{"id":4017,"date":"2024-04-22T17:27:00","date_gmt":"2024-04-22T21:27:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/startabroad.com\/?p=4017"},"modified":"2026-05-14T10:23:18","modified_gmt":"2026-05-14T14:23:18","slug":"child-born-abroad-costa-rica","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/startabroad.com\/pt\/child-born-abroad-costa-rica\/","title":{"rendered":"U.S. Passport for a Child Born Abroad: Registering a Birth in Costa Rica with the U.S. Embassy"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Note: We are publishing this article in April 2024, and it\u2019s possible the information below will change as the Embassy updates their rules and processes. Please be sure to follow all instructions from the Embassy, which you can find here: https:\/\/cr.usembassy.gov\/services\/birth<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>

We gave birth to our daughter in December and recently went through the process of getting her U.S. passport. The process was frustrating, largely due to how difficult it was to get the information we needed to proceed. We are publishing this guide in the hopes that it helps other new American parents in Costa Rica.<\/p>

A Nossa Hist\u00f3ria<\/h3>

We knew as soon as our daughter was born that we\u2019d want to get her registered as an American born abroad in Costa Rica, in order to get her passport. Without her U.S. passport it would be very difficult to travel back to the U.S. as a family, so we wanted to get it taken care of asap. When she was just a few weeks old we started the process, which ended up taking 5-6 weeks to complete, including a big road trip and overnight stay in San Jose with the whole family.<\/p>

We completed the online process outlined below and requested our in-person appointment at the Embassy. In-person appointments cannot be selected or scheduled at your convenience. They are assigned. We ended up getting a 7am appointment on a Tuesday, so we traveled to San Jose the weekend before and booked an Airbnb for 2 nights near the embassy. Both parents typically need to attend this appointment, along with the child.<\/p>

While 7am is early for an embassy appointment, we were the first American citizens to be seen that day, skipping the long line of Costa Ricans waiting on their embassy appointments. We went up to a window twice \u2013 first to show our initial paperwork to make sure we had everything required, next to a private room with a window where we answered questions to prove our citizenship. We showed up to the embassy just before 7am and left before 8am. All in all an efficient trip!<\/p>

It was a little bit stressful to have a hungry, crying infant with us, but the embassy officials seemed to have seen it all, and didn\u2019t bat an eye when we stopped to nurse in the chairs in the waiting area.<\/p>

While the initial process was confusing, we did end up getting approved for our registration of birth abroad immediately, while we were physically at our embassy appointment, and our daughter\u2019s passport was ready for pickup after just one week.<\/p>

When we asked about getting a Social Security Number for our daughter, we were referred to the Federal Benefits Unit of the embassy for instructions as to how to apply. This unit was unresponsive to emails and phone calls for a few months, but we finally got through. See below the instructions they gave us on how to get an SSN for our daughter.<\/p>

We are both American citizens who were born and grew up in the United States, and we\u2019re unmarried. The paperwork we had to provide will be slightly different than parents who are both US citizens and married, or in cases in which only one parent is a US citizen or resident, but we will cover all cases below!<\/p>

\"passports\"<\/p>

Steps we took to register a birth abroad with the United States from Costa Rica<\/h3>
  1. Create an account with MyTravelGov<\/a><\/li>
  2. Complete a Consular Report of Birth Abroad (eCRBA) form online and upload docs online at MyTravelGov<\/li>
  3. Pay the fee online<\/li>
  4. Schedule an in-person interview by emailing acssanjose@state.gov<\/a> and SanJoseCRBA@state.gov<\/a> (in early 2024 it says to email the SanJoseCRBA address online, but we found only acssanjose would respond).<\/li>
  5. Attend the in-person interview at the US embassy in San Jose, bring all of your documents listed below, and decide if you want to pick up your child\u2019s passport at the embassy in San Jose or get it mailed to you.