Passport Question

[kathyemma]

I was trying to talk a friend into joining us on our Thanksgiving cruise. She said she can't sail because she doesn't have a passport or a birth cert. I told her to go online and order a birth cert - no biggie. She can't. She was adopted as a newborn in the 1950s (guessing at year). She has not birth certificate. She has never seen her adoption certificate. Her parents have passed away. She knows nothing except she was born in DC. Any clue how she could go about getting a passport? She does have a DL. I am sure when she got it the rules were much easier as they are now.

 

TIA

 

Kathy

[JF - retired RRT]

Sounds like she needs to ask the folks who approve passports. This is the kind of mess that will take some time.

I just googled "birth certificate no passport" and got this link:

http://travel.state.gov/content/passports/english/passports/information/secondary-evidence.html

If this one doesn't have the info, a little more research will probably find what she needs.

Edited May 15, 2015 by JF - retired RRT

[kathyemma]

Sounds like she needs to ask the folks who approve passports. This is the kind of mess that will take some time.

I just googled "birth certificate no passport" and got this link:

http://travel.state.gov/content/passports/english/passports/information/secondary-evidence.html

If this one doesn't have the info, a little more research will probably find what she needs.

 

Thank you!

[mek]

My step children are adopted and born in the mid 50's - they have birth certificates with my husband's and his wife's names listed as the parents. It looks like any other birth certificate - no mention of an adoption or them not being the natural parents. Your friend should be able to get a copy of her birth certificate using her birth date and parents names especially if she has a good idea where she was born.

Edited May 15, 2015 by mek

[rdsqrl]

I was trying to talk a friend into joining us on our Thanksgiving cruise. She said she can't sail because she doesn't have a passport or a birth cert. I told her to go online and order a birth cert - no biggie. She can't. She was adopted as a newborn in the 1950s (guessing at year). She has not birth certificate. She has never seen her adoption certificate. Her parents have passed away. She knows nothing except she was born in DC. Any clue how she could go about getting a passport? She does have a DL. I am sure when she got it the rules were much easier as they are now.

 

TIA

 

Kathy

I, too, was born in D.C. (all the cool kids were!). There will be a birth certificate on file for her with the D.C. Department of Public Health (it'll be one filed after her adoption was formalized, meaning it'll show her adoptive parents as mother and father, not her birth parents. It's completely legal as is. Thus there's no need for her to have an adoption certificate, not that there is such a thing. The b/c is the adoption certificate.). All she needs to have to get an official copy is a driver's license or other photo id and a filled-out application. Here's a link to their webpage:

http://doh.dc.gov/service/birth-certificates

[Colo Cruiser]

Sounds like she needs to ask the folks who approve passports. This is the kind of mess that will take some time.

 

 

I agree!

[Poulsbo Cruisers]

When someone is adopted they are given a new birth certificate. She should be able to get a copy by searching the public records of the county where the adoption took place using her parents names. She must have something she used to get into school, get a driver's license, etc.

[fishywood]

When someone is adopted they are given a new birth certificate.

 

Much more correct to say that the birth certificate is amended to show the final parents' names. Mine has the official issue date of four days after my birth with my adoptive parent's names even though the adoption was not finalized in court until the following year. So according to state records no birth certificate with my biological "parents" (sic) names ever existed. And I'm sure this is exactly what the OP's friend will discover when they apply for a certified copy from the state. No need to pull out the adoption papers.

Edited May 15, 2015 by fishywood

[FritzG]

It sounds like whether she takes the cruise or not, this is something she needs to get worked out. I'm surprised she hasn't need a birth certificate or some type of legal document like that before this.