Birth Certificate help???

[disneydreamer1970]

Please help....

I was born in Germany (my Dad was in the Army) and we can't find my Birth Certificate.

I have seem some web sites that I can order one, but I can't seem to find that information.

Have any of you been in this situation and what have you done???

I would like to get this ordered and take off my list of things to do before our upcoming cruise.

Thank you!!!!

 

[DisneyDreamer8]

Hi...I did a search because I remember this being discussed over on the community board...You need to contact the Army directly. They will have the records and you can get a copy as long as you have a SSN and I believe the SSN or military ID number of the parent who served in Germany.

Hope this helps!

 

[Greysword]

The State Department has an FAQ area of their passport section:

http://travel.state.gov/ppt_faq.html

It has answers to questions such as how to get a passoprt from outside the US and what if you don't have a passport and were born outside the US.

I would also bet there is an uncertified copy of your certificate in your father's service record. You can have him write to get them either directly to the National Personnel Records Center or your Senator. The link to NPRC's info is at:

http://www1.va.gov/PSpao/page.cfm?pg=83

If it needs to be sped up or if you need to get it yourself without your father's signature, you may want to write your Senator and ask if you can obtain this one item.

Even if the service record certificate is not certified, then you will know whether the Aermy hospital issued it or if a local German hospital did. You can then contact the correct person for getting a certified copy.

This will take some time, however. if you are leaving very soon (within the next month or month and a half, you may want to call the Senator's office and ask for help or the State Department. (You will be amazed how much crap your Senator can cut through, though). I used to do a VA work study for one during college ).

Good luck!!

 

[Phyllisi]

Perhaps you need the State Dept American board aboard for proof of citizenship? My daughter was born in Italy and was issued an Italian birth certificate. Her proof that she is American is her American born abroad certificate.

 

[ksouma]

My son was born in Germany when I was in the military. The actual German birth certificate is pretty useless. You need the report of US birth abroad and can contact the US state dept. The report of US birth abroad must be an original with the raised seal as well.

You will need a raised seal FS 240 or a DS 1350. Both are valid proof of US citizenship.

You can only have ONE original FS 240 (if you want a FS 240 you have to fill out an additional form saying that the original FS 240 was lost or stolen ect.. They are tracked by serial number)

You can have as many raised seal DS 1350's as you like. The DS 1350 is the equivalent to a birth certificate and is valid proof of US citizenship.

Here is another link for info
http://travel.state.gov/m300.html

OBTAINING COPIES OF THE FS-240, DS-1350, AND PANAMA CANAL ZONE BIRTH CERTIFICATES
The DS-1350 or a replacement FS-240 can be obtained by writing to:

Vital Records Section
Passport Services
1111 19th Street, NW, Suite 510
Washington, D.C. 20522-1705

A written request must be notarized and must include a copy of valid photo identification of the requester. The written request must include:
(1) full name of child at birth (plus any adoptive names)
(2) date and place of birth
(3) names of parents
(4) serial number, if known, of the FS-240 (on those issued after November 1, 1990) if known
(5) any available passport information
(6) signature of requester and
(7) notarized affidavit for a replacement FS-240 (if applicable).
Note: For Panama Canal Zone (PCZ) birth certificates, just include items (1) through (3).

The fee for an FS-240 is $30. The fees for DS-1350 and PCZ certificates are $30 for the first copy, $20 each additional copy. Make check or bank draft drawn on a bank in the United States, or money order, payable to the "Department of State." The Department will assume no responsibility for cash lost in the mail. Documents will be provided to the person who is the subject of the Report of Birth, the subject’s parents, the subject’s legal guardian, authorized government agency, or a person who submits written authorization from the subject of the Report of Birth.

The Vital Records Section can be reached at (202) 955-0307


Hope this helps and best of luck!

 

[crisi]

My brother in law had to replace his "Report of Birth Abroad" or whatever its called. It took a year. This was a year or two ago.

My husband's "Report of Birth Abroad" does not have a raised seal. It looks like a typewritten 40 year old form (which is what it is).

Best wishes on getting through the red tape of this quickly.

 

[ksouma]

It took 2 months for me to get a DS 1350 for my son but I did have the original FS 240 serial number so maybe that sped up the process.....

 

[disneydreamer1970]

Thank you all for the information. I have a typewritten form at home but it does not have a raised seal on it. It looks like a carbon copy.

I will start the process this weekend and will pray that I have the Report of Birth Abroad by November!!

Thank you again!!

 

[ksouma]

When I spoke with them on the phone I was told that to speed the process up I could mail the info / documents overnight with a pre-pay for an overnight return. I was told by doing that I could shave a few weeks off the process time.

Best of luck! I see you are on the same cruise as my son and I... Look forward to meeting you on board!

 

[Greysword]

If you have the original copy of your son's birth abroad form, I would suggest taking it to your local passport office and/or post office that does passports and have them look at it. It may be good enough to get a passport, then you have a solid document he can use for several years to come and have easily renewed for the rest of his life.

It probably won't take much time, and may be a solution that would save soem time/money. Worst they can say is No You can find the officees near you at the State Department's website or the USPS site.

Just a thought.

 

[ksouma]

Yes we are in the process of waiting for our passports to come in the mail. I did not want to send the FS 240 off in the mail because it is the original. I ordered and received the DS 1350 and sent that off for his passport. Either the DS 1350 or the FS 240 is sufficient for a passport.

His DS 1350 would suffice for the cruise but you are correct it will be much easier to just renew his passport throughout his life.