No birth certificate, no passport, BIG problem???

I have a friend who just called me. She is supposed to set sail tomorrow with Carnival. As of now, she is unable to find her birth certificate and does not have a passport. She also neglected to purchase cruise insurance.

As of today, she only has an US Dept. of State affidavit of birth that she (along with her mother) have signed and had notarized.

What are her options? This is her first cruise, and I would hate for her to miss it (and not receive a refund).

Thanks for any suggestions!!

I don’t think there are any options. No way to get a new birth certificate before Tomm.

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She is obviously oblivious....she's not going anywhere...

Not a very reliable person to first start looking for important documents the night before the ship sails. I never understand that???

I have no idea what a Dept. of State affidavit of birth might be?? I suppose she'll have to bring it to the ship and hope that's one of the allowed forms of ID.

I have a friend who just called me. She is supposed to set sail tomorrow with Carnival. As of now, she is unable to find her birth certificate and does not have a passport. She also neglected to purchase cruise insurance.

 

As of today, she only has an US Dept. of State affidavit of birth that she (along with her mother) have signed and had notarized.

 

What are her options? This is her first cruise, and I would hate for her to miss it (and not receive a refund).

 

Thanks for any suggestions!!

The judgmental comments above about your friend's character notwithstanding, I have to agree that without a passport or a birth certificate, I'm afraid her cruise will leave without her unless she can find that B/C before tomorrow. :(

Carnival Cruises Passport Requirements for Cruises

Passports are required for all travelers, including citizens of U.S. and Canada, who enter or re-enter the United States by air, land or sea.

Regarding Carnival Cruises to destinations in Mexico, Canada, the Caribbean, the Bahamas and Bermuda, there is a notable exception to this US passport rule, pertaining to land and sea crossings for US Citizens.

US Citizens on closed-loop cruises (cruises that begin and end in the same U.S. port) and travel to destinations in Mexico, Canada, the Caribbean, the Bahamas, and Bermuda are able to re-enter the United States with proof of citizenship other than a passport or passport card. Acceptable proof of citizenship includes an original or certified copy of a government issued birth certificate (raised seal and signature) and a laminated government issued picture ID (typically, driver's license), Consular Report of Born Abroad Certificate, or a Certificate of Naturalization. NOTE: Baptismal records and certificates issued by a hospital are not acceptable.

Sadly your friend is not gonna make her cruise unless she finds her birth certificate before the sail time.

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A birth affidavit is a DS-10. It is used when applying for a passport in the place of a birth certificate or consular report of birth abroad.

From the DS-10 form:

PURPOSE A birth affidavit may be submitted (with an application for a U.S. passport) when an acceptable birth certificate cannot be obtained for a person born in the United States. The affidavit must be accompanied by a photocopy of the front and back side of the affiant's identification and, when applicable, a notice from the appropriate authorities indicating that no birth record exists. A birth affidavit may also be submitted in conjunction with other birth records. A birth affidavit must be made by an individual who has personal knowledge of the facts of the applicant's birth in the United States; it is preferred that the affidavit is made by an older blood relative or by the attending physician. The affidavit must be signed in front of a notary, unless it is being submitted to an authorized Passport Agent or Passport Acceptance Agent. The affidavit shall state briefly how the affiant's knowledge was acquired. Requests for copies of this affidavit should be made at the time of execution.

The judgmental comments above about your friend's character notwithstanding, I have to agree that without a passport or a birth certificate, I'm afraid her cruise will leave without her unless she can find that B/C before tomorrow. :(

Guilty of being judgemental...LOL but I understand if you've never cruised, you wouldn't know BUT someone shoud have clued her in before now... Hope it works out!

Doubt she is getting on the ship tomorrow and not entitled to any type of refund.

Travel insurance doesn’t cover not having proper travel documentation and timeline would not have allowed for CFAR.

Empathy? Yes

Sympathy? No

Waiting to hear what happened

A birth affidavit is a DS-10. It is used when applying for a passport in the place of a birth certificate or consular report of birth abroad.

 

 

From the DS-10 form:

 

PURPOSE A birth affidavit may be submitted (with an application for a U.S. passport) when an acceptable birth certificate cannot be obtained for a person born in the United States. The affidavit must be accompanied by a photocopy of the front and back side of the affiant's identification and, when applicable, a notice from the appropriate authorities indicating that no birth record exists. A birth affidavit may also be submitted in conjunction with other birth records. A birth affidavit must be made by an individual who has personal knowledge of the facts of the applicant's birth in the United States; it is preferred that the affidavit is made by an older blood relative or by the attending physician. The affidavit must be signed in front of a notary, unless it is being submitted to an authorized Passport Agent or Passport Acceptance Agent. The affidavit shall state briefly how the affiant's knowledge was acquired. Requests for copies of this affidavit should be made at the time of execution.

Sounds like this would be acceptable in lieu of a BC, no?

Sounds like this would be acceptable in lieu of a BC, no?

Unfortunately no, I did a little looking to see if I could help, and found this on the Homeland Security website:

U.S. Citizens and International Travel

If you are a U.S. citizen traveling internationally, you will need to carry your valid U.S. passport.

If you are traveling to or from a country where a U.S. passport is not required, you’ll usually need two documents:

• A document to prove your identity, such as a valid U.S. driver’s license, military ID, or a valid government-issued photo ID; and
  
• A document to prove your citizenship, such as a notarized copy of your birth certificate issued by a U.S. State.
  

If you were not born in the United States, carrying your valid U.S. passport is your best option to prove your U.S. citizenship. You can also use your original naturalization certificate or certificate of citizenship.

Note: Hospital-issued birth certificates, voter registration cards, and affidavits cannot be used as identification.

Guilty of being judgemental...LOL but I understand if you've never cruised, you wouldn't know BUT someone shoud have clued her in before now... Hope it works out!

She apparently ignored the step on her boarding document where she needed to check her planned form of identification.

Unfortunately no, I did a little looking to see if I could help, and found this on the Homeland Security website:

 

U.S. Citizens and International Travel

 

If you are a U.S. citizen traveling internationally, you will need to carry your valid U.S. passport.

If you are traveling to or from a country where a U.S. passport is not required, you’ll usually need two documents:

• A document to prove your identity, such as a valid U.S. driver’s license, military ID, or a valid government-issued photo ID; and
  
• A document to prove your citizenship, such as a notarized copy of your birth certificate issued by a U.S. State.
  

If you were not born in the United States, carrying your valid U.S. passport is your best option to prove your U.S. citizenship. You can also use your original naturalization certificate or certificate of citizenship.

Note: Hospital-issued birth certificates, voter registration cards, and affidavits cannot be used as identification.

Odd. You can use it to apply for a passport, but not as ID. Gotta love government logic. LOL

Odd. You can use it to apply for a passport, but not as ID. Gotta love government logic. LOL

Tell me about it, a few of the DHS regulations that pertain to my line of work seem to have an absence of logic.

I would hope this friend did not actually book the cruise, but instead got invited by someone else at the last minute. Otherwise, there is no reason to not know that international travel requires proper proof of ID.

Odd. You can use it to apply for a passport, but not as ID. Gotta love government logic. LOL

Maybe because a passport has a photo and an affidavit does not?

How the heck would anyone know that the person named in the affidavit was the same person as the one standing in front of them? Driver licenses can be easily obtained with no proof of citizenship, so that is not good ID for international travel.

I hope and pray she finds her birth certificate before the ship leaves today. I wonder why people leave it til the last minute to look for their documentation? The minute I book a cruise, my passport is found and in a safe place til I leave for the cruise.

Maybe because a passport has a photo and an affidavit does not?

 

How the heck would anyone know that the person named in the affidavit was the same person as the one standing in front of them? Driver licenses can be easily obtained with no proof of citizenship, so that is not good ID for international travel.

A driver's license is acceptable for closed loop cruises when paired with a birth certificate or consular report of birth abroad.

The passport photo proves identity. A driver's license photo also proves identity. The rest of the passport proves citizenship. A birth certificate or consular report of birth abroad proves citizenship. A driver's license doesn't prove citizenship unless it is an enhanced license(not the same as Real ID). Only four or five states issue them.

Unfortunately no, I did a little looking to see if I could help, and found this on the Homeland Security website:

 

U.S. Citizens and International Travel

 

If you are a U.S. citizen traveling internationally, you will need to carry your valid U.S. passport.

If you are traveling to or from a country where a U.S. passport is not required, you’ll usually need two documents:

• A document to prove your identity, such as a valid U.S. driver’s license, military ID, or a valid government-issued photo ID; and
  
• A document to prove your citizenship, such as a notarized copy of your birth certificate issued by a U.S. State.
  

If you were not born in the United States, carrying your valid U.S. passport is your best option to prove your U.S. citizenship. You can also use your original naturalization certificate or certificate of citizenship.

Note: Hospital-issued birth certificates, voter registration cards, and affidavits cannot be used as identification.

A DS-10 affidavit can, in some cases, be used as identification, just not in the OP's friend's case. The friend obviously had a birth certificate, and lost it. An affidavit saying that the person was born in a hospital, by a blood relative is not sufficient. The purpose of a DS-10 is for cases of home births, typically in rural areas in the past, where a birth certificate was never issued.

I think your friend is going to get some bad news today.

Odd. You can use it to apply for a passport, but not as ID. Gotta love government logic. LOL

Not really all that odd. The State Department has no time limit to make the determination of citizenship and can ask for more documentation if necessary. DHS has only the length of the cruise to verify citizenship.

OP, I agree with the others that it is unlikely your friend will be boarding.

Its a long shot but maybe if your friend works at a small company (where everybody knows her), they would be willing to give her a copy of the birth certificate she used for her I-9 verification.

Interested to hear the final outcome.

One has to wonder when the last time she actually saw her birth certificate? Last week, last year, last decade? You've gotta do better than this when planning a cruise.