C was born in the US and he’s never been off American soil. He has an American birth certificate, a Social Security card, health insurance, and he’s sporting a Bernie Sanders button on his Ergo carrier like a local. Like many American babies, he’s the first generation born here to two Green Card holders.
C is also eligible to become a dual Canadian citizen, so as soon as we had his birth certificate and Social Security number, we applied for Canadian citizenship and a passport. There are no consular services here, so Joel had to take the application to the Canadian Embassy office in San Francisco to have it witnessed, checked for accuracy, and sent to Canada.
Lo and behold, the application was returned citing a lack of photo ID. Photo ID is something hospitals issue for babies born in an institution, but for a baby born at home or in a birth center, there is no ID card provided. This hadn’t been an issue when we completed the same process for Austen in Singapore.
We didn’t love the idea of C traveling on a US passport — it separates our family citizenship-wise — but it seemed like the only way to move forward with his Canadian passport was to obtain the American one first.
We applied in person so the clerk at the passport office could see and photograph C. A few weeks later, that application was returned with a letter stating there wasn’t sufficient evidence that he was born in the United States. They rejected both his birth certificate and Social Security card, saying additional documentation was required because he was a non-institutional birth. [headdesk]
They sent a list of supplementary documents needed to support his citizenship claim. Two items on that list were, in fact, illegal for me to obtain or mail to them.
Armed with a stack of visa bills, receipts, and letters from Joel’s employer and my midwife, we sent off a thick parcel to the Department of State.
At last, we had success. C was sorted.
