Dual passports/international travel question
 

Hi, all.

If I am a dual citizen of the USA and, say, France, would there be any way for the US Customs/Immigration people to know if I'd been out and about on my French passport?

If, for example, I go fly from JFK to MXP, enter Italy on my US passport, then fly south to Africa for a few days on my French passport, re-enter Italy as a French citizen, and return to NYC on my US passport showing only the Milan stamps, will the feds ever know that I'd left Italy?

Thanks.

I dont think US immigration would care what passport you use to enter other
countries, as long as you leave and enter US on the US passport.
You are required to declare all the countries you have been to
while you were away from US once you return.

Here is some useful information at:
http://travel.state.gov/

Most (if not all) countries require that you enter and leave the country on the
same passport.

I don't think anyone will be able to answer this question with any authority - who knows what channels of communication exist that the ordinary person doesn't know about?

However, if you want to know about rules...:

In the European Union we have very strict data protection laws and it would be illegal for airport or airline operators to pass on information about passengers to third-country governments without disclosing this fact to the passengers concerned. We all know - because this is official and well-publicised - that if we board a flight to the US, or passing through US airspace, then certain information about us gets passed to the US government. However, in the circumstances you describe details of your movements within the EU, or departure from the EU to other countries, could not be passed on the the US government (or any other government for that matter)

BTW, why would you want to enter Italy on a US (= foreign) passport if you also have a European Union (=non-foreign) passport?

Thank you for your answers.

It was a hypothetical question. Maybe I could've used entering Mexico on a US passport, and then flying on to Cuba as a French citizen as a better example.

I'm a dual and use both passports regularly. From my experience, no one really cares. I leave/re-enter the US on my US passport.

M8

I recently traveled to Germany using my EU passport and returned using my US one. no problems to report. as stated, you must declare all countries visited upon arrival in the US.

Why would you care if the US knew where you had been unless a) you were visiting a country you were prohibited from visiting (like cuba) or b) you were engaging in criminal activity.

What right does the country you are a citizen of have to tell you where in the world you can visit or not.

Viva self-sovereignty! ^

I always enter EU Countries/Middle East/most of Latin America on my spanish passport and re-enter the US with my US passport. When they ask, I tell them the truth... for the EU, I am required to enter with the red passport, and for the others, for my security, I don't identify myself as american. The CBP agents have never asked for more than to see my Spanish passport to verify entries and exits. Then "welcome home"

And home I go

Hago lo mismo con mi pasaporte costarricense.

M8

vale... yo tengo la opcion para recibir un pasaporte guatemalteco, pero nunca lo he recibido. Yo pienso que mi pasaporte español me ofrece mejor proteccion diplomatica en la mayoria de los paises donde viajo

Sorry but this is incorrect. US does care and does not allow citizens to go to cuba with certain exceptions. It does not matter if you are a dual citizen of another country you are still a US citizen. this is one area that dual citizenship is of no value.

IF you travel to mexico as mentioned on US passport then use another passport to enter CUBA you run the risk of US immigration finding out when you return no matter what passport you use. THey do monitor flights and the fines are very high..

with regard to the original question you should always exit and enter US with your US passport then if you choose you can use the other as much as you like as long as whatever country you enter you use the same passport when you exit....no problem with this

While the first part of what you said is true, the monitoring of flights part is not.

While the US does care whether you go to Cuba, they do not spend much time and money enforcing the travel bans when it comes to citizens traveling to Cuba from other countries.

It is illegal, but the risk of prosecution is quite low. The biggest thing is that you will not have any legal protections in cuba on behalf of the United States government, and there is no US embassy or consulate in Cuba, so you have no access to US services while in Cuba.

I am well aware of the laws. Who said anything about being "correct". Read my post again.

M8