The American Citizen Services Unit decorated the office in pink, blue, and white on March 11 to welcome families who visited the Consulate to register their babies as United States citizens. Consul General Anne Callaghan and Minister Counselor for Consular Affairs Russel Brown, who was visiting from Ottawa, received families and presented commemorative certificates and keepsakes to parents. Please click here for photos from the event.
The Consulate doubled the number of CRBA (Consular Report of Birth Abroad) appointments for several days in the month of March in order to meet a steady increase in demand. CRBAs are documents issued to U.S. citizens born outside the United States to one or two U.S. citizen parents. While parents can apply for CRBAs any time before a child’s eighteenth birthday, most apply when their children are still infants and the required documentation and information is still fresh and readily available.
While CRBA applications can be heavy on paperwork, the Consulate team in Vancouver wanted to celebrate the sentimental significance of the day. Consular staff enjoyed watching the babies’ older siblings play with balloons as the parents shared stories with each other. Even clients who had come to Consulate for other services enjoyed the festivities.
CRBAs take just two weeks to process from the time of interview. For more information on registering the birth of United States citizens born abroad, click here.
