This international clearance is for any player who at the time of registration is between the ages of 10 and 17 and meets the following criteria:

• Cannot be cleared using the Prior to 10 nor the First Registration Citizen clearance criteria
• Player moved with their parent(s) to the U.S. for reasons not related to soccer, OR
• Player is returning home to the United States where their parent(s) have always resided after taking part in an academic study abroad program outside of the U.S.

 

REQUIRED DOCUMENTS

• Parents Move Exception Form
• ONE (1)  of EACH of the EIGHT listed  supporting documents is required.
• Must be in English, Spanish, German, or French.
• Acceptable documents limited to:

1.     Player’s Original Birth Certificate

-  If document is not in one of the four above listed languages  - FIFA requires  a certified translation of the birth certificate AND the original.

-  Must contain parentage information.

2.     Player’s Passport, Permanent Resident Card, or Visa

3.     Parents’ Passports, Permanent Resident Cards, Employment Authorization Cards, or Visas

-  If both biological parents moved to the United States with the player, both parents’ passports, permanent resident cards, employment authorization cards, or visas are required.

« If a parent is a U.S. citizen, their passport meets both the 3^rd AND 4^th requirement.

-  If only one biological parent moved to the United States with the player, FIFA requires ONE (1) of the following:

  -   A custody document indicating the moving parent has custody of the player, or

  -   A signed letter from the non-moving parent consenting to the player’s residence in the new country along with the non-moving parent’s ID, or

  -   If neither of the above can be obtained, FIFA has accepted a letter from the moving parent stating that the non-moving parent is not able to be contacted and does not occupy a role in the player’s life.

-  If only one biological parent moved to the United States with the player, and that parent has re-married, FIFA will require the marriage partner’s Proof of ID.

  -   If the parent and player moved due to marriage to a United States Citizen, FIFA will require the marriage certificate.

4.     Parents’ Employment Authorization

-  Visa, Permanent Resident Card, Employment Authorization Card, or Unites States Citizenship documentation for both parents that are residing in the United States with the player, OR

-  If the parents do not feel comfortable providing work authorization, please submit a signed statement from the parents or club to that effect .

5.     Proof of Residence

-  Signed Lease, Mortgage, Deed, or Title that contains the start date at the residence, parent name, and address.

-  If the document was issued more than 6 months ago (even if the lease term is still ongoing), FIFA requires a recently issued utility bill addressed to a parent at the address.

6.     Parent Proof of Employment

-  Signed and dated employment verification letter from the employer of each parent that is residing in the United States with the player that confirms the employment start date.

-  If one of the parents does not work, FIFA requires a signed letter from the non-working parent stating that he/she does not work.

-  If one of the parents is self-employed FIFA requires:

  -   A letter from the self-employed parent stating that he/she is self-employed and providing additional context, and

  -   Documentary evidence supporting the letter, such as business tax return forms or confirmation issued by the relevant government authority (example: business registration)

-  If the reason for the family move was for a parent to attend school in the United States FIFA requires the full long-form F-1 visa page signed by the DOJ. If that is not available, FIFA will require a letter confirming enrollment signed by the school, coupled with a receipt of payment of tuition from the school, or a recent report card from the school demonstrating that academic pursuit is ongoing.

7.     Club Statement

-  Letter from the club on an official letterhead stating when and how first contact with the player occurred (example: player showed up at tryouts, player is school friend of other players, parents emailed club after researching options in the area, etc.)

-  Signed by club administrator and/or coach

8.     Parent Statement

-  Brief letter signed and dated from the parents detailing the reasons and circumstances behind the family’s move to the United States.

 

PROCESS

A complete application includes the following as described below:

• All fields completed
• Current and accurate information
• Individual documents/attachments in PDF format no larger than 5MB.

 

Applications with missing, incomplete, inaccurate/wrong information, improper formatting will not be considered for review and applicant will be required to resubmit for processing.

 

For this type of international clearance:

1.     Player Status uploads required materials to FIFA TMS for review and approval by FIFA.

2.     FIFA determines if the requirements of the submitted application are met and reviews the supporting documents.

3.     FIFA advises U.S. Soccer of their decision. FIFA does not have a timeline in which they will render a decision.

4.     FIFA decision received:

a.     Approval

                          i.     International Transfer Certificate (ITC) –  Player Status submits a request to FIFA TMS for an ITC for the minor.

                         ii.     First Registration - Player Status reaches out to the foreign Member Association (MA) in the country of birth of the player to verify there has not been any previous registrations for the player.

b.     Rejects or requests additional information

                          i.     Rejected application – FIFA does not provide  grounds for rejection. 

                         ii.     Additional document request – FIFA outlines what additional documents are required and indicates a specific period of time in which Player Status must send the documents. If the documents are not submitted within specified time the application will be rejected and will need to be resubmitted.

 

 

ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENT

Once eligibility is determined, Player Status will notify the applicant and those copied on the original submission.

 

FIRST REGISTRATION

Per FIFA regulations, the MA has seven (7) days to respond to U.S. Soccer on the requested First Registration.   

• Player is eligible to register with the requesting club/team/league if:

o   No response is received after seven (7) days from the MA

 
OR

o   The MA confirms there is no record of previous registration for the player

• Player is NOT eligible to register with the requesting club/team/league if:

o   The MA confirms there is record of previous registrations for the player

 

Previously registered players with foreign MAs will have to resubmit an application indicating the correct club/team/league with which they were registered last abroad.  Player Status must submit the new application to FIFA for review and approval prior to being permitted to request an ITC for the player.

 

INTERNATIONAL TRANSFER CERTIFICATE

Per FIFA regulations, the releasing MA has seven (7) days to respond to U.S. Soccer.  Player is eligible to register with the requesting club/team/league if:

• The releasing MA approves the ITC and transfers the certificate to Player Status

OR

• The releasing MA does not respond to the request and on the eighth (8^th) day FIFA TMS will provide Player Status the option to record a provisional clearance.

 

If the application received by Player Status contains incorrect information, i.e. incorrect previous club name, the releasing MA will reject the player details and ITC request.  Applicant will be required to resubmit an updated application.

 

 

Please note, Player Status is unable to provide/respond to status updates requests. Once an application has an update, all relevant parties will be notified accordingly.