GUWonder

I got the logistics of how it can be done long ago, but to exit the US, isn't the US requirement ordinarily that a US citizen use a US passport to exit the US when on a commercial flight?

We Will Never Forget

VWP requires 6 months.

LoganTSO

Well, since I'm starting paralegal at school in few days thought I might do some research and volia..

8 U.S.C. sec. 1185(b)
Travel control of citizens and aliens

GUWonder

Yes, so you found that to which I was referring.

"Travel control of citizens" is something with which the Soviets would be familiar. Quite telling choice of words there in the quoted USC section.

Given the general requirement covered in that section above and the allowances for Executive discretion (good and bad), I doubt we would see this US citizen be prosecuted by a USA/USAA merely for being in violation of that section in the situation of a serious family medical emergency.

The PR nightmare of prosecuting an otherwise law-abiding citizen only for a minor technical violation -- of a legal requirement of which most Americans would be unaware -- in the process of rushing to the bedside of a dying parent is not something the Executive would want given what it may mean in terms of reduction of power(s)/discretionary allowance.

alanw

You should contact a consular services company in the EU and have them take it to the Embassy or Consulate if you can't make it yourself. One such agency is http://www.visaworld.co.uk/contact_us.html

Note that if you are flying to Spain you're probably coming through BCN or MAD, and can drop your passport off in either city and have them courier it to your parents' house.

catocony

There may be a code that requires you to use a US passport, but what is the penalty? Bottom line, they're not going to throw you in jail, and since the US does not do outbound Immigration, there's nothing to catch you there with.

Again, there are two hurdles to cross on the way back. Getting a boarding pass, then getting through US Immigration/Customs. Treat them as separate events, and there should be no problems. I know plenty of dual citizens you use different passports pretty much at the same time. My brasilian ex, she would use her Portuguese passport to get a boarding pass on United out of Rio to Washington. Then, a minute later, she would use her Brasilian passport for outbound immigration at the airport in Rio. Then, for entry into the US, back to the Portuguese passport for Visa Waiver. On the outbound, she just used her Brasilian passport at US airport check-in and of course, on arrival in Brasil.

I had a friend who carried three valid passports - US, Israel and The Netherlands. Once he just handed all three to US Immigration and let them pick out which to use.

catocony

As a further, one of my pet peeves when watching TV or a movie is guy stuck in Mexico or wherever because he lost his passport. It doesn't work that way, a US citizen cannot be denied entry to the US. Sure, you may spend an hour or more catching guff from various DHS bozos, but in the end, you'll get in without a passport. If I were the OP, I would make sure I have my driver's license and maybe my social security card, voter registration card, maybe birth certificate with me.

shorelife

You don't mention the origin of your dual citizenship status. Were you a child born abroad of American parent(s) who subsequently came to the U.S. and have you established enough years residency in the U.S. to indicate your intent to maintain your U.S. citizenship as an adult past the age of 18 and have now lived on U.S. soil for a minimum of 5 years? That used to be the rule to meet for certain people having dual citizenship. For anyone in that situation entering the U.S. on their non-U.S. passport, it would be taken as an indication that you considered yourself to belong to the other nationality and U.S. citizenship was automatically lost. I've been told the citizenship laws have been amended regarding that provision that mandated a loss of citizenship in that situation, but I'd really check if I were you with the passport office before you leave the U.S. At the very least, obtain a letter from the medical authorities caring for your father to document that you had to leave the U.S. in an emergency situation at short notice.

GUWonder

shorelife, it doesn't work that way today. US citizens born abroad ordinarily retain their US citizenship even in the absence of what you mention unless the US citizen is able and willing to deliberately renounce their US citizenship and actually does deliberately renounce their US citizenship.

US citizens born abroad to US parent(s) -- parent(s) who have filed a report of birth of a US citizen abroad and meet the INA conditions -- do not have US citizenship by way of naturalization but are considered natural-born US citizens as the US has only two categories of US citizens: natural-born US citizens and naturalized US citizens.

US airlines feed the US government with the passport information of departing passengers, and DHS has been known to use that information to grab (even if just temporarily interrogate/search) passengers on departure from the US. This is not likely to happen in this kind of situation, and the bottom line is this alone is not going to be something any right-thinking US Attorney or USAA is going to waste time pursuing.

shorelife

Of course you're correct about the change in citizenship laws to protect those born abroad of an American parent...however, it's always been true that there are only two categories of U.S. citizen (natural-born and naturalized), the difference was that previously there were some situations for "natural born" overseas that congress eventually came to see as discriminatory or unfair burden on the citizen. The OP would still be well advised to have documentation from his parent's doctor about the health crisis that led him to leave the U.S. with an expiring American passport.

RichardKenner

The problem isn't exit, it's entry. The requirement is that it be a valid, meaning unexpired, passport. So, technically speaking, any US Citizen that isn't carrying a current passport when they attempt to enter the US is committing a crime. But note all the "unless otherwise authorized" language. There are many explicit exceptions to the rule (e.g., the "Enhanced Driver's License" that works when coming in from Canada) and also, as you point out, the section doesn't give a penalty.

I agree with the other posters here: unless there's something else going on (e.g., some other illegality or conspiracy), the chances of anybody being bothered by this is vanishingly small.

smethwickman

All:

Thanks for the info and advice. Here´s a quick update:

Left the USA on my UK passport and entered Spain on the same. No worries at all.

Tomorrow I leave for the USA and earlier today I visited the US Consulate in Valencia with all of my documentation [expired US passport, Naturalization Certificate, recent tax return, US driver´s license] but, no joy. The unfriendly woman told me to go to Madrid tomorrow [the day I am leaving] and visit the US Embassy. I dunno´about you, but when a citizen arrives at a US consulate with all manner of proof of US citizenship, it seems they could do something to help. Put a call into Madrid and fax the documents? Provide some emergency documentation? Seems like bureacracy at its finest.

Anyway, I´m going to leave Spain on my UK passport and I also have my approved ESTA which should mean I can get out without any problems. On entering the US, I´m tempted to use the US Immigration line as it´s faster and, as stated above, I have more proof of identiry documentation that you can shake a stick at. I may get a verbal beating, but I cannot imagine they would put me back on the next plane to the EU when, again, I have more proof of US citizenship than most natural-born Americans. They wouldn´t, would they?

Wish me luck and if you see me on CNN being waterboarded in Gitmo, you´ll know that I failed to make it through.......

Smethwickman

alanw

I hope it works out OK! I can't imagine you getting more than a stern talking-to from ICE.

The workers at the US consulate here (and I assume in most countries) aren't very friendly or helpful. I think that's because they spend all day dealing with pleas for assistance from idiots who should know better and when a normal guy like you comes in looking for help with a passport they are in no mood. I sat for an hour in the consulate in BCN a couple of years ago listening to one sob story after another: people who had no money and wanted to borrow some, who wandered off and left their purse at the station, who missed a flight and couldn't afford a new ticket, who didn't have a place to stay. It was really amazing. And those people - nearly every one - would get indignant when told that the consulate's job is to represent the government in Spain, not dish out welfare to those who failed to plan for their trip. It's a shame they weren't FTers or they could have come begging here too.

Taker Park

I'm surprised that the consulate in Valencia could or would not provide a travel letter attesting to the OP's identity and nationality if the OP met all requirements of proof.

These days it's not only the traveler in a bind about an expired passport, the air carrier is subject to penalties if they board that person without proper documentation (in good faith).

I'm very interested in hearing what the return was like. Please keep us posted.

lupine

I'd just use the UK passport in both directions - better to beg for forgiveness if they're unhappy with it after the fact than be denied exit or entry ahead of time, particularly given the urgency of the travel.

My sister accidentally allowed my niece's US Passport to expire, and then they needed to make an emergency trip back to the US -- she used her French passport and it was fine.