US passport protections and immunity when crossing borders
Does the US Passport provide any kind of immunity against harassment, insult and intimidation by the border police of a destination country? Our US embassy in the destination country refused to address the situation or to answer this question.
PS: I entered a country and their border police harassed, insulted and intimidated me because they thought my US passport "looks suspicious". After an hour they allowed me in, but made no apologies and had no regrets.
Edit 1
Insane how many people have bad experience visiting the US. I suggest you try Serbia where they did this to an American citizen. Highly doubt you'll have a good experience with SBP if you already had a bad experience entering the US.
Edit 2
If everyone wanted a framework of conduct for all border officials, then we could easily achieve it. Simply reduce traveling and let the travel industry dictate with their campaign contributions. There needs to be an international framework for conduct. No official should be able to take action based on what they feel, but what they can prove. I'll take an argument on this any day.
Best Answer
No, you're always subject to local law/policy in the country you visit. The only way to protect yourself from it is by simply not going there.
If it can be objectively proven officials have broken the law at your expense, I suppose the embassy can help with getting a local lawyer, but that's about it. This scenario hardly qualifies.
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Can a US citizen be denied entry back into the USA?
The same is true for lawful permanent residents: you generally cannot be denied entry to the United States, but declining to answer questions may result in delay or further inspection. Refusal by non-citizen visa holders and visitors to answer questions may result in denial of entry.Do you need a passport to cross the border?
Enhanced Driver's License / Enhanced Identification Card. Enhanced Driver's Licenses or Enhanced Identification Cards (known as EDLs) are documents that can be used instead of a passport for purposes of cross-border travel into the USA at land and water ports of entry.Which of the following documents should you have with you when re entering the US as a F 1 J 1 student?
If the F-1 or J-1 is on post-completion Optional Practical Training (OPT) or Academic Training (AT), you should carry photocopies of the F-1 or J-1 documents indicating authorization for work permission. For F-1, this would include I-20, EAD card, and evidence of job.Can a US citizen enter the US without a passport?
A passport is not required. Citizens of Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Bermuda must present a valid passport from their country to travel to the U.S. by air. When traveling by land or sea, they must provide the necessary travel documents outlined by the Department of Homeland Security.Welcome To America with Gad Elmaleh and Ron Livingston
More answers regarding uS passport protections and immunity when crossing borders
Answer 2
Do you believe that a foreign passport gives immunity from "harassment" by the CBP at the US border? No? Why should the US passport work any differently in this regard?
Well, realistically it does, to some degree. The US government may act if their citizens are are harassed and the US has more leverage than many other countries. But that will only happen if the US government agrees with your view of the situation, and perhaps not even then.
There are plenty of forged or altered passports around. Immigration officials are trained to be suspicious, and they may be able to call on documents specialists if they are not sure. That can easily take some time.
Take a deep breath. The situation was stressful and unusual for you. You feel insulted. You may have been insulted, but a lack of an apology or explanation is pretty mild as immigration problems go.
If it was in a country with a functioning rule of law, and if the border officials were unprofessional, you may be able to sue. But those are long odds, with your word against their record.
Answer 3
Your passport is the primary identification of you, and your citizenship, to the immigration authorities. It's a sad fact of life that some people travel on forged documents, this is either
- to claim citizen of a (highly developed) country, in order to not require a visa, or
- To hide the fact that they over-stayed on a previous visit
Forged documents often are deliberately water-damanged, in order to disguise the tampering. If your passport was damaged, or your appearance has changed since the photo was taken, then the immigration agent may think the passport is not genuinely yours. If so, (s)he has to take additional steps to reassure him/herself that it is valid, and you are allowed to enter the country.
If your passport is damaged or you've changed your appearance, I recommend that you apply for a replacement before your next trip abroad.
Answer 4
As other answers have already stated, the simple answer is NO. It is a document issues by the US meant to identify you as a citizen to other countries but when entering their borders you are subject to their process and laws.
The main issue with your question is that, even if it did, the border control officers would have to recognize it as a genuine US passport and you as its legitimate holder. The same is true if you were questioned coming back into the US. If your passport was damaged or your photo significantly different that yourself at the time of entry than you would be questioned which can often be very unfriendly and agressive, specially if they see anything that makes them suspicious. There are plenty of reports on border officials crossing some line in behavior and could happen in any country.
Answer 5
The British passport states 'Her Britannic Majesty's Secretary of State requests and requires in the name of Her Majesty all those whom it may concern to allow the bearer to pass freely without let or hindrance and to afford the bearer such assistance and protection as may be necessary.'
Theoretically, if a British citizen was harassed by Johnny Foreigner, troops were sent. Maybe a gunboat. And, very occasionally, this happened. But mostly, of course, it didn't. (Would you be happy if such support was given to a British visitor to America?)
The US passport has a similar preamble. "The Secretary of State of the United States of America hereby requests all whom it may concern to permit the citizen/national of the United States named herein to pass without delay or hindrance and in case of need to give all lawful aid and protection."
'Requests and requires' has been weakened to 'requests'. A little more realistic!
Answer 6
The US passport (as well as any other) doesn't provide much more than an identification.
As a foreign citizen, you may expect a treatment not much worse (or in some cases, a bit better, but just a bit) than the country's own citizens.
On the other hand, showing a passport that "looks suspicious" converts you from an ordinary traveler into a suspect. A fake ID document in most countries equals jail time, worse if it happens at the border. The police in most countries (including the US) has rather large discretion over a suspect's time and feelings. The exact extent varies, but an hour (or more) of detainment, as well as a rather unpleasant interrogation, are quite common. And, as far as my experience goes, apologies and regrets from a police officer are quite a rare beast, world-wide.
In the above paragraph, US citizenship changes nothing. And if your passport ends up being fake, you are not really an US citizen until better proofs are available.
Regarding Serbia:
I am not impressed by their border police either (but never lost more than 15 minutes talking to them). Living in a country bordering Serbia, I can recall a lot of testimonials similar to yours, most cases resolved by a $10-$20 value bribe (in any currency). The US citizens, as far as I can tell, are not discriminated in any way.
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