Processing times and return of documents

Processing times for all services are approximate.  Times quoted should be used only as a guide.

U.S. Passports and Consular Reports of Birth Abroad (CRBA) are produced at facilities in the United States.  After your interview and approval notification, processing time is usually approximately 3 weeks, can take as long as one month for applicants born in Greece.  If you are also applying for a Passport Card, you should note that it takes approximately 6 months to process.

If your child was born in a different country, the application will be sent to the U.S. Embassy or U.S. consulate covering that location for approval and issuance of the Consular Report of Birth Abroad.  We can process your child’s U.S. passport once the Consular Report of Birth Abroad is received by our office.  Processing time could be several month.

You will receive your child’s passport and CRBA via courier as per the instructions provided at your interview. Courier service is payable upon delivery.  The cost is 6.00 Euros within the Attiki area and 8.00 Euros for the rest of Greece.

There is no expedited service for a CRBA, but in case of emergency or urgent travel, we may be able to issue an emergency passport.  If you are traveling within that time and you have immediate travel plans, please email the Consular Section at AthensCRBA@state.gov to make arrangements to apply for an emergency limited-validity passport.  Application requirements, including fees, for emergency passports are the same as those for full-validity passports.

The social security card will arrive separately and most likely months later, as it comes directly to you from the Social Security Administration office based in the United States.  The Consular Section does not have any information regarding the status of the social security application.  Contact the Athens-based Federal Benefits Unit at https://gr.usembassy.gov/u-s-citizen-services/social-security/.