa (being a native born American), but he or she will need a US passport for returning back to the US after your holidays in England. It is very illegal for a US citizen to enter the US using anything other than their US passport, no matter what other passport they may have. The Customs people can get really cranky about this if they're having a bad day.
Cheers,
Bev


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## Ms B (May 9, 2008)

Thanks for the advice! So is it ok for the baby to have both a US and a British passport?


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## twostep (Apr 3, 2008)

Ms B said:


> Thanks for the advice! So is it ok for the baby to have both a US and a British passport?


Yes.


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## Fatbrit (May 8, 2008)

Ms B said:


> Thanks for the advice! So is it ok for the baby to have both a US and a British passport?


American perspective: Dual Citizenship FAQ
British perspective: a small paragraph in your British passport

The child is a US citizen whether they like it or not! They may renounce it after turning 18, but you cannot renounce it on their behalf.

You'll need:
US -- birth certificate, SSN, passport
UK -- passport and, possibly, Consular Record of Birth


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## PDXnative (Aug 5, 2008)

Congrats. You can't beat a dual citizenship!


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