A U.S. passport is an official certificate of “U.S. citizenship.” If your newborn is a U.S. citizen, you can apply to get a U.S. passport for use when traveling abroad. Generally speaking, the waiting period from submission of documents to receipt of passport is generally 6 weeks, and 3 weeks for expedited processing.

To apply for a U.S. passport, you must provide the following documents:

① Proof of U.S. citizenship: For newborns, a birth certificate (i.e. birth certificate) is required.

②Proof of parental relationship: Generally, the birth certificate of a newborn provides not only citizenship status, but also proof of the relationship between parents and baby.

③Photo ID: When submitting the application, the newborn and both parents must be present and provide a valid photo ID and a copy. For example: driver's license (if the state where the driver's license is issued is different from the state where the passport is applied for, a second valid ID is required), U.S. passport, citizenship paper, valid government official ID or valid military ID.

④Parental consent form: The newborn and the newborn’s parents or guardians must be present at the same time. If one parent (father or mother) is absent, the parent will need to provide a fair authorization, i.e. Form

DS-3053 (Declaration of Authorization from the Absent Parent). The form requires signature and impartiality from the party and a copy of the front and back of a valid photo ID.

In another situation, only one party (father or mother) is present, and the other party cannot provide a fair power of attorney in time, the party present needs to submit the Form

DS- 5525 (Declaration of Emergency/Special Family Circumstances). The form requires that the party present details that the other party or guardian is unable to attend or provides an authorization statement and that efforts have been made to contact them.

The applicant may be required to provide relevant evidence (such as custody certificate, incarceration certificate, restriction certificate, etc.) to document his/her emergency or special family situation. Often, if the statement provides insufficient information, the passport office may ask for additional details in order to prevent international parental abduction.

⑤Passport photo: You must provide a recent photo of 2 inches by 2 inches taken within six months, with a head size of about one inch to one and three-eighths inches.

⑥ Fill in the application form: Fill in the DS-11 form. The signature area cannot be signed in advance. You need to have your name and identity verified by the passport handler and then sign in person in front of the handler.

⑦ Payment fee: The application fee is US$80. Personal check or postal money order is accepted, payable to "U.S. Department of

state". There is an additional fee of US$60 for expedited applications. There is a $25 execution fee, post office money order, personal check or cash (in some areas), credit card (post office and some areas) accepted. If applied at the post office,

There is also a post office processing fee of US$30 (including delivery fees)

You can apply for a passport at any of the following passport processing agencies:

① Post Office: Some post offices that can accept passport applications, and post office employees designated by the postmaster will accept applications. The hours for accepting applications at each post office are different. Some post offices only accept applications in the morning and not in the afternoon. You need to ask in advance.

②Court: Federal court or state court clerk, any judge or clerk who accepts "probate" court.

③Passport Service Offices: The U.S. Department of State has passport service offices in the following cities: Boston, Chicago, Honolulu, Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, Seattle, New Orleans, New York, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Stanford ( The offices in Connecticut) and Washington DC accept passport applications.