CRBA, physical presence, is old passport enough proof?

sam8622645

New Member
I'm getting ready for a consular report of birth abroad interview, and I'm trying to figure out if my old non-US passport is enough of proof for my physical presence.

I'm a naturalized US citizen. So I've originally entered the USA on a passport of my native country. And during my life in the USA, I've gone through several of my old country's passports.

One of such passports was issued to me in an NYC consulate of my country, as stated in the passport's "place of issue" field. It was issued in place of a previous passport that had expired while I was living in the USA.

In that passport, I only have one short trip, which is documented by entry and exit stamps of my native country and an entry stamp of US CBP. Which corresponds to just one round trip.

Additionally, this passport expired while I was still not a US citizen, and I was issued a separate travel document, which references this passport's number. Also issued in NYC consulate of my native country. This travel document is just a form with my picture, all information, consular stamp, to be used once only to return to my native country in conjunction with an expired passport.

This means that I was in the USA when I received this passport. And I was still in the USA when the passport expired. With only one short trip.

I understand that the US doesn't stamp passports on exit, and I could have exited the USA with this passport without any stamp, but then I wouldn't be able to receive that separate travel document in an NYC consulate, referencing the passport number of that passport.

Short of jumping the border, it wouldn't have been possible for me to not have been in the USA during the entire time frame of the validity of that passport.

I've had a passport before that, and two more after that. And then a US passport. So it's rather old. But I'm glad I never threw it away.

Now the question is, would that in itself be enough to prove that I was physically in the US for five years?

I understand when people's passports aren't accepted as proof because the US doesn't stamp on exit. But what about this particular case?

Any way I look at it, I just can't think up a scenario of me leaving the US or not being in the US and yet still having the passport and the travel document in the state in which I described.

Would such logic convince the interviewer or would they simply discard it regardless or the explanation that I provided above?

How much leeway do they get when the judge on the proof that is presented to them?
 
Passport stamps are not necessarily sufficient. For example, you could have had multiple passports, or a passport and some other kind of travel document like a re-entry permit, or maybe your country doesn't stamp their own passports, and permanent residents entering the US are not required to have or present a passport, so may not have a stamp. There are many ways to slip through the cracks. It would be best to have other records, like work/school records, appointments, etc.
 
From the embassy's website:
In the event that the child has one U.S. citizen parent, proof of the U.S. citizen parent's physical presence in the United States is required. The best way to establish this proof is to submit the original passports documenting entry and exits to all countries visited. Pay stubs, transcripts from educational institutions (NOT diplomas), and medical records may also be helpful in establishing physical presence. See below for a detailed description of physical presence requirements.


This makes it sound like a passport is the primary means of proof, while everything else is supporting documentation.

Are you saying that in practice they don't consider passports to be sufficient?
 
For future applicants and anyone who might be looking for practical experience, just want to let you know that it all worked out well.


They accepted my passport, and more importantly, a disclosure from CBP about my travels.

Last year, I submitted a FOIA request with the CBP to get a list of all records they have of me. I did it specifically for this interview. So I had my complete travel records dating back to as far as the first time I entered the US.

My old passports combined with the CBP records were enough to establish physical presence requirements. They didn't ask for any bills or anything else at all. They didn't even care about the passports all that much because the CBP records were proof enough. But combining CBP records with passports in which travel stamps matched border crossing notes from CBP records was considered by them to be solid and complete evidence.

I was asked some questions about various stages of my life, like school, college, marriage, moving around withing the USA, etc. But the physical presence itself was not questioned at all. The questions they had were mostly to confirm that what I'm saying is true and that our marriage is real. They asked my wife a few questions, like when we met, etc., while I remained silent, my guess simply to confirm that "our story checks out". But it was all pleasant and professional.

I also offered them joint tax returns for all the years we were married, family pictures, and some other scraps and bits of paper from old receipts and anything I could find, but he said no need for that. He said that sometimes they ask for tax returns and other documentation, but in my case it was not needed.

As a matter of fact, at the end of the appointment, the consular official who was conducting the interview actually thanked me for providing this evidence in an easy-to-examine form.

So for anyone out there, if you are lacking old bills, receipts, leases, etc. then you might want to submit a FOIA request with the CBP to get your travel records. This is considered evidence of physical presence as much as a phone bill, if not more.
 
thank you so much for the great info. i just went for my daughter's interview and officer said i dont have enough evidence even thought i have my old passports. however i applied for my FOIA record 25 days ago buy unfortunatley i didnt get it. the office gave me 90 days to ptove my presence in the states. as he said if i get my FOIA report will be more than fine. my question ia how long did it take to receive your report from the submission date?. are they sending youe report by email or by mail?. thanks in advance
 
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