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DNA Testing for Consular Reports of Birth Abroad (CRBA)

Transcript of the above video:

In this video, we're going to be discussing CRBAs also known as Consular Reports of Birth Abroad sometimes colloquially referred to as Embassy birth certificates. Basically, what these documents are - it's a report obviously from the consulate basically noting that an American citizen has been born abroad. Pursuant to statutory authority in the United States, American citizenship can be transmitted automatically overseas from one American parent to a child or two American parents to a child for that matter notwithstanding the fact that child is born abroad so long as the American citizen fulfills certain criteria at the time of the child's birth.

With respect to automatic transmission of citizenship, how that all operates in the legal context, I suggest checking out the video on this channel that specifically talks about consular reports of birth abroad. And also, there's another video that talks about what's called the Child Citizenship Act which is a piece of legislation that was created in an effort to sort of remedy situations where an American citizen has had a child overseas but did not in fact transmit nationality automatically upon that child's birth. So I recommend checking out those videos on our channel.

This specific video is talking about DNA testing in the context of constant reports of birth abroad. In certain instances and it doesn't happen all the time, a DNA test can be requested sort of at the discretion of the consular officer although in circumstances where the applicant - the child in question - that's seeking the CRBA is perhaps was not born to a couple who were legally married at the time of the birth, in those situations it's very likely that the consulate is going to ask for a DNA test. And there's even circumstances where the couple is married and the child is born where the consulate goes ahead and says “look, under our discretion we can ask for a DNA test and we're going to go ahead do so.”

There are certain sort of extenuating circumstances where you've got situations where it even happens where a parent or predeceased the child even applying for their consular report of birth abroad often in those circumstances, a DNA test will be requested as well. That being said, as previously mentioned, as previously noted in in another video of the CRBA video specific to CRBAs, DNA testing can be requested.

Basically, this video is to discuss what is that process, how one sort of undertake that. Well basically, the embassy will make the formal request for a DNA test and then usually you're either going to have to do the DNA tests, add an officially sanctioned hospital abroad. So here in Thailand, the embassy is going to go ahead and designate who can go ahead and administer the DNA test or if one's located in the United States, there are certain facilities that have been certified and designated by Department State officials as being able to undertake DNA testing for purposes of determining nationality. And there's sort of a chain of custody with respect to the information and the results of the DNA test where the DNA test gets back to the Department of State officials. The Department of state officials adjudicated and then go ahead and in many cases you'll need to have a secondary DNA test done over here in Thailand for the child themselves. If you're dealing with Thailand or abroad, just generally and basically at that point they're going to go ahead and use the DNA test to make their determination as to the nationality of the child at the time of his birth. Once a consular report of birth abroad is issued, the CRBA is issued at that point that U.S. passport and thereafter be issued and the child can travel freely into the United States.

In most cases, I think most folks can usually deal with most of it on their own. There are extenuating circumstances where it might not be a bad idea to go ahead and perhaps retain the assistance of professionals to go ahead and assist in the process especially in those extenuating circumstances where you have kind of a complex situation, whereby you need to prove up the child's paternity. If that's the case, it may definitely be advantageous to go ahead and retain the assistance of professionals.