If you cannot present primary evidence of U.S. citizenship, you must submit secondary evidence of U.S. citizenship. Determine what form of secondary evidence is most appropriate for your situation based on the descriptions below.
If you were born in the United States and cannot present primary evidence of U.S. citizenship, submit a combination of early public records as evidence of your U.S. citizenship. Early public records must be submitted with a birth record or Letter of No Record. Early public records should show your name, date of birth, place of birth, and preferably be created within the first five years of your life. Examples of early public records are:Early Public Records are not acceptable when presented alone.
Delayed Birth Certificate
If you were born in the United States and cannot present primary evidence of U.S. citizenship because your U.S. Birth Certificate was not filed within the first year of your birth, you may submit a Delayed U.S. Birth Certificate. A Delayed U.S. Birth Certificate filed more than one year after your birth may be acceptable if:
It lists the documentation used to create it (preferably early public records) and
It is signed by the birth attendant or lists an affidavit signed by the parents
If your Delayed U.S. Birth Certificate does not include these items, it should be submitted together with Early Public Records.
If you were born in the United States and cannot present primary evidence of U.S. citizenship because you do not have a previous U.S. passport or a certified U.S. birth certificate of any kind, you must present a state-issued Letter of No Record showing:
Your name
Your date of birth
The years for which a birth record was searched
Acknowledgement that no birth certificate was found on file
A Letter of No Record must be submitted together with Early Public Records.
Form DS-10: Birth Affidavit
If you were born in the United States and cannot present primary evidence of U.S. citizenship, you may submit Form DS-10: Birth Affidavit as evidence of your U.S. citizenship. The birth affidavit:
Must be notarized
Must be submitted in person with Form DS-11
Must be submitted together with early public records
Must be completed by an affiant who has personal knowledge of birth in the U.S.
Must state briefly how the affiant's knowledge was acquired
Should be completed by an older blood relative
NOTE: If no older blood relative is available, it may be completed by the attending physician or any other person who has personal knowledge of your birth
Foreign Birth Documents + Parent(s) Citizenship Evidence
If you claim citizenship through birth abroad to U.S. citizen parent(s), but cannot submit a Consular Report of Birth Abroad or Certification of Birth, you must submit all of the following:
Your foreign birth certificate (translated to English)
Evidence of citizenship of your U.S. citizen parent
Your parents' marriage certificate
An statement of your U.S. citizen parent detailing all periods and places of residence or physical presence in the United States and abroad before your birth
NOTES:
Unacceptable Documents
The following will not be accepted as secondary evidence of U.S. citizenship: