A First US Passport as an Adult: Even Without a CRBA, and Even After 18

Getting a first US passport as an adult is a different process from renewing. There's no mail option, and you have to appear at the Embassy in Jerusalem or the Branch Office in Tel Aviv with Form DS-11 and proof of citizenship. The central question is what exactly proves you're a citizen, and the answer depends on where you were born.

Three situations, three kinds of proof

• Born in the US: an original US birth certificate or a certified copy
• Born in Israel and registered as a child: the CRBA ⁦(Consular Report of Birth Abroad)⁩ your parents obtained for you
• Born in Israel to an American parent and never registered: a CRBA is no longer possible after 18, but you can claim citizenship directly through the first passport application

The third case, and the part most people don't know

Someone born in Israel to a US-citizen parent may be a citizen from birth, even if nobody ever registered them. After 18 a CRBA can no longer be issued, but the first passport application serves exactly that purpose: it examines the citizenship claim, and if it's approved, the passport is the proof.

What decides it is the parent. You need to show the parent was a US citizen when you were born, and was physically present in the US long enough before the birth. Exactly how long depends on the law in force in the year of birth and on the parents' marital status; in the common case of one American parent it's at least five years, two of them after age 14. The presence is set out in a dedicated affidavit, Form DS-5507, and backed with documents: school records, pay stubs, tax returns, military records.

What to bring to the appointment

• A completed DS-11, unsigned. You sign in front of the consular officer
• Proof of your citizenship, or in the third case: the parent's proof of citizenship, your birth certificate and your parents' marriage certificate
• Valid ID, such as an Israeli passport or teudat zehut
• One passport photo that meets the requirements
• Proof of prepayment of the fee. Since March 2026 the fee is paid on the US government payment site before the appointment, not at the window

What it costs and how long it takes

The fee for an adult's first passport is $165. A document not in English needs a certified translation. When citizenship rests on an existing certificate, the process is like any passport application. When a parent's presence decades ago has to be proven, the preparation takes longer than the appointment itself, and that's where most applications get stuck.

How we help

We first check whether you qualify at all, before an appointment is wasted. Then we build the evidence file, mainly the parent's record of presence in the US, fill in the forms and book the appointment. An initial check with no commitment, and payment only once an appointment is booked.