# Any reason I'd be screwed by not having my own birth certificate? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 23, 2012, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-reason-id-be-screwed-by-not-having-my-own-birth-certificate/629171 "2012-07-23T21:37:11Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 5\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Lord\_Feldon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lord_feldon/32/341_2.png) [@Lord\_Feldon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lord_Feldon)\ **Post date:** [July 26, 2012, 11:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-reason-id-be-screwed-by-not-having-my-own-birth-certificate/629171/61 "2012-07-26T23:18:44Z")
> [@jtgain](#): > > I’ve noticed several people having to provide ID or a SSN to get a copy of their birth certificates. I was under the impression that births were public records at county courthouses and that I could walk in and browse the birth records for anyone and everyone. Is this not correct? It depends on the state. Some states, [like New York](http://www.health.ny.gov/vital_records/birth.htm), restrict who can get a copy of a birth certificate. ---
**Author:** ![colonial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/34f0e0/32.png) [@colonial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/colonial)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2012, 12:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-reason-id-be-screwed-by-not-having-my-own-birth-certificate/629171/62 "2012-07-27T00:15:23Z")
> [@Alley\_Dweller](#): > > [U.S. Department of State - Acquisition of U.S. Citizenship by a Child Born Abroad](http://travel.state.gov/law/citizenship/citizenship_5199.html) > > [8 USC § 1401 - Nationals and citizens of United States at birth](http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/8/1401) > > The intention is to prevent colonies of US Citizens from forming abroad whose ancestors had not lived in the United States for generations. If it were true that anyone born anywhere in the world who had one US Citizen parent automatically became a citizen, then if someone could trace their family tree back to even one ancestor, no matter how distant, who was a US Citizen, then they would become a US Citizen. Thank you for the information. I am relieved to see that me, my brother, my sister and my nephew do not appear to be in any potential difficulty. Some of the terms and requirements are not clear to me, but they seem lenient enough to enable almost all the children born overseas to one or more American parent to avoid the hassle of naturalization. ---
**Author:** ![TokyoBayer](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tokyobayer/32/13989_2.png) [@TokyoBayer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TokyoBayer)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2012, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-reason-id-be-screwed-by-not-having-my-own-birth-certificate/629171/63 "2012-07-27T01:27:00Z")
For the question of getting birth certificates for other people, then yes, I’ve read about people who have done that in the past, including the story of a former drug dealer who took his family and disappeared. He moved to Hawaii with over a million in cash (back in the 80s) and proceeded to get new identities. They have become a lot more strict now. > [@colonial](#): > > Some of the terms and requirements are not clear to me, but they seem lenient enough to enable almost all the children born overseas to one or more American parent to avoid the hassle of naturalization. My children are fine. They both have US passports, but if they don’t move back to the States for the required length of time, then any of their kids will not be automatic be given US citizenship. ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2012, 4:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-reason-id-be-screwed-by-not-having-my-own-birth-certificate/629171/64 "2012-07-27T04:31:10Z")
> [@colonial](#): > > That could be a hell of a tough one to document! They seem to enforce that at their whim, if you spend time on immigration boards experiences range from breezing through to all sorts of nonsense like interviewing each parent alone with the child and DNA tests. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [July 27, 2012, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-reason-id-be-screwed-by-not-having-my-own-birth-certificate/629171/65 "2012-07-27T05:07:35Z")
> [@colonial](#): > > Some of the terms and requirements are not clear to me, but they seem lenient enough > to enable almost all the children born overseas to one or more American parent to avoid > the hassle of naturalization. Unless you’re born to a 17 year old American girl in Kenya who hasn’t lived the appropriate length of time in the US, of course. 😃 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-reason-id-be-screwed-by-not-having-my-own-birth-certificate/629171.md?page=3)