CBNNews.com - JERUSALEM, Israel - The U.S. Consulate in Israel has made it more difficult for American immigrants to register the birth of their children and obtain a passport from the U.S. State Department.

Most Israeli Americans hold dual U.S. and Israeli citizenship.

What was a fairly simple process in the past has become more complicated.

Israeli Americans with newborn babies who want to visit family in the States may have to wait up to six months for an appointment to register the birth and secure a U.S. passport.

The new system, instituted in July, requires an individual appointment to obtain a Consular Report of Birth Abroad, needed before a new US passport may be issued.

"My wife wanted to travel to see her family in the US with our newborn baby during the last month of her maternity leave [in February], but the earliest appointment we could get is in July," one American immigrant told Jerusalem Post correspondent Ruth Eglash.

"I would rather spend a few hours waiting at the consulate than wait six months for an appointment," he said.

An information officer at the U.S. Consulate in Jerusalem said the new system was due to the high demand for services, such as issuing passports.

Source: The Jerusalem Post