Are dual-US citizens required to disclose US citizenship when entering the US?
I am not a lawyer. “MOST” US Citizens must use a US passport to enter and leave the United States The line right after that in the link you provide states: “Use of the foreign passport does not endanger U.S. citizenship.” In a totally hypothetical situation I’m thinking up right now, imagine someone was born to American parents in a Visa Waiver Program member country that gives citizenship to anyone born there, and that this person came to the US on very short notice – perhaps on a day’s notice – to visit a dying relative, without obtaining a US passport first. I could see a few problems arising by choosing to use a foreign passport, primarily the user thinking that they weren’t considered American on a particular trip and then discovering that they were, under something from a 1930 treaty called the Master Nationality Rule. Perhaps the US doesn’t allow Acti
I got my dual citizenship as an adult and had multiple discussions with the state department on this issue. If you want the latest thinking and policy on this issue you should call them and talk to them. Here’s what they told me. As a US citizen there are a number of things you can do to jeopardize your US citizenship. One is to fight in a war for your other country against the USA. Another is to spy or commit treason. These are clear-cut. Then there are a bunch of things you can do that imply that you no longer wish to be a citizen, and that they will interpret (if they notice) as a repudiation of US citizenship. Top on that list is using another passport to enter the US. So I always use my US passport to come home, and I suggest you do likewise.
indiebass, again, I’m not a lawyer, but am speaking from my own experience as a frequent (but US-passport bearing) traveler abroad. What problems could arise (if any) if you leave the U.S. using a foreign passport, assuming you come back in with it? Or leave with the foreign one and come back on the U.S. one? I think it would be a really bad, and perhaps impossible, idea to leave with a foreign passport you hadn’t entered the country on, because without an I-94 stub in your foreign passport or proof of your US citizenship (let’s pretend all your proof of US citizenship is stashed in a vault in Monaco or something), you wouldn’t have proved that you hadn’t overstayed your visa from the last time you arrived (which was never, since you presumably came in on a US passport). I have never done this, though – perhaps someone here has tried. Here’s more from Customs and Border Patrol: You will be asked to complete the [I-94] form prior to inspection. Review the form for accuracy and legibilit
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