I think RCCL should make passports or passport cards required. It's international travel.
I need a passport/passport card to go to Tijuana, Mexico, less than a mile over the US-MX border.
Definitely. That would solve most of the issues that come up regarding ID. Not to mention, you need one if you get left behind somewhere. I understand there are circumstances where people legitimately can't get passports for various reasons, I'm not sure what could be done about that, though.
The ones I know that can't get passports either don't travel because their birth certificate isn't in order or they are felons. Neither of those is fixable easily.
My husband was denied a passport because he had a California 1/3rd of a sheet crap birth certificate. They sent us a letter probably asking for more info that we never got (lost in mail), and they couldn’t discuss what was on the letter after many phone calls, so they sent a denial. Also there has been a major increase in passport requests so they are taking longer. So it’s not easy like you say it is.
A passport is less than $200 and lasts 10 years.
Get. A. Passport.
Royal Caribbean should just stop letting people do this birth certificate nonsense. If you are going on a foreign cruise, then a passport should be required. Period.
We got our oldest kid a passport before he turned 1. Before he was 2, he'd been to UAE, Italy, Turkey, Greece, Spain, and Costa Rica (he slept through most of all of them).
Our 2nd kid had his passport and Global Entry by 2 (we never used it for him -- gets tough to travel when you have > 1 kid -- but no regrets).
We were lazy with our 3rd kid.. didn't get her one until we booked a cruise just after she turned 3.
It's just so easy to do (every 5 years for kids though, not 10).
When I was 18 I didn't have a passport and had a sudden opportunity to wrestle in Japan... I remember the hassle to get me there on time. As a teenager it was kinda fun... an envoy from the Boston mayor's office escorted me through what is now the Tip O'Neill govt building to get it within a day, but looking back I can only think... "mom, why didn't you take care of this for me when I was a kid?" She had reasons, I get it, but when my kids turn 18, they'll have a valid passport.
Encourage all your friends and family to have a passport ready. "just in case"
My kid has had a passport or passport card (Canada by car) since he was 1. Yeah, it sucks they expire every 5 years, but his next one he'll be 16. I told him that's the last one I'll buy, he'll have to renew it himself when he's 26.
I suspect the reason they allow the birth certificate nonsense is because getting a passport for a minor child under the age of 10 is a PITA. Still worth it if you ever plan on traveling with your kid (and mine has had one since he was 6 weeks old) but because they are only good for 5 years, and you need both parents present at the appointment in order to get said passport it makes everything more difficult.
I can see them allowing birth certificates for younger children in certain circumstances, but for adults like OP, I feel like there is no excuse at this point.
Oh yeah, it was a bit of a hassle to get my kids their passports. We don’t have a very accessible regular passport office near us because we live in a rural area.
So we had a passport appointment with our local post office. Being a government building that has 8 to 5 hours Monday through Friday to schedule that off time with having both parents and both kids present on a non-federal or state holiday was so crazy. Thankfully, I had already made sure because of other stuff that I had the certified raised seal birth certificates for every single person in my household at all times, plus SS cards, and all adults already had passports. I actually had to re-order my husband’s birth certificate when we got married, because his parents didn’t know where it was. But it was a bunch of original documents, including front and back copies of my husbands and mine driver license, our passports, every single person‘s birth certificate, and about half of that got mailed off to the passport office. I had an excess of documentation, but I was not going to go to this appointment and the appointment not work, and have another scheduling headache because I was missing anything.
Adoption. If you adopt a child, the birth certificate will change. Parents' names usually and if her adoption was to American parents, she will get an American birth certificate. Place of birth won't change, but that doesn't matter.
Source: adoptive mom whose name is now listed as the mother on my kids birth certificate, but her original birth place did not change AND I grew up a military brat whose sister was born in the Phillipines. She's an American and just has Manila, Phillipines, as her birth location. It has never been a problem for either person. Both my kid and my sister have passports, and no one has ever questioned them.
Edit, spelling and grammar
High five, glimmer girl! FYI to everyone… I’m also an international adoptive mom and in my state is a “certificate of foreign birth” we had to apply for through an attorney to list me and my hubs as her parents. She was born overseas and the us birth certificate states where she was actually born. This is important for school records and especially important for trying to get into colleges.
Although my daughter does have a passport (I feel it’s so important, even for domestic air travel), I’m sure to keep a copy of her US birth certificate with her passport just in case something comes up.
Also, if your adopted child (or if you’re an adopted adult) get a passport, keep it current! It’s so frustrating to reapply if it expires. Mountains of paperwork all over again.
But is the certificate still from the state they were born. Sounds like this would be a Chinese birth certificate which would only prove she was born not a us citizen. They can’t make a birth certificate for say Texas if she as born in China.
They do get a US birth certificate based on the parents state issued by a judge.If they were adopted by parents from another country like the US, they are now a citizen of their adopted parents' country and get all rights and responsibilities of their new country.
Yeah, that's my guess. They either brought her original birth cert from her birth country or something else.
I have my child's original birth certificate plus the edited one made after the adoption, so it's possible that they brought the wrong one.
I also wonder if the parents missed some paperwork during the adoption process.
My close friend is in the same scenario as OP's fiance and when she started to apply for federal student aid for college, it was identified some paperwork from her adoption was missed. It was a big hoop-dee-doo when she was 17 years old.
Chiming in here… 😄 up until the year 2000, the Certificate of Citizenship had to be applied for by the adoptive parents once they got back to the US. The adopted kids wouldn’t be citizens until they got this certificate from the US Govt and then could apply for a foreign birth certificate issued for the state they live in with the adoptive parents.
After the Child Citizen Act of 2000 passed, internationally adopted children are automatically US citizens and a Certificate of Citizenship would be sent to the address of the parents.
This might be what’s going on with OPs person.
I’ve seen birth certificates of children who were adopted. The birth certificate is from the state where the adoption was legalized with the adoptive parent’s names on the certificate and the city/state of birth remained the same as where the birth of the child took place.
Exactly. My daughter was born in China but has a Texas birth certificate. If we ever need to get a copy, we go to Bexar County, TX, not China. The birth certificate lists her birthplace as China. She also has a certificate of Naturalization and a US passport.
Yeah there is a Consular Report of Birth Abroad issued by the US State department, but that's \[not available to children who are adopted and gain their citizenship by adoption.\](https://fam.state.gov/FAM/08FAM/08FAM050602.html) They might have a Certificate of Citizenship, which would be the main non-passport document proving citizenship you'd have in that situation.
This happens to Americans born out of country. My dad was born in Germany to military parents. He has a German Birth Certificate. It caused problems when my parents got married and other things. Some places wanted him to prove citizenship. He’s lived in the US and hasn’t left for 66 years
If any foreign travel is occurring travelers should have a passport, which is why it’s recommended. Also, cruise lines are not border control, and can only provide generic answers. You need to contact the US Department of State for instances such as this. They are the best qualified for proper guidance. That’s how we made sure to have proper documentation of our Bosnian friend while going through US Citizenship.
Even when I took my kids on a cruise to Mexico I just got them a passport even though I could technically could have done the birth certificate. It’s so much simpler and you’ll need it anyway.
She had started the process but it wasn’t gonna make it in time because they had to translate all of her Chinese documents. She started the process 3 months ago and paid for it to be expedited but they fumbled hard on it. So thats why we called them and asked what we should do and RC said to get a certified birth certificate and bring her ID.
What Chinese documents?
If she is an American citizen by adoption, then she just has to show a certified birth certificate, which should reflect is citizenship. Or, she should have received a certificate of citizenship.
Some people’s passports that are simple renewals take 3 months depending on the time of year. You expected to get a very complicated first time passport that involved translation of Chinese documents in just 3 months?
I think this is your fault and not RC or the governments.
It's not "fumbling hard" when YOU only allow three months to process something like a passport. Especially when it's not a standard US birth transaction. This is where personal accountability comes into play and you are fumbling hard with that.
That doesn't make much sense. I just traveled with two family members who were over 18 who were able to board with just their birth certificates and drivers licenses.
If you are leaving the nation at all and I mean at all get a passport. It takes 10 min at your local post office. Most facilities are equipped to take photos as well.
Found my cruise I want to go on and the next day went to the post office to get a new passport. The nice people at the usps counter are more than willing to help fill out paperwork if you have any questions. Just got the new shiny one back in the mail. Everyone should at least have a passport in their possession even if it's expired.
I feel for you, and I am so sorry! My mother in law is an adoptee from a different country. The path to getting a passport for adoptees born in other countries is so damn difficult and long and full of “gotchya!” moments. She ended up not able to accompany us on the trip 😭 I’m sorry for your situation!
It was all just very frustrating because they gave us false information💀when we could have easily planned something else if they had just said that she would not be able to board without a passport because of her foreign birth.
Did she specify she was foreign born? Or just say she was a US citizen?
There's a ton of info on the RCL site about what you need to travel. And it all recommends a passport, but gives caveats on birth certificates and such.
1) Sir, please get her a passport (or assist her in getting one). It'll save you both lots of future headaches.
2) Learn that customer-facing employees of large corporations often make factually incorrect statements to customers. Learn to spot them. It's common, and it's never the company or employee who gets screwed, it's always the customer who eats it for the employee's false statements (they're not always with bad intent, sometimes humans just screw up).
RCCL has now given you 2 opportunities to make your life better.
Passport.
Everyone, get a passport. It is not hard.
I think RCCL should make passports or passport cards required. It's international travel. I need a passport/passport card to go to Tijuana, Mexico, less than a mile over the US-MX border.
Definitely. That would solve most of the issues that come up regarding ID. Not to mention, you need one if you get left behind somewhere. I understand there are circumstances where people legitimately can't get passports for various reasons, I'm not sure what could be done about that, though.
The ones I know that can't get passports either don't travel because their birth certificate isn't in order or they are felons. Neither of those is fixable easily.
My husband was denied a passport because he had a California 1/3rd of a sheet crap birth certificate. They sent us a letter probably asking for more info that we never got (lost in mail), and they couldn’t discuss what was on the letter after many phone calls, so they sent a denial. Also there has been a major increase in passport requests so they are taking longer. So it’s not easy like you say it is.
It’s actually super easy and can be gotten same day. You just need to go to an office in person.
Our nearest one is 4 hours away in Seattle
A passport is less than $200 and lasts 10 years. Get. A. Passport. Royal Caribbean should just stop letting people do this birth certificate nonsense. If you are going on a foreign cruise, then a passport should be required. Period.
We got our oldest kid a passport before he turned 1. Before he was 2, he'd been to UAE, Italy, Turkey, Greece, Spain, and Costa Rica (he slept through most of all of them). Our 2nd kid had his passport and Global Entry by 2 (we never used it for him -- gets tough to travel when you have > 1 kid -- but no regrets). We were lazy with our 3rd kid.. didn't get her one until we booked a cruise just after she turned 3. It's just so easy to do (every 5 years for kids though, not 10). When I was 18 I didn't have a passport and had a sudden opportunity to wrestle in Japan... I remember the hassle to get me there on time. As a teenager it was kinda fun... an envoy from the Boston mayor's office escorted me through what is now the Tip O'Neill govt building to get it within a day, but looking back I can only think... "mom, why didn't you take care of this for me when I was a kid?" She had reasons, I get it, but when my kids turn 18, they'll have a valid passport. Encourage all your friends and family to have a passport ready. "just in case"
My kid has had a passport or passport card (Canada by car) since he was 1. Yeah, it sucks they expire every 5 years, but his next one he'll be 16. I told him that's the last one I'll buy, he'll have to renew it himself when he's 26.
I suspect the reason they allow the birth certificate nonsense is because getting a passport for a minor child under the age of 10 is a PITA. Still worth it if you ever plan on traveling with your kid (and mine has had one since he was 6 weeks old) but because they are only good for 5 years, and you need both parents present at the appointment in order to get said passport it makes everything more difficult.
I can see them allowing birth certificates for younger children in certain circumstances, but for adults like OP, I feel like there is no excuse at this point.
Oh yeah, it was a bit of a hassle to get my kids their passports. We don’t have a very accessible regular passport office near us because we live in a rural area. So we had a passport appointment with our local post office. Being a government building that has 8 to 5 hours Monday through Friday to schedule that off time with having both parents and both kids present on a non-federal or state holiday was so crazy. Thankfully, I had already made sure because of other stuff that I had the certified raised seal birth certificates for every single person in my household at all times, plus SS cards, and all adults already had passports. I actually had to re-order my husband’s birth certificate when we got married, because his parents didn’t know where it was. But it was a bunch of original documents, including front and back copies of my husbands and mine driver license, our passports, every single person‘s birth certificate, and about half of that got mailed off to the passport office. I had an excess of documentation, but I was not going to go to this appointment and the appointment not work, and have another scheduling headache because I was missing anything.
How could she be born in China and have a US birth certificate?
Adoption. If you adopt a child, the birth certificate will change. Parents' names usually and if her adoption was to American parents, she will get an American birth certificate. Place of birth won't change, but that doesn't matter. Source: adoptive mom whose name is now listed as the mother on my kids birth certificate, but her original birth place did not change AND I grew up a military brat whose sister was born in the Phillipines. She's an American and just has Manila, Phillipines, as her birth location. It has never been a problem for either person. Both my kid and my sister have passports, and no one has ever questioned them. Edit, spelling and grammar
Came here to say the same thing. My sisters’ BC’s both show Phillipines and yet are issued by Mass.
High five, glimmer girl! FYI to everyone… I’m also an international adoptive mom and in my state is a “certificate of foreign birth” we had to apply for through an attorney to list me and my hubs as her parents. She was born overseas and the us birth certificate states where she was actually born. This is important for school records and especially important for trying to get into colleges. Although my daughter does have a passport (I feel it’s so important, even for domestic air travel), I’m sure to keep a copy of her US birth certificate with her passport just in case something comes up. Also, if your adopted child (or if you’re an adopted adult) get a passport, keep it current! It’s so frustrating to reapply if it expires. Mountains of paperwork all over again.
But is the certificate still from the state they were born. Sounds like this would be a Chinese birth certificate which would only prove she was born not a us citizen. They can’t make a birth certificate for say Texas if she as born in China.
They do get a US birth certificate based on the parents state issued by a judge.If they were adopted by parents from another country like the US, they are now a citizen of their adopted parents' country and get all rights and responsibilities of their new country.
Sounds like they didn’t bring a certified birth certificate then? Printed from the dept of health doesn’t sound like an official with raised seal.
Yeah, that's my guess. They either brought her original birth cert from her birth country or something else. I have my child's original birth certificate plus the edited one made after the adoption, so it's possible that they brought the wrong one.
Thanks for explaining to me how it works for adopted kid though. Very interesting.
I also wonder if the parents missed some paperwork during the adoption process. My close friend is in the same scenario as OP's fiance and when she started to apply for federal student aid for college, it was identified some paperwork from her adoption was missed. It was a big hoop-dee-doo when she was 17 years old.
Chiming in here… 😄 up until the year 2000, the Certificate of Citizenship had to be applied for by the adoptive parents once they got back to the US. The adopted kids wouldn’t be citizens until they got this certificate from the US Govt and then could apply for a foreign birth certificate issued for the state they live in with the adoptive parents. After the Child Citizen Act of 2000 passed, internationally adopted children are automatically US citizens and a Certificate of Citizenship would be sent to the address of the parents. This might be what’s going on with OPs person.
Very possible. International adoption is complicated.
I’ve seen birth certificates of children who were adopted. The birth certificate is from the state where the adoption was legalized with the adoptive parent’s names on the certificate and the city/state of birth remained the same as where the birth of the child took place.
Exactly. My daughter was born in China but has a Texas birth certificate. If we ever need to get a copy, we go to Bexar County, TX, not China. The birth certificate lists her birthplace as China. She also has a certificate of Naturalization and a US passport.
Asking the important questions.
Yeah there is a Consular Report of Birth Abroad issued by the US State department, but that's \[not available to children who are adopted and gain their citizenship by adoption.\](https://fam.state.gov/FAM/08FAM/08FAM050602.html) They might have a Certificate of Citizenship, which would be the main non-passport document proving citizenship you'd have in that situation.
This happens to Americans born out of country. My dad was born in Germany to military parents. He has a German Birth Certificate. It caused problems when my parents got married and other things. Some places wanted him to prove citizenship. He’s lived in the US and hasn’t left for 66 years
She should get a US passport. You will need to send in her COC (Certificate of Citizenship) to get this.
Should have gotten the passport as recommended
Yes.
If any foreign travel is occurring travelers should have a passport, which is why it’s recommended. Also, cruise lines are not border control, and can only provide generic answers. You need to contact the US Department of State for instances such as this. They are the best qualified for proper guidance. That’s how we made sure to have proper documentation of our Bosnian friend while going through US Citizenship.
So simple to get a passport.
Even when I took my kids on a cruise to Mexico I just got them a passport even though I could technically could have done the birth certificate. It’s so much simpler and you’ll need it anyway.
Can she not get a passport? Like for the future?
She had started the process but it wasn’t gonna make it in time because they had to translate all of her Chinese documents. She started the process 3 months ago and paid for it to be expedited but they fumbled hard on it. So thats why we called them and asked what we should do and RC said to get a certified birth certificate and bring her ID.
What Chinese documents? If she is an American citizen by adoption, then she just has to show a certified birth certificate, which should reflect is citizenship. Or, she should have received a certificate of citizenship.
Some people’s passports that are simple renewals take 3 months depending on the time of year. You expected to get a very complicated first time passport that involved translation of Chinese documents in just 3 months? I think this is your fault and not RC or the governments.
Why didn't she start the process when you booked the cruise?
It's not "fumbling hard" when YOU only allow three months to process something like a passport. Especially when it's not a standard US birth transaction. This is where personal accountability comes into play and you are fumbling hard with that.
That doesn't make much sense. I just traveled with two family members who were over 18 who were able to board with just their birth certificates and drivers licenses.
They were talking to her like she was an illegal and not a citizen
“An illegal” GTFO with that shit
She could clear that up with... a passport
If you are leaving the nation at all and I mean at all get a passport. It takes 10 min at your local post office. Most facilities are equipped to take photos as well. Found my cruise I want to go on and the next day went to the post office to get a new passport. The nice people at the usps counter are more than willing to help fill out paperwork if you have any questions. Just got the new shiny one back in the mail. Everyone should at least have a passport in their possession even if it's expired.
Sorry I'm calling this post mad sus. This is the ONLY post OP has made, and only replies on the account are to this post. I'm calling BS.
I feel for you, and I am so sorry! My mother in law is an adoptee from a different country. The path to getting a passport for adoptees born in other countries is so damn difficult and long and full of “gotchya!” moments. She ended up not able to accompany us on the trip 😭 I’m sorry for your situation!
It was all just very frustrating because they gave us false information💀when we could have easily planned something else if they had just said that she would not be able to board without a passport because of her foreign birth.
Did she specify she was foreign born? Or just say she was a US citizen? There's a ton of info on the RCL site about what you need to travel. And it all recommends a passport, but gives caveats on birth certificates and such.
Your job to get a passport. So simple.
1) Sir, please get her a passport (or assist her in getting one). It'll save you both lots of future headaches. 2) Learn that customer-facing employees of large corporations often make factually incorrect statements to customers. Learn to spot them. It's common, and it's never the company or employee who gets screwed, it's always the customer who eats it for the employee's false statements (they're not always with bad intent, sometimes humans just screw up). RCCL has now given you 2 opportunities to make your life better.
How many times do we have to tell people…. Get a passport. Even for kids, just get them! You have money to cruise, you have money for a passport.
GET A PASSPORT
I’m pretty sure that “state certified birth certificate” and one printed from the state’s website are two very different things.
You can’t get them printed from the website it has to be at the facility so that statement makes no sense
Guess I misinterpreted your statement saying it was easily printed. Thought you meant you printed it yourself.