Obtaining Proof of U.S. Citizenship
Citizenship certificates are issued only by offices of USCIS located inside the United States. Anyone with a claim to U.S. citizenship can apply for a certificate of citizenship. In most cases it is more difficult to prove your citizenship through a certificate of citizenship application than by applying for a U.S. passport, mostly because it takes more time. However, if your U.S. citizenship was obtained automatically through the naturalization of a parent, a certificate of citizenship application is your easiest and best choice, because the evidence needed to prove your claim is usually obvious and easy to acquire.
Evidence of your claim to U.S. citizenship should include your parents' birth certificates, marriage certificates, and naturalization and citizenship certificates. You will also need your birth certificate, marriage certificate, or divorce decree to prove what your name is and to document any name changes you may have made in the past.
In many of the busier USCIS offices, it can take over a year to obtain a certificate of citizenship. You may have better luck applying for a passport instead (or try both).
Certificates of Consular Registration of Birth
If you were born outside the United States, and your parents were U.S. citizens at the time, they may have registered your birth with a U.S. consulate. If they did so within five years of your birth, they would have been issued what is called a Consular Registration of Birth Abroad. The consular registration is conclusive proof of U.S. citizenship.
But, if your parents did not take the steps to register your birth with the consulate before you turned five years of age, there is no way of obtaining one now. Also, there is no way to obtain duplicates if your parents lost the original and any copies they received at the time of your birth. You will have to apply for a passport or certificate of citizenship using the procedures outlined above.
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