First, the officer is definitely incorrect. Both the DOS website and the DS-11 form say that a current or expired US passport is sufficient evidence of US citizenship for a new US passport application, without needing to provide other evidence. And even if you need to provide evidence of US citizenship again, both the DOS website and the DS-11 form say that the parent's Certificate of Naturalization, the child's green card or other evidence of the child's former permanent resident status, and evidence of the parent's custody of the child, all while the child is under 18, is sufficient evidence of US citizenship to apply for a US passport. (Which you already know since that's what you used to apply for the child's passport the first time.) You do NOT have to get a Certificate of Citizenship for the child in order to get a US passport.
The DOS
page on applying for a passport for a child, under "2. Provide U.S. Citizenship Evidence":
You must submit one of the following documents for your child:
- Full validity, undamaged U.S. passport (expired passports are accepted). Full validity means the document is/was valid for 10 years for adults and 5 years for children under 16.
- [...]
If you cannot submit one of the above acceptable documents for your child, or for more information, please see Citizenship Evidence.
On the
Citizenship Evidence page, it says:
If you cannot provide primary evidence, you must submit secondary evidence of U.S. citizenship.
Under "Examples of Secondary Citizenship Evidence" -> "I was born outside the United States" -> "I became a U.S. citizen through my parent who naturalized or through the Child Citizenship Act of 2000":
If you were born outside the United States and acquired U.S. citizenship through the naturalization of your parent(s), please submit the following with your passport application:
- Your foreign birth certificate listing your parent(s)
- Evidence of your parent’s U.S. citizenship such as a U.S. birth certificate, Consular Report of Birth Abroad (CRBA), or naturalization certificate
- Evidence of your permanent residence status. Examples include:
- Permanent Resident Card/Green Card
- Foreign passport with the original I-551 visa entry stamp
- Your parents' marriage certificate (if your parents were married when you legally entered the U.S. and before your 18th birthday)
- Documentation of legal custody when you entered the United States, if your parents were not married at that time. If your parents divorced after you entered the United States, provide documentation of legal custody at the time of your parent’s naturalization
- Evidence that you resided in the United States in the legal and physical custody of your U.S. citizen parent
And on the
DS-11 form itself, instructions page 2 (proof of US citizenship), in the left column, it says:
Fully valid, undamaged U.S. passport (may be expired)
(they put it under Applicants Born in the US in a poor re-design of the page, but it applies to both applicants born in and outside the US)
And in the right column, it says:
Claiming Citizenship through Naturalization of One or Both Parent(s), submit all the following:
- Your parent(s) Certificate(s) of Naturalization
- Your parents' marriage/certificate and/or evidence that you were in the legal and physical custody of your U.S. citizen parent, if applicable
- Your foreign birth certificate (and official translation if the document is not in English)
- Your evidence of admission to the United States for legal permanent residence and proof you subsequently resided in the United States
The DOS's Foreign Affairs Manual clearly says that a Certificate of Citizenship is not needed to get a passport for children like yours who automatically got citizenship, in
8 FAM 301.10-1.f:
f. Parents of children who acquired U.S. citizenship automatically under the CCA may apply for a Certificate of Citizenship from USCIS (a Certificate of Citizenship is not required to issue a passport) and/or a U.S. passport.
Unfortunately, I am not sure what are the avenues for appeal. You can apply again and hope that you get a different officer, and/or be prepared to show the above webpages and instructions from the form to them. You could contact the Congressman of your last place of residence in the US to get them to talk to the Department of State for you. You could sue the Department of State, but I am sure that there is some intermediate step short of a lawsuit, since the Department of State's Passport Office surely won't deny the passport; the problem is getting past the first step with the consular officer. Maybe someone else can chime in on what the options are.
