Immigration News - United States State Department to remove Consular Reports of Birth Abroad as acceptable evidence of sole custody Share this article LinkedIn Facebook X (Twitter) June 26, 2023 The U.S. State Department published a final rule to remove the Consular Report of Birth Abroad as acceptable evidence of sole authority/custody. Key Points: The rule removes the CRBA from the list of acceptable documentary evidence of sole authority/custody if the CRBA lists only the applying parent. The final rule is set to take effect on July 24. The full Federal Register notice is available here. The State Department received two comments on the rule during the 60-day comment period; neither of the comments were opposed to the proposal. Additional Information: The State Department had simultaneously proposed to allow non-applying parents or legal guardians to sign a statement of consent before a passport specialist as an alternative to signing it before a notary when an application is pending at a passport center. However, the Department postponed the publication of this amendment to a later date. More information regarding the proposal is available here. This alert has been provided by the BAL U.S. Practice Group. For additional information, please contact berryapplemanleiden@bal.com. Copyright © 2023 Berry Appleman & Leiden LLP. All rights reserved. Reprinting or digital redistribution to the public is permitted only with the express written permission of Berry Appleman & Leiden LLP. For inquiries please contact copyright@bal.com.