Passport stamps when entering US?
 

I'm a US citizen...I've sometimes received a stamp in my passport when re-entering the US, and sometimes not. Is there any reason they need to stamp me in? I ask because I'm getting low on pages, and I'd like to finish the next 6 weeks of travel and then renew. If I don't get any stamps upon re-entry I should be able to make it.

My theory is that they sometimes put a stamp in my passport out of habit or just consistency, but that there's no need to do so for US Citizens. If that's true then I should be ok.

I get a stamp every time I return to the US. I usually enter at PHL but sometimes at other airports, and I've never noticed them not stamping me in.

A significant part of the time, the INS officer stamps right over other stamps, not on clean pages anyway. I figure you can ask them to avoid clean pages and they will honor the request.

They don't have to and they don't always. I've asked for them not to as my passport is filling up again and I don't really want to pay the $85 for more pages. That got me a :rolleyes: in MCO but they complied. In PHL last week they didn't stamp it without my asking. Ditto in LAX last November. I've always had it stamped in NYC but haven't asked them not to.

I don't know if it's true, but I've found this to be a west coast vs. east coast thing. I once asked them (don't remember where) to stamp me and they said something along the lines of "it's illegal for us to stamp US passports"

I'll just have to ask them not to and see what happens. I went to get more pages about 6 weeks ago and the consulate accidentally canceled my passport instead. So now I've got an emergency passport, with only 5 pages...didn't think it'd be any trouble but now I bought a JetBlue AYCJ pass and I'll probably go to a few international desinations without time to renew first.

So that you know, I have some 30 US immigration stamps in my passport, and they occupy just a few pages. They will stamp happily over other stamps, they don't really care - even for non citizens.

You'll be okay, just ask to leave the free pages for a visa you must get.

I notice the same trend. I don't fly often, but I haven't been stamped in SFO and SEA while they always stamped me in JFK. Since I typically fly from/to SFO for my international destinations, I was less often stamped than not.

Another reason to be a Global Entry member. Besides not having to line up for Immigration, you never get your passport stamped returning to the U.S.

Having your passport stamped can come in handy for legal reasons or other reasons where one needs to show proof for other purposes.

the CPB officers can't really win either way....

I've seen an elderly couple giving the CBP officer a 3-minute speech about
how he wasn't doing his job properly becaue he failed to stamp their passports.

but there are also people who want to keep their passport pages as blank as
possible in order to save a few buck.(not having to add pages or get new
passport)

like I said, no-win situation for the officer.

As I don't travel enough to worry about my passport getting filled up w/ stamps, I'm always disappointed when I don't get a stamp on re-entry.

Very handy for Americans living abroad to do their tax returns, as you need to account for days visiting the US.

If you ask them to stamp, they usually ask you "why" take a second look through your passport and stamp without further problems.

It really depends on what the law states in regards to the passport.

Some countries like here in the UK do not stamp on their own passport when their citizens return because you are a citizen of that country and you are returning home. Some places due to issues about nationality and territory like Mainland China/HK/Macau/Taiwan, requires different arrival procedure e.g. entering Beijing, you can't use your HK Passport.

Whilst a Taiwanese Passport entering HK doesn't get stamped because in the PRC laws, it states Taiwan is a Chinese territory but under a different administration therefore Taiwanese citizens are treated as simply returning home thus their passport doesn't get stamped but due to political issues, they have a pre-arrival visa which does get stamped instead.

If USA is like these countries, then their USCBP really shouldn't be stamping their own US passport but it depends what the US laws states on that matter.


A small nitpic, but for me it is irritating how USCBP Officer always have to use a new page on my passport to stamp on when I visit the US, while other countries will find space in an existing page with stamps already present and stamp it there. SO irritating.

AFAIK, returning US citizens (and GC holders who've been out of USA for less than 6 months) are not seeking admission by definition. At the same time, the CBP stamp has word "ADMITTED" on it, so the stamps should not be given in this situation... that is if there is any actual regulation or law pertaining to this. Seeing how inconsistent CBP is when it comes to stamping US passports, I would guess that such law does not exist.

Some countries stamp all passports (even their own) simply to indicate that a person cleared in/outbound immigration check without giving any additional meaning to the stamp.