nongfu

Hi I have 2 US passports (I travel for a living and both passports have controversial countries that can be a problem with some visas and some entrances).

Question: Im now overseas- I have been for several months- and want to mail one of my passports to a visa service in NYC so that when I arrive back in 2 weeks, I can have a visa waiting for me. The problem is that I forgot which passport i used when I left USA 7 months ago. Is this a problem? Can I enter my country on either passport?

THANKS

Nongfu

Mwenenzi

USA does not have exit controls, so the US government does not know (or care??)

What passport did you use to enter the country you are now in? Many countries are concerned about entering & leaving on the same passport. If you use a different passport, you may have problems.

nongfu

Thanks Mwenenzi! I entered Ireland on my main USA quadruple thick passport (I double checked and found the big entrance stamp) and Im now in Scotland. Ill do some of Scandinavia before returning to USA for a few days. I want to have a Russia visa waiting for me, thanks to you I believe Im good to go! Ill mail my secondary passport to TRAVISA next week.

Thanks again!

jphripjah

I don't think it matters. I have 2 US passports and use them interchangeably and sometimes travel with both and pay no attention to whether I'm returning on the same passport I left on.

Tchiowa

Correct response. You will have no issues with the US government.

GUWonder

The US has some exit controls, including those applicable to flying out of the US. And we do keep track of the passports used by airline passengers to exit the US, but the US passport numbers for exit and re-entry need not match to avoid problems.

Nothing about which to worry.

A recognized US citizen at a US port of entry is admissible into the US, whether with or without any US passport. To travel to the US on a common carrier, any valid US passport is generally acceptable for travel to the US; and the US passport need not be the one used to exit the US previously.

televisor

Your main issue will be the UK exit "controls" (or lack thereof). You'll want to make sure you check-in to your flight leaving the UK/Ireland using the same passport you used to enter UK/Ireland (I believe it should have an entry stamp - I'm not sure about border controls between Ireland and UK though, but I don't think they track this). Otherwise you might not be registered as having left the CTA, and you could get investigated for an overstay the next time you enter the UK or Ireland. (I'm not sure how integrated the UK and Irish systems are, but presumably they can cross-reference entries and exits for both.)

(This is similar to the US: as a foreigner I need to give the airline the same passport that I entered on, so that the CBP actually know I've left - but CBP won't actually check it themselves.)

In other words, no need to care about the US since you're a citizen, but you do need to care about the countries you're visiting if you want to avoid issues the next time you visit. If you're 100% sure you'll never visit the UK or Ireland again (as an emigrated Brit, I fully understand), feel free to ignore this.