Listenupjunior

I'm a 22 year old U.S. citizen and want to travel outside the U.S. the issue is though a couple of years ago I was arrested for a misdemeanor. Despite that I wasn't convicted and having my misdemeanor dropped and expunged is it impossible for me to get a passport?

guv1976

You should not have any problem at all getting a U.S. passport.

Mwenenzi

But for some countries you may have issues getting a visa for entry.
For example if you were a citizen of another county and wanting a visa/visa exemption for USA it may be declined.

garykung

Several issues:

1. The State Department can only refuse issuing passports in certain conditions. Having a non-drug related criminal record is not one of those.

2. Arrest record is different from criminal record. Arrest record will usually not affect your admissibility while arrest record will definitely affect.

3. Regardless arrest or criminal record, the acts leading to the record matters.

guv1976

Here's what USA Today has to say on the subject:

http://traveltips.usatoday.com/thing...rt-105724.html

GUWonder

Unless a US citizen has been convicted of a subset of crimes or been restricted from passport acquisition due to child support debts above a certain amount and/or due to a very limited set of other circumstance, you should still qualify for getting a US passport as a US citizen if you have adequate proof of US citizenhip and of US identity and submit a properly completed application along with the applicable passport fees.

GUWonder

Yes, except that even US citizens with million dollar and more federal tax liens get US passports. That is scheduled to change in substantial part in 2018, but it hasn't been implemented yet.

IRS seeking writs of ne exeat republica, something that has been around for decades, is distinct from the government denying passport applications.

Listenupjunior

So in other words I can't get a passport?

So can I still get a passport or not?

Jaimito Cartero

What we have here is a failure to communicate.

Listenupjunior

how is it a failure to communicate? the guy just said in his original post that an arrest record can definitely affect my chances of getting a passport. So it's a yes or no question

Well since no one here acts like that can't replay I ask somewhere else for a direct answer

84fiero

I'm not sure how many different ways people can say that you will have no problem being issued a US passport. Only very limited things as GUWonder explained, would be a problem, and those aren't applicable to what you've said.

Listenupjunior

Well Gary Kung said an arrest record will definitely be an issue so I'm confused whether I can get one or not.

guv1976

Here's what garykung wrote:

"Arrest record is different from criminal record. Arrest record will usually not affect your admissibility while arrest record will definitely affect."

He seems to be talking about "admissibility" (to a foreign country?), rather than eligibility to acquire a U.S. passport. In any event, it's apparent -- at least to me -- that he mistyped, since in the quoted paragraph he says that an arrest record will and won't affect admissibility. Perhaps he meant to say that an arrest record won't, but a criminal record will. In any event, you asked about your eligibility to acquire a U.S. passport, not about whether you would have any difficulty being admitted to a particular foreign country.

lin821

Welcome to FT!

You are asking the wrong question.

Yes, you do need a passport to travel abroad. However, having a valid passport doesn't mean you can travel to any other country in the world. Read what Mwenenzi had mentioned up thread:

What is a visa?

Say Americans need to have a visa when traveling to Country X. When Country X refuses to issue a visa for American notlistenupjunior, notlistenupjunior will not be able to enter Country X. Even when notlistenupjunior insists on flying to Country X with the passport at hand, the airlines will most likely deny notlistenupjunior's boarding at check-in due to insufficient documentation (aka visa for Country X). What good is the passport when you can't proceed with your intended travel plan then?

Whether a country will welcome a foreign visitor to enter is up to say country. You didn't mention which country you plan to visit. If I were you, I would first find out the requirements for visas from say country and see if I would have problems getting the visa with this expunged "record" of yours. If Americans are visa-exempt for say country, I would make sure I meet the visa exemption criteria before buying any air ticket.

The question is whether you will have problem traveling to Country X. If not, you then can start preparing for all travel documents, passport included.

Where do you plan to travel anyway?

garykung

Here is the problem - you only presented your side of the story that you have an arrest record for misdemeanor without conviction. Without knowing more details about you, it will be impossible to know if you can get a passport or not.

Just using the arrest record as an example - you could have a plea bargain that sentenced you for probation only and the charge would be dismissed once the probation is completed. In that case, the probation you have might affect your ability obtaining a passport (as many probation impose travel restrictions).

Thanks. You are correct. Sorry for the mistyping.