Frequently Asked Questions (2024)

The ACS unit provides information and assistance to U.S. citizens traveling or residing in Egypt.

For detailed description of our services, hours of service and links of useful resources, please visit our website at:https://eg.usembassy.gov/u-s-citizen-services/

Most ACS services require an appointment. To schedule an appointment, please visit the Embassy’s website at:https://evisaforms.state.gov/acs/default.asp?postcode=CRO&appcode=1

The ACS unit is unable to provide information regarding U.S. visas and will not respond to messages regarding those issues.

For information regarding visas, please:

• Call the GSS CallCenter at:+20-2-3531-1460 or 16872 (from within Egypt);visit the embassy website at:https://eg.usembassy.gov/visas/; or
• Email:consularcairoiv@state.govfor immigrant visas

or

• Email:consularcaironiv@state.govfor non-immigrant visas

To renew your passport, you must complete the following:

1. The Passport application [Form DS-82]

• Ensure that it is properly filled out with your address (item number 6) and telephone number IN EGYPT (item number 7) and your social Security number.
• Please sign and date the application.

2. The applicant’s last U.S. Passport and a copy of the biographical page.

3. One photo attached to the application:

• 5 x 5 cm in size
• White background
• Front view, face must be fully visible

4. The sum of $130.00 USD or equivalent in Egyptian pounds must be paid via Pay.gov – Home and a copy of payment should be included with the application package.

5. To submit your application to our office, please send by courier of your choice.

Once our office receives the complete application package, it generally takes 2-3 weeks to receive the new passport.

To renew your child’s passport, you must schedule an appointment in advance through the link:https://evisaforms.state.gov/acs/default.asp?postcode=CRO&appcode=1.

At the time of the appointment, you need:

1. A Personal Appearance by the child.

2. The Passport application [DS-11]

• Ensure it is properly filled out with your address (item number 6) and telephone numberin Egypt(item number 7) and your social security number.
• DO NOTsign the application.

3. The applicant’s last U.S. Passport and a copy of the first page.

4. The original U.S. birth certificate and a photocopy.

5. One (1) photo:

• 5 x 5 cm in size
• White background
• Front view, face must be fully visible

6. The sum of $135.00 USD or equivalent in Egyptian pounds.

7. Applicant parents’ photo IDs

• Egyptian or U.S. passport, Egyptian national ID, Permanent Resident Card, or Driving License
• Photocopies of these IDs

8. The applicant’s parents must make an appointment to appear at the ACS Office.

• To authorize issuance, both parents should be present and give consent; if one parent is absent, their consent is required to be verified.
• If a parent is not present, that parent should submit a photocopy of their passport and a notarized statement of Consent [form DS-3053] with the application.
• If the parents are divorced, the applying parent may submit a copy of the divorce certificate and a court order giving sole legal custody of the child.
• If one of the parents is deceased, a copy of the death certificate is required.

Once our office receives the complete application package, it generally takes 2-3 weeks to receive the new passport

If you require an emergency passport due to a lost/or stolen passport AND have an urgent travel need contact the ACS section by emailing ConsularCairoACS@State.gov. ACS staff will then instruct you to approach the ACS Office during working hours from 9:00 a.m. to 12 p.m., Sunday through Wednesday and to take the steps listed below. If you do not have an urgent travel need follow the link to schedule a regular passport appointment.

1. Appear personally at the ACS Office.

2. Passport application [form DS-11]

• Ensure that it is properly filled out with your address (item number 6), telephone number IN EGYPT (item number 7), and your social Security number.
• DO NOT sign the application.

3. Statement Regarding Lost or Stolen Passport [form DS-64] properly filled out.

4. A copy of an Egyptian police report with the details of the loss or theft of the passport.

5. Proof of U.S. citizenship (an original U.S. birth certificate or Certificate of Naturalization) and also a copy of it.

6. Additional original photo ID and a photocopy of it

• Ex. Egyptian passport, school ID, or driver’s license

7. Two photos:

• 5 x 5 cm in size
• White background
• Front view, face must be fully visible

8. The sum of $165.00 USD or equivalent in Egyptian Pounds.

9. A copy of the lost U.S. passport, if available.

Please note that you must present the police report to the Egyptian Immigration Office toreplace the entry stamp onto your new passport. You should obtain this report from the police station closest to the area where the passport was lost or stolen.

The U.S. Department of State will no longer add visa pages into U.S. passports beginning January 1, 2016. Previously, U.S. passport holders had the option to pay for the insertion of additional 24-page visa inserts when valid passports lacked adequate space for entry or exit visa stamps. The decision to discontinue this service was made to enhance the security of the passport and to abide by international passport standards.

To mitigate the impact on frequent travelers, the Department began issuing 52-page passports to all applicants outside the United States starting October 1, 2014 for no additional cost. Applicants within the United States may choose a 28-page or 52-page book.

In order for a U.S. citizen parent to transmit citizenship to his/her child, the U.S. parent should apply for a Consular Report of Birth Abroad (CRBA).The CRBA is an official record of U.S. citizenship issued to a person under the age of 18 who was born abroad to a U.S. citizen parent(s) and acquired U.S citizenship at birth.

The U.S. parent is required to prove that that they have the sufficient physical presence in the United States prior the birth of the child. The required time of physical presence does not have to be consecutive and for naturalized U.S. citizens, this time could have been before or after naturalization.

The Department of State takes the physical presence legal requirement very seriously and the evidence submitted is closely examined. The required period of physical presence cannot be waived or reduced.

• Some forms of evidence that may support sufficient physical presence are:
• U.S. and foreign entry and exit stamps on old and current passports;
• Tax withholding statements (W2s) from time working in the United States;
• Academic credentials and school records (transcripts) from the United States;
• Social Security earning statements.

For additional information about CRBAs and the forms needed, please visit theBirth Abroad page.

The Child Citizenship ACT, effective February 27, 2001, provides for automatic acquisition of U.S. citizenship and passport for children who have legal permanent resident status (green card holders) and who meet the following conditions:

• One parent is an American citizen.
• The child is under 18 years old.
• The child traveled in the United States as a lawful permanent resident alien or on an immigrant visa in the legal and physical custody of the American citizen parent.
• The child applicant must prove that they resided in the United States.
• This entails analysis of both the character and duration of the stay.
• A stay of three to six months might qualify as “residing in the United States” depending upon its character, and supporting evidence may be required.
• A stay in excess of six months generally would qualify as “Residing in the United States”.

For any questions regarding applications for Social Security numbers please visit:

• The Social Security Administration atwww.ssa.govor
• The U.S. Embassy in Cairo Social Securitypage

If after reviewing the Social Security Administration webpage and the U.S. Embassy in Cairo Social Security Site you still have a question or would like to schedule a social-security related appointment please email the ACS section at consularcairoACS@state.gov. The ACS Unit will not answer phone calls related to social security questions.

In order for a document issued in the United States to be used in Egypt, it must be:

• Notarized at a notary from the United States;
• Certified by the Egyptian Embassy/Consulate serving that state;
• Information on the Egyptian embassy and its consulates in the United States can be found at:Click here for a list of Egyptian Consulates in the United States.
• Upon arriving in Egypt, this document will need to be authenticated by the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs before submitting any to any Egyptian authority for use in Egypt.
• There several authentication offices in different places in Egypt.

The ACS Office cannot authenticate U.S. school records, educational certificates, degrees, or transcripts. Such documents must be authenticated either by an Egyptian embassy or consulate in the United States and then by the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Egypt.

Those documents may be accredited by the AMIDEAST Office in Cairo. The AMIDEAST website is:http://www.amideast.org/egypt

The ACS Unit can authenticate Egyptian documents (excluding academic credentials and school records and certificates of experience) only if the documents are:

• issued in English by the issuing ministry, and
• authenticated by the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

For example:

• an Egyptian birth certificate can be issued in English by the Egyptian Ministry of Health, authenticated by the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and then finally by the ACS Office.
• an Egyptian Marriage certificate can be translated by the Ministry of Justice, authenticated by the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and then by the ACS Unit.

Alternately, a private translator can translate any document into English (excluding academic credentials and school records and certificate of experience). The translator must schedule an appointment and appear in person at the ACS office to get his signature acknowledged. The ACS Unit can notarize the signature of private translators. For an appointment:https://evisaforms.state.gov/acs/default.asp?postcode=CRO&appcode=1

The decision to travel is a personal one and the decision should be taken in light of personal circ*mstances and the various worldwide and regional public announcements.

We always advise citizens to visit the State Department website at:www.travel.state.govto read general information about travel to Egypt, Safety and precautions. The Department of State issues a Consular Information Sheet for each country of the world. The Consular Information Sheet provides the American citizen with useful information about the country in regards to entry visa requirements, currency used, health facilities, safety and security, location of the American embassy and consulate, etc.

To obtain this information, please visit the link: https://travel.state.gov/content/passports/en/country/egypt.html

We highly recommend that all U.S. citizens sign up with State Department “Smart Traveler Enrollment Program (STEP)” available through the link: http://travel.state.gov/travel/tips/registration/registration_4789.html.

The U.S. government imposes no requirements on American citizens wishing to marry in Egypt. However, the Egyptian government asks American citizens intending to marry in Egypt to obtain an affidavit from the ACS Office of the U.S. Embassy in Cairo that states there is nothing preventing the American citizen from marrying in Egypt.To obtain this affidavit, the American citizen must make a notarial appointment online and come in person to the ACS Office.

The affidavit can be completed on the same day as the appointment and costs $50.00.

Please note demand for notarial services is high and notarial services are not generally considered for emergency appointments. Please schedule your notarial appointment early and plan travel and other arrangements accordingly.Please see the marriage in Egypt section of the U.S. Embassy in Egypt website for additional information.

Unless the U.S. citizen has an Egyptian resident visa, the citizen cannot apply for an Egyptian driver license. Among the requirements is an Affidavit, signed by the citizen and notarized by the ACS Office, including his name, passport number and address in Egypt.

1. The U.S. citizen should schedule an appointment for a notarial.

2. Make a personal appearance.

3. Pay the sum of $50.00 USD or equivalent in Egyptian pounds.

4. Present his/her current U.S. passport.

The Affidavit is required to be in both English and Arabic. Please note that international driver’s licenses are only issued at the country of origin.

U.S. citizens getting enrolled in a school or a university in Egypt are required to submit an affidavit from the U.S. Embassy in Cairo in the form of a statement by the student, or the parent of the student, requesting to be have the child enrolled in the school or university. It is important to know the specific name of the school or university.

This affidavit is provided by the ACS Office. At the time of the interview, we will need to see the U.S. citizen student’s current U.S. passport and, if the parent attends without the U.S. citizen student, the parents’ photo ID. The fee is $50.00 USD or the equivalent in Egyptian pounds; the fee is charged for each affidavit. A separate affidavit is normally required for each student.

Unfortunately, the U.S. Embassy in Cairo is not able to provide emergency or other special consular services to U.S. citizens in Yemen.

U.S. citizens may submit their applications for a CRBA at any overseas U.S. Embassy, including U.S. Embassy Cairo. We advise, whenever possible, that the application be submitted by the parent attempting to transmit U.S. citizenship to their child.

If you need assistance with the reporting of the death of a U.S. citizen in Yemen, please contact us by email.

For questions about CRBA or CRDA services, please refer to our website.