I swear.. I'm no terrorist!

I told you briefly back in June about how I was born in the back seat of my dad's pickup truck in the hospital parking lot.. Well.. clearly there is more to that story.. MUCH more..

Bare with me.. this will be a long post..

So as all of you know.. I'm currently planning my wedding to the love of my life. As with most couples going through this process.. we are also planning our honeymoon. After much deliberation we decided on the Sandals Royal Caribbean in Montego Bay, Jamaica!

Going to Jamaica means I have to get my passport.. no big deal right? That's what I thought too..
So in June Love and I went down to file the paperwork to obtain said passports.. a month or so later love received a package. His passport! I was oober excited (yes... oober!)! I dug through our massive stack of mail (that's what happens when the man is left in charge of checking the mail.. it happens every 3 weeks..) searching for my pretty red, blue, and white envelope so I could hold my very own passport in my hands. Only.. I didn't receive a pretty red, blue, and white envelope. I received a boring solid white envelope. One that contained a document stating that they would need additional evidence to prove my citizenship. WHAT?!
Apparently I'm a terrorist.. or at least.. that's what the Department of Defense seemed to think. I'm 5'2 and all of 110 pounds. What kind of damage could I really cause?!

So what do they need in order for me to prove that I am in fact a citizen of the United States of America? OF COURSE! They need a combination of the following:

1. a copy of hospital certificate - check!
2. a copy of my baptismal certificate - umm.. I've never been baptised..
3. copies of my early childhood school registration paperwork - ok.. I can get that!

NOT! Leander ISD is not required to keep records that are THAT OLD! Geeze people. I'm only 24. That's not old! oh well.

So after several phone calls to the Department of State, Department of Defense, National Passport Center, and a phone interview with some bigwig from the Department of State, I submitted a series of documents that he requested and I RAN with it.
I submitted 42 documents (that was all I could find.. ha!) to prove my birth and my citizenship.

{the 42 documents I sent to the National Passport Center and The Department of State}

I also included this letter.. it explains exactly why.. at 24 years old.. I don't have a proper birth certificate but instead.. I have a 'Delayed Certificate of Birth'

To whom it may concern,

My name is Jennifer Lewis and this is my story..

On December 20th, 1984 at roughly 10pm my mother went into labor. They jumped in my dad’s truck and rushed to Brackenridge Hospital. At about 10:40pm, they pulled up and my dad went inside to get some help. I was coming quickly so the nurse didn’t have time to take my mom inside. Instead, she grabbed the first doctor she saw and I was delivered in the cab of my father’s 2 door pickup truck in the parking lot of Brackenridge Hospital in Austin Texas,

Later, we found out the ‘doctor’ who delivered me was actually a student intern and had never delivered a baby before. Thus, did not file the appropriate paperwork necessary for my mother to obtain my birth certificate and such documents. Growing up, my hospital certificate was sufficient in enrolling me through various schools as we moved from city to city, and even allowed my mom to obtain my social security card when I was 5 years old. It wasn’t until I was 16, and attempting to get my Driver’s Permit in New York State, that we were declined for not having proper documentation of my birth.

At this point, my mother flew back to Texas and spent several weeks obtaining signed affidavits from various friends and family members verifying that they were there for my birth and verifying all of the information. Once this was complete, I was issued a ‘Delayed Certificate of Birth’.

Throughout the last 8 years, anytime I am in a situation where I must provide my birth certificate, everyone looks at it, tilts their head to the side as if they are a confused puppy, and questions me. Then.. I begin telling my story..

Today, I am a 24 year old Sales Manager and Event Coordinator at a small family owned business called **** located in ****, Texas. I live in ****, Texas with my Fiancé, M. J., and our doggy Avery. We are in the process of planning our wedding for February 27th, 2010 and (are hoping) to take our honeymoon at the Sandals Royal Caribbean in Montego Bay, Jamaica from ***** through ****, 2010.

I understand the implications faced when issuing a passport and the security reasons behind the verification process. I assure you, I am an upstanding citizen of the United States of America. This is a frustrating situation that I have had to deal with for my entire life and unfortunately, it is to no fault of my own. My only intentions when leaving the country are to relax with my soon-to-be husband on the beach. Maybe do a little scuba diving or windsurfing, play some shuffleboard or sand volleyball, and go to the carnival party or the piano bar at our resort.. and hopefully the spa!

I have my hospital certificate attached. I was never baptized so I do not have record of that. My school district (Leander ISD) is not required to keep records that are 20 years old and therefore, they did not have anything to provide me with for early school registration records. So please, review the 42 attached documents including report cards from k-12, copies of birth records verifying my story of having an emergency delivery, my high school transcript, copies of my year books (again k-12) including various sports I participated in, my high school diploma, and even a document outlining a visit I made to the Austin Police Department in 1996 when I was merely 11 years old and my parents were going through a divorce. I hope you will find this information sufficient evidence of my citizenship.

Thank you for your time,
(and then I signed it..)

4 weeks later..................

{my passport in all it's glory!!!!}