Getting 'stamped' back into the US
 

As a US passport holder I always found it odd how sometimes I get a US stamp when I get home and other times I don't.

I would have expected a uniform standard.

Older thread on this topic

In general they're not required to stamp your US passport at a US border. Sometimes I've been told that they're forbidden to stamp passports. Usually they stamp only if I ask.

I usually get a CBP re-entry stamp without asking. When I don't get a stamp, then I ask them. Now that I use GOES, you don't get a stamp at the kiosks...however it is a small price to pay for getting through U.S. Customs/Immigration upon return in a fraction of the time it would take you if you stood in the regular line.

I've had a few foreign immigration/customs agents deny me an exit stamp. They get annoyed if you ask them again and then hastily wave you through telling you that you're holding up the line.

Personally, I'd rather forgo the pleasure of a reentry stamp, as my passport fills up too quickly as it is. I feel largely the same way about exit stamps.

I guess my point is the inconsistancy, I can understand a standard policy of no stamping US passports entering the US, but it happens about 50% of the time for me.

YMMV, but the only place I've been stamped for entering the US has been twice for ATL (out of many many times) and once for DUB (out of one entry).

You should realize this is another clever ploy by DHS to confuse potential hijackers.

MisterNice

I always ask for one. And tell them they could sell them. Though I know it's not up to them. But they could. It's one of the last romantic aspects of travel, at least IMO.

To those who do travel enough, what happens when you fill the spaces for stamps? I'm approaching this point... Thank you.

running out of passport space
 

DoS' official guide:

http://travel.state.gov/passport/fri/add/add_850.html

In my experience, it's better to do this at an embassy abroad (where I or friends of mine got it done in Kyiv, Yerevan, and Chisinau same-day with no service charge) than from Stateside, but it is a pretty simple matter (and an awesome problem to have, really :) )

You mail in your passport and have them add pages. (If you are overseas, this can be done in person at any embassy or consulate.) There is no fee. They say the mail-in process takes four weeks, but I just did this 2 weeks ago and got my passport back in 10 days.

For instructions, click here.

Thank you very much, Ready2Go. There's a Passport office here in Boston. If it's possible to do at an embassy, I wonder if I could just go in. I realize that overseas is a more special condition. Just wondered about this possibility. Not down to the wire yet, but it's really good to know about the timing aspect. Then again, I could just put it on my agenda when I go overseas next month. (I got the one I have in Bern in an hour, after losing my former one.)

In my experience, it is always quicker and more efficient to have additional passport pages inserted at a US Embassy or Consulate than at a passport office in the US. No appointment is necessary and, with a bit of luck one is in and out in less than an hour.

On the original subject of this thread, I too find it strange to have my US passport stamped upon re-entry into the US. Some border control agents stamp it and others don't. The stamp is a generic stamp that is used both for US citizens and foreigners coming to the US. The stamp says "Admitted".
In contrast, the EU prohibits stamping EU passports upon entry into the EU because it deems a passport stamp an imposition of a control that the person is not subject to.

London, Rome?
 

Thank you, euskadi. And at a Consulate, too. Hmmm.

Now, I know this is really off the wall and more OT, but I wonder if anyone watching would have a preference for our embassy in London or the one in Rome (location, service). Thank you.

That depends on the embassy. For instance, you need an appointment in the Netherlands.

ITA. Last time I needed pages, a quick day trip to SDQ took care of the problem.