Online Registration

by PapaScott on 10 September 2002

So after almost 3 years, I resolved to finally get Christopher his US Passport, or at least get him registered at the American Consulate so he can get a SSN and vote and pay taxes and all that fun stuff. I had been putting it off until now at the high cost ($40 for registration + $40 dollars for passport, cash only, and if you don’t pay in dollars you get a really bad exchange rate). Going to http://www.usembassy.de, I see 1) they’ve raised their prices to $65 / € 78 (who does their banking?!?), 2) I have to get a special birth certificate for Christopher, and 3) they want a certified marriage certificate, which we no longer have since we submitted it when registered our marriage here. OK, I have to order some documents. http://hamburg.de lets you order birth certificates online without a credit card (long live COD!), if you can figure out which of the half-dozen offices in Hamburg is responsible for the location of the birth. http://www.co.hennepin.mn.us does not offer marriage certificates online, but does offer a fax number for requests (have your credit card number handy!). However, once I get the paperwork together, I cannot complete Christopher’s registration online or even by mail. That must be done in person at the consulate. I just love having to go through armed guards to do business with my government.

{ 2 comments }

Thad McArthur September 16, 2002 at 19:09: I hope your experience at Das Kleine Weisse Haus an der Alster wasn’t so horrible. I used to be a Foreign Service Officer with the State Dept., and Hamburg was my first diplomatic posting (1989-91). The passport and citizenship unit was one of my responsibilities.

Believe me, I heard more than an earful about the service there whenever I associated with ex-pat Yanks in the area. There were three gals we had working for us in that unit: one, who was extremely competent but sometimes brusque with the clientele; a second, who was a dear, sweet woman whose competence was questionable; and a third, who was just plain nasty.

I managed to get the third one fired just before I shipped out for Bombay. She took us to court and won, and we had to pay her entschaedigung, but we didn’t have to keep her on, thank God. It was worth the cash to get rid of her.(For some reason, the US Gov refuses to hide behind diplomatic immunity when it comes to workplace disputes; they want to be known as a good employer that follows local rules.)

As for the rules regarding registering your son’s birth, hey, it’s the law. Complain to Congress. Given the amount of fraud that goes on in this area (passports and citizenship, not Germany), making AmCit parents come in person is actually a good idea.

Anyway, I hope all is well in HH. Just thinking about it has me jonesing for a Flensburger.
PapaScott September 17, 2002 at 04:09: This would have been a good summer to be in Hamburg. We had warm, sunny weather for 6 weeks starting the beginning of August, and it’s just now turning cool.

The paperwork for my son’s registration just arrived, so our visit to Das Kleine Weisse Haus is still ahead of us. I wasn’t seriously complaining about the procedure (only the cost – does Congress think all expats are top-paid executives?!? . My last experience there was actually quite good. A few years ago I had mislaid my passport at the airport. Some helpful soul dropped it in a mailbox, and several weeks later it ended up at the counsulate. The office staff was very helpful getting it back to me, as well as cancelling and refunding my application for a replacement. Once one has experience with German bureaucracy, and one realizes that the passport office is an (underfunded) American office with (methodical) German employees, you can see it as a cross of two worlds, combining the best (or worst?) of both.

Flensburger? That’s about as north German as you can get, but is pretty intense. For Pilsener I prefer Jever, but we usually drink Paulaner Helles ourselves.