> Everything you listed is voluntary, at least in USA.
That isn't true:
> What Happens If You Don’t Register a Birth?
> By law, newborns must be registered within 10 days of their birth.
> In terms of legality, not registering the birth of a child is a violation of the law and a punishable crime. Depending on the state, the parents may be fined, charged with imprisonment, or have to face other legal consequences.
Yea, but that's specifically the only one that isn't optional. Almost all other forms of ID are voluntary as long as you understand that voluntary means you accept not participating in some privileged activities (like driving a car on a road for a drivers license).
The US is actually insane about how little identification they require from residents and also not great about how expensive it can be to acquire certain forms of ID.
Really helpful to have birth listed in a couple church public registers.
For baby passport, basically the parents attest to the child being born as American along with "hey look at this public record". And a SSN is apparently never required and State Dept should probably not being relying on a tax agency number. I mistakenly transposed and messed up the digits for the SSN box ten years ago and the passport arrived. So they didn't even do a lookup on it.
Which law in which State? How would they know for home birth, and would they arrest the baby?
There are administrative rules all over the 50 States. Most don't apply to typical Americans but nobody knows that or they don't care because 'merica#1.
> For an unattended live birth not reported under subsection (4) of this section, a report of live birth and an affidavit stating the facts of the birth must be filed with the department within ten calendar days of the live birth.
(whereby unattended means 'with no healthcare provider, midwife, or facility representative present or applicable'.)
(For bonus, RCW 70.58A.120 captures "delayed reporting of a live birth" and the "establishing of facts" around the birth.)
> How would they know for home birth
I was going to offer the comparison to driving, where "they" don't know you're driving without a license until there is some form of or need for government interaction. But I fear this will lead to some comment about traveling versus driving.
> and would they arrest the baby?
This is fatuous. "Depending on the state, the parents may be fined, charged with imprisonment, or have to face other legal consequences." (emphasis mine).
So parents reporting unattended live birth would get a "certificate of live birth" with first name 'baby' or whatever? That paper could actually be useful for purpose of passport.
Reading his other comments on such, I agree. SSN is voluntary. Birth registration is voluntary (it's not). "Just get yourself a passport, that will work for ID".
How to obtain a US passport with neither a SSN nor a birth certificate is apparently left as an exercise for the reader...
That isn't true:
> What Happens If You Don’t Register a Birth?
> By law, newborns must be registered within 10 days of their birth.
> In terms of legality, not registering the birth of a child is a violation of the law and a punishable crime. Depending on the state, the parents may be fined, charged with imprisonment, or have to face other legal consequences.