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Dual Citizen entering US

b52shot

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Oct 8, 2013
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Hi..

I heard its illegal for a US citizen to enter the USA with a foreign passport. Is this true ? Can a dual citizen (US/Canadian) enter USA with his/her Canadian passport ?
 

nope

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Oct 3, 2015
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I don't know whether it rises to the level of illegality or not, but both Canada and the United States require their citizens to use the country-specific passport when entering. I don't know what the penalty is for not doing so, but I would be loathe to experiment on the American border. Violations of passport rules can be astonishingly severe.

Neither country has exit controls, so that doesn't apply.
 

thecoolguysam

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b52shot said:
Hi..

I heard its illegal for a US citizen to enter the USA with a foreign passport. Is this true ? Can a dual citizen (US/Canadian) enter USA with his/her Canadian passport ?
When entering USA, use your US passport and when entering Canada, use your Canadian passport to avoid any hassles.
 

screech339

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b52shot said:
Hi..

I heard its illegal for a US citizen to enter the USA with a foreign passport. Is this true ? Can a dual citizen (US/Canadian) enter USA with his/her Canadian passport ?
It is illegal for a US/Canadian to enter US with a Canadian Passport. All US citizens must use US passport / IDs to enter US.

I remember an article whereby a US citizen entered using Canadian Passport from Canada. He ended up almost charged. Border agents gave him $hit and eventually allowed him to enter US as a US citizen and gave him a stern warning that he is not to repeat it again.
 

keesio

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All US citizens must declare themselves as US citizens when entering the US and present documentation that identifies them as such. If you do not have a US passport for whatever reason (lost it, forgot it, etc), then use your Canadian passport but declare yourself as an American and be prepared to give an explanation
 

Natan

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May 22, 2015
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If you have recently committed a potentially expatriating act (e.g., becoming a Canadian citizen), entering the USA on a Canadian travel document may be used by the U.S. State Department as proof that you became a Canadian citizen with the intent to give up your American citizenship -- this could cost you your American citizenship.

While it is unlikely that the current administration (President) will act to revoke citizenship for entering the USA on a foreign travel document, one cannot guarantee that the next administration shall prove as lenient.
 

screech339

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Natan said:
If you have recently committed a potentially expatriating act (e.g., becoming a Canadian citizen), entering the USA on a Canadian travel document may be used by the U.S. State Department as proof that you became a Canadian citizen with the intent to give up your American citizenship -- this could cost you your American citizenship.

While it is unlikely that the current administration (President) will act to revoke citizenship for entering the USA on a foreign travel document, one cannot guarantee that the next administration shall prove as lenient.
I would think the US government would rather fine / convict US citizen over removing citizenship. They need their income tax money. So it is very unlikely that US would arbitrarily revoke US citizenship.
 

nope

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screech339 said:
I would think the US government would rather fine / convict US citizen over removing citizenship. They need their income tax money. So it is very unlikely that US would arbitrarily revoke US citizenship.
This is a good point -- since it currently costs a substantial amount of money, and has (I believe) quite the waiting list, the last thing the US government wants to do is provide an avenue for Americans to get rid of their citizenship quickly without paying the bill . . .
 

Natan

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screech339 said:
I would think the US government would rather fine / convict US citizen over removing citizenship. They need their income tax money. So it is very unlikely that US would arbitrarily revoke US citizenship.
Most dual Canadian/U.S. citizens do not owe taxes to the IRS. The sort who are likely to owe the IRS taxes are also the sort who are likely to have attorneys to fight their case in the USA, and are thus less likely to be targets of the Department of State (DoS). Further, the cost of processing expatriate returns is far greater (by magnitudes) than the taxes produced by such returns. The DoS, as a general rule, does not concern itself with issues of taxation.

If a U.S. citizen commits a potentially expatriating act, like being "naturalized" as a Canadian citizen, with the intent to relinquish U.S. citizenship, then that citizen may cease to be a citizen from the date of the expatriating act. How does the DoS determine if there was intent to relinquish? It looks at behaviour, to wit, did the citizen behave, in word or deed, in a way an American would behave? For example, applying for a U.S. passport right after naturalizing as a Canadian would clearly establish that the citizen's intent was to remain a U.S. citizen. On the other hand, applying for a visa to enter the U.S. on a Canadian passport would just as clearly establish that the citizen's intent was to relinquish U.S. citizenship upon naturalizing as a Canadian (the rationale being that a U.S. citizen would never apply for a visa to enter America).

The U.S. Government has revoked citizenship from dual Canadian/U.S. citizens in the past. They have often done this without notifying the citizen, on the presumption that citizenship was relinquished upon the commission of a [potentially] expatriating act. The U.S. Government has also retroactively reinstated citizenship, again, without notice, which has resulted in at least a few citizens incurring thousands of dollars in tax penalties for failing to file tax forms (though no taxes were actually due). These cases almost never make it to court because the financial burden of seeking redress is too great. Homelanders (Americans living in America) have zero sympathy for expatriates and dual citizens -- they're viewed as "Unamerican" and their "patriotism" is suspect -- so turning to the media to publicize this injustice is likely to backfire and result in the public and politicians ardently supporting doubling-down on the injustice.

As a matter of policy, the current, and recent, presidential administrations have taken a lax view on dual citizenship and have only given lip-service to discouraging it. The courts, while allowing dual citizenship, give the DoS significant leeway in how they choose to "discourage" dual citizenship. Earlier administrations were far more stringent in applying policy and discouraging dual citizenship. The Department of State does not always act in ways that seem, at least on the surface, legal and constitutional. The courts can correct any oversteps -- but seeking redress in the courts may cost upwards of US$ 250,000 and take as long as 18 years to reach a mandate at the Circuit Court of Appeals. (The challenge of finding competent attorneys -- note that's plural, not singular -- while possibly being banned entry into the U.S., is daunting.)

Elections have consequences! DoS policy is determined by the president. The DoS has no statute of limitations on [potentially] expatriating acts and indica of intent when adjudicating relinquishments of citizenship.
 

Natan

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nope said:
This is a good point -- since it currently costs a substantial amount of money, and has (I believe) quite the waiting list, the last thing the US government wants to do is provide an avenue for Americans to get rid of their citizenship quickly without paying the bill . . .
The U.S. revocation of citizenship would not be viewed as "punishment" for using a foreign travel document to enter America. The U.S. is simply recognizing that the citizen committed a potentially expatriating act (e.g., naturalizing as a Canadian citizen) with the intent of relinquishing U.S. citizenship. (Intent is evinced by travelling on a foreign travel document, an act an ordinary American is unlikely to commit.) Revocation of citizenship is one of the Department of State's procedures for acknowledging and accepting a citizen's relinquishment of citizenship.

Thus, the danger of travelling into the U.S. on a foreign travel document, is not being punished for breaking the law (there are no legal punishments for this infraction); but that this act can be used as evidence of intent to relinquish citizenship at the time a potentially expatriating act was committed, and thereby result in the Department of State revoking citizenship based on the citizen's [presumed] previous relinquishment of citizenship.
 

Natan

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Dejaavu said:
Depends on cbp officer. some may admit u as a canadian visitor. my friend was a cbp officer
A CBP officer has absolutely no authority to revoke U.S. citizenship; and is required, by law, to admit a U.S. citizen, even if they are travelling on a foreign travel document or travelling without identification.

Every time a person enters the U.S. at a port of entry, a record is made of that entry, along with the particulars of the travel document used to enter the U.S. The Department of State may review these records at any time. A record of using a foreign travel document to enter the U.S. subsequent to a [potentially] expatriating act, no matter how long ago, may be used as evidence of intent to relinquish citizenship.
 

b52shot

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Oct 8, 2013
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Waw.. very interesting information. The question was meant for one of my kids (minor) who was born in the US and has a US passport, and recently acquired the Canadian citizenship with us.
I guess we'll stick to the US passport when entering the US and Canadian when coming back into Canada.
 

mr-moose

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I'm quite interested in this thread and the replies so far too. I have dual Australian/U.S. citizenship. I was born in Australia and have U.S. citizenship via my father who was born and raised there.

I have travelled to the U.S. a few times but only once using my U.S. passport (as I was seconded to work there for a few months and it was easier than getting a visa). Every other time, I've gone through on my Australian passport purely because I don't want to go to the short line while my wife is stuck in a huge slow moving queue with three kids.

If I go to the U.S. with my Australian passport, how do they know you have U.S citizenship, and even if you do, what if you don't have a current U.S. passport? Can they deny entry even if you have a valid visitors visa or whatever travel documents you require?