I travel more than the average bear. I also travel to lots of not always "mutually friendly" countries. To make life easier I have a number of passports from different countries (don't ask). Anyway, here is my question. For the US, if I travel inbound on one passport and then was to "accidentally" leave on a different passport, would that set me up for a problem on my next trip through the world of US immigration? I do keep a "clean" passport for US transits and am pretty religious about using it but I do worry that some day I will be at passport control and will hand over the wrong one.

What are the possible issues as a UK citizen and whats the worst that I could expect.

All comments appreciated.

Warren

What does "leave on a different passport" mean to you? The US does not have an exit control procedure like other countries do.

If you enter the US on a visa or with a visa-waiver it is best to have a record of your arrival somewhere else (to denote your US departure), but it doesn't have to be in the same passport as your arrival in ths US.

when I enter the US on a visa waiver I fill out a green waiver form. That is connected with my arrival passport details. When I depart, in transit for example, I hand back that green card ( or a portion of it) and leave. esta and my original immigration would show me arriving on a specific passport so I guess my actual query is whether it really matters what passport I leave on.

W

The thing is you don't leave on a passport, period. There is no outgoing border control in the US. The *AIRLINE* wants to see a passport because they want to make sure you'll be accepted at your destination, not because of any US rules.

If you leave the US by land all you'll encounter is the Canadian or Mexican border checkpoint.

Perhaps no formal outgoing border control, but after the fact investigations can happen. And, despite the seeming lack of formal controls, U.S. citizens are required to both enter and leave the US on a US passport, even if a dual national. (Yes, I realize this might not apply to OP. Using it to point out that there actually is a concept of "leave on a passsport" in the US that is regulated).

Safe bet is to use the same passport getting out as was used getting in.

There were numerous reports about CBP performing an outbound check at the airports as well as the land border crossings. I myself witnessed one last Saturday at the Peace Arch when I waiting in a ridiculously long line. I was going back to the USA, but far in the distance I saw CBP checking Canada-bound cars. At least one car was turned into the CBP facility parking, so yeah... I would not call it "no outgoing border control"

I've often wondered about this, too. When I emigrated to Australia in 1994, I entered on my U.K. passport, with the residency visa in it. During the time I was there, this U.K. passport expired, and I got a new one from the British Embassy in Canberra. I also took citizenship and got an Australian passport. However, when I went through security to leave Australia at BNE, when I handed over my Australian passport, the guy looked at it, checked something on his screen, and handed it back asking "do you have an alternative passport?" Whereupon I handed over my new U.K. passport (no visa in it, remember), which seemed to satisfy him. Was this solely down to the Aussie passport not having a U.K. entry visa in it?

It spoilt my day a little, as, up to that point, I had felt a bit like James Bond, carrying two passports in secret.

Hi, i have a green cart and im going back to the states but i lost my passport i don't have time to get a new one but i have my italian passport that i never use. if i go to the us with that one, i will have problems with my GC? or should i just use my italian passport as a tourist and not care about my GC just inter as a tourist. what you think? do they know is i use my italian passpoet that i have an other one too? or they will just think i am a diferent person.
thanks

Not exactly.

The airline wants to see your passport to ensure that you were also legally in the US and that no green waiver-form receipt needs to be collected and returned to the DHS.

I have a US passport and a UK passport and have flown from the US to the UK dozens of times. The gate agents always take and enter my details from my US passport (despite the fact that my UK passport, not my US passport, proves unrestricted entry into the UK), because the US passport proves that I did not need permission to enter the US and thus no further boxes of DHS need to be ticked.

Hi stephg and welcome to FT.

You mention that you are an Italian citizen and that you have a green card (so you are not a US citizen) but you do not mention your other citizenship.

It is not a good idea to enter the US under a guise different from reality - as in, if you are a permanent-residence (green-card) holder, then you should enter under the PR status and not as a tourist. Your permanent-residence status will almost certainly be found out when questioned by immigration officials, and don't forget - lying to an immigration officer (for instance, saying you are a tourist when you are not) is a felony in the US.

I don't understand, anyway, why you can't just enter the US with your PR card and your Italian passport. Why do you need your other passport? Isn't your PR permit external to your passport? Or have you lost that, too?

You recieived advice on an Immigration board yesterday. See an immigration lawyer. You cannot get an ESTA with a GC.

Your Lawful Permanent Resident card is all you need to re-enter the United States. A passport is not required by US Customs and Border Protection if you are a Lawful Permanent Resident.

FB

A co-worker of mine who's been an LPR for years (UK Citizen) and travels almost weekly once tried to enter the US without his passport. He was told "yes, you can enter without a passport, but see that long line over there? That's for people who want to do that".

Officers do not like to see things that are out of the ordinary. An LPR card holder, for the most part travel with their passports. This is because it is usually necessary to enter the country they are going to. Legally, the LPR card holder is allowed to enter the US with just the card. If the officer has no problem with the card physically, security features intact, the officer doesn't think the individual is an imposter, etc. The officer should admit the passenger. My officers know this and also know that supervisors will not be happy with the additional work being sent to secondary. All that should be needed is the truthful explanation that the passport was lost.

However, this scenario changes when the LPR card holder decides to attempt entry under the visa waiver program instead of as an LPR card holder. In the worst case scenario, it could be seen as abandoning the holder's permanent resident status. As is always the case, the passenger knows the whole story, the whole truth, when things are not related in a truthful manner the officer has to try to ascertain the true story and why the truth wasn't just supplied to begin with. Many times the obscuring of the truth becomes a much bigger problem than the original issue. Honestly, many times the passenger assumes that whatever the issue is is a much bigger problem then the reality is. The officer very often knows that someone is not being truthful the problem is figuring out why.

FB

In this particular case, it was that his Green Card was in his pocket, but passport buried in his bag and he was too lazy to fish for it. After receiving the comment he did, he got "unlazy".

And I just asked another co-worker if he ever tried to enter the US with just his Green Card. He said yes, but he was also asked for his passport.