Why does the US sometimes stamp its own citizens' passports?
I was once surprised to see a US admission stamp in a friend's US passport. However, I saw in another question that some Americans have their passports stamped often when entering the US, so this was not an isolated incident.
- Is there an official source that indicates a purpose for these stamps?
- Is there any rule for why these stamps are given out sometimes but not always?
- Would these stamps always be given on request (e.g., for Americans who want to prove that they did not overstay in a foreign country)?
Best Answer
I had the same experience in on July 13 last year and submitted a question to CBP.
Response from CBP
Dear Paul,
Thank you for contacting the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Information Center.
CBP officers usually do not stamp US passports because many people travel frequently and the passports would quickly fill up. The CBP officers may stamp the passport at their discretion or if a person requests it.
Please reply to this email if you have other questions.
Thank you again for contacting our office.
Mark
My suspicion is such incidents happen when CBP officers who hitherto were processing noncitizens (whose passports must be stamped) are moved to process citizens and mistakenly do the stamping from muscle memory.
Pictures about "Why does the US sometimes stamp its own citizens' passports?"
Do they stamp passports in the US?
When entering the United States as a nonimmigrant, the Customs Border Protection (CBP) officer examines your passport and visa and then issues either a passport admission stamp or a small white card called the Form I-94.Do they stamp your passport when you leave the US?
As there is no specific CBP interview or check by any customs officers as part of the exit process, no one will put an US Exit stamp on your passport. Your passport will only have the entry stamp from Port of Entry, that's about it. No US exit immigration stamp !Inside the Tripper's Brain | National Geographic
More answers regarding why does the US sometimes stamp its own citizens' passports?
Answer 2
Would these stamps always be given on request (e.g., for Americans who want to prove that they did not overstay in a foreign country)?
No, according to https://stuff.mit.edu/people/stransky/us_entry_passport_stamps.html (mirror):
Ports of entry I've used with no stamp received, even after asking:
- Laurier, Washington
- San Ysidro, California
- El Paso, Texas
- Detroit Tunnel, Michigan
- Falcon Dam, Texas
- Heart Island, New York
- West Berkshire, Vermont
Sources: Stack Exchange - This article follows the attribution requirements of Stack Exchange and is licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Images: Liza Summer, Ketut Subiyanto, Ketut Subiyanto, Uriel Mont