What is the penalty for US citizens entering/leaving the US on a foreign passport?
Answers to a related question mention that it is illegal for a US citizen to enter/leave their home country on a foreign passport. However this raises the following questions:
- What is the maximum prescribed penalty for violating these rules?
- Are US immigration officials known for actually applying the penalty? E.g. the Cuba embargo banning visits to Cuba was almost never enforced, so it's possible this law is ignored as well.
Best Answer
I think the requirement for US citizens to bear a US passport is so that you can prove citizenship on any subsequent re-entry attempt. If you left the US without a US passport, authorities might not believe you are a citizen and might not let you back in, especially not as easily or quickly as you'd like. Pointing to this law, immigration agents (or others you need to convince of your ability to enter, such as an airline/common carrier's agent) can say it's your responsibility to have the passport. Anything they do to help someone who has failed to meet this responsibility is at their option and on a timeline convenient for them, not necessarily convenient for the traveler.
Thus, the penalty is the possibility of denied or delayed entry into the US, as well as the associated costs (e.g. missing connecting flights or meetings). You may also need to pay costs associated with obtaining documents proving citizenship urgently for presentation to border agents, if they do not believe your assertion of citizenship.
In addition to entry into the citizen's home country, having the passport is also often necessary to obtain certain consular services abroad. By not having one's passport as required by law, such services may be delayed or denied, and there may be practical costs/consequences associated with that.
Pictures about "What is the penalty for US citizens entering/leaving the US on a foreign passport?"
Can I exit the US with a foreign passport?
Most U.S. citizens, including dual nationals, must use a U.S. passport to enter and leave the United States. Dual nationals may also be required by the foreign country to use its passport to enter and leave that country. Use of the foreign passport does not endanger U.S. citizenship.Can a U.S. citizen be denied entry back into the USA?
Once disembarked from the plane, you will have to go through an officer that will ask for your travel documents and your visa. If they determine that you are not honest or that you have violated your visa terms, they are entitled to revoke or cancel your visa, and to deny your entry into the United States.What happens if you leave the United States without a passport?
In most countries, you can travel anywhere within your nation's borders without a passport. The only exception is when you leave your home country to enter a foreign nation. However, even if you travel nationally, you will always need photo ID, such as a driver's license or National ID card to board a flight.What happens if a U.S. citizen stays in another country?
No Longer Can One Lose U.S. Citizenship By Living in Another Country. At this time, no penalties exist if a naturalized U.S. citizen simply goes to live in another country. This is a distinct benefit of U.S. citizenship, since green card holders can have their status taken away for "abandoning" their U.S. residence.CAN AMERICANS HAVE DUAL CITIZENSHIP? WHICH PASSPORT TO USE WHEN ENTERING OR LEAVING THE US
Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Images: Uriel Mont, Ketut Subiyanto, Ketut Subiyanto, Charles Parker