# Can my daughter travel to the U.S. on her UK passport even if she has a claim to U.S. citizenship?



## kshah8989 (Sep 26, 2015)

Hi there - looking for a bit of advice on the following situation:

My wife is a U.S. citizen living in the U.K. I am a British Citizen also in the U.K. but have a temporary green card in my passport. We recently gave birth to our daughter who has a U.K. passport.

We are looking to travel to the U.S. in the month of March as we need the support of my wife's family in the short term whilst we raise our daughter. My wife can travel due to her being a citizen, and I can travel as I have the temp green card. The issue is that according to the U.S. embassy website it states that:



> If your child has a claim to U.S. citizenship, s/he is required to enter and depart the United States on a valid U.S. passport. S/he should not enter the United States on a foreign passport with a visa, or visa free under the Visa Waiver Program.


As my daughter would have a claim to U.S. citizenship my understanding is she must have a U.S. passport to travel on, however the U.S. Consulate in London is currently closed and is only issuing passports for emergencies and travel must be within 72 hours. 

My question/dilemma is, is there any way that she would be able to travel with us on her U.K. passport, and then we could apply for her U.S. passport whilst in the U.S.? Would we be allowed to enter the country with her on a U.K. passport or would there be any repercussions i.e. sent back on the next flight, fined, etc.?

As I also have to enter the U.S. by May to activate my green card, and I can only do that if my wife is travelling with me or already in the U.S. If we are unable to travel due to my daughter having a U.K. passport, then I have no way to even enter the U.S. to activate my green card.

Any thoughts/suggestions would be very welcome!! Thank you in advance!


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## Crawford (Jan 23, 2011)

No daughter cannot travel on her UK passport to the US as per the ex President's proclamation of May 2020. She can't get an ESTA if she is claiming to be a US citizen and so won't be allowed to board the aircraft.
What is the temporary Green card? Have you just applied for a spouse visa for the US?

I would suggest moving your travels to May and applying for daughter's passport in the meantime.


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## kshah8989 (Sep 26, 2015)

Crawford said:


> No daughter cannot travel on her UK passport to the US as per the ex President's proclamation of May 2020. She can't get an ESTA if she is claiming to be a US citizen and so won't be allowed to board the aircraft.
> What is the temporary Green card? Have you just applied for a spouse visa for the US?
> 
> I would suggest moving your travels to May and applying for daughter's passport in the meantime.


Thank you for your reply.

Yes as we plan to move to the U.S. in a few years, I have applied for a IR1 visa (Immigrant Visa for a Spouse of a U.S. Citizen). Currently I have a temporary visa in my passport on which I must enter the U.S. by May in order to activate/trigger the proper IR1 Visa to be issued.

The issue we have is we are currently unable to even apply for her passport at the moment as the embassy is closed and only accepting emergency passport appointments. So we have no way to apply for it. The only hope is if the embassy reopens however I can only assume there will be a large wait time.


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## Crawford (Jan 23, 2011)

Just an aside: Why would you apply for a spouse visa (IR1) now when you only intend to move to the US in a few years? Having a Green card, the US authorities expect you to be living in the US for the major part of your life. If you do not live in the US and/or you are out of the US for a year or more, your Green card can lapse.


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## kshah8989 (Sep 26, 2015)

Crawford said:


> Just an aside: Why would you apply for a spouse visa (IR1) now when you only intend to move to the US in a few years? Having a Green card, the US authorities expect you to be living in the US for the major part of your life. If you do not live in the US and/or you are out of the US for a year or more, your Green card can lapse.


The plan was to move this year, however due to a number of unforeseen circumstances, this has now been delayed. I have been advised by an immigration lawyer that a small fee can be paid to essentially defer my entry to the U.S. to "buy some time" until we are ready to move.


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## twostep (Apr 3, 2008)

kshah8989 said:


> The plan was to move this year, however due to a number of unforeseen circumstances, this has now been delayed. I have been advised by an immigration lawyer that a small fee can be paid to essentially defer my entry to the U.S. to "buy some time" until we are ready to move.


London offers emergency appointments. Check the web site.
There is no "buy time for a small fee" option after hoping across the pond to activate my Green Card. Re-Entry permit can be applied for while living in the US on a case by case basis.


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## kshah8989 (Sep 26, 2015)

twostep said:


> London offers emergency appointments. Check the web site.
> There is no "buy time for a small fee" option after hoping across the pond to activate my Green Card. Re-Entry permit can be applied for while living in the US on a case by case basis.


Thanks - I am aware of the emergency appointments but it requires that you have travel plans within 72 hours - which would be hard to get arranged with a 7 week old baby.

Ok good to know about the re-entry permit. I will double check the details with my immigration lawyer who suggested it.


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## Crawford (Jan 23, 2011)

Can't see that requiring support for raising your daughter is going to be regarded as an 'emergency reason' for acquiring a passport for her or for travelling to the US with a 7 week old baby in the time of a pandemic.


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## kshah8989 (Sep 26, 2015)

Crawford said:


> Can't see that requiring support for raising your daughter is going to be regarded as an 'emergency reason' for acquiring a passport for her or for travelling to the US with a 7 week old baby in the time of a pandemic.


Yeah precisely one of my concerns about even going down the route of an emergency appointment as they won't see it as an emergency.

Sounds like chances of getting her a passport or getting over to the states is looking slim at this point unless the embassy reopens


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## Crawford (Jan 23, 2011)

kshah8989 said:


> Yeah precisely one of my concerns about even going down the route of an emergency appointment as they won't see it as an emergency.
> 
> Sounds like chances of getting her a passport or getting over to the states is looking slim at this point unless the embassy reopens


Sounds like YOU still see it as an emergency to visit family


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## kshah8989 (Sep 26, 2015)

Crawford said:


> Sounds like YOU still see it as an emergency to visit family


Not an emergency which is why I don't want to go via that route as it doesn't seem appropriate. I am just trying to explore options available at this point, if any, to get her a passport so we can travel to the states.


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## Moulard (Feb 3, 2017)

Techncially a US person is required to enter the US on a US passport or other authorised travel document.

But, at the point a CBP official is convinced that an applicant for admission is a citizen of the United States, the examination is terminated.

They cannot refuse admittance as grounds of inadmissibility contained in 212(a) of the INA are applicable only to aliens. 

They cannot arrest you, all they can do is temporarily detain you if there is a reasonable suspicion of illegal activity.

Ultimately all they can do is "advise the individual of the necessity of having a valid US Passport and then waive the requirement.

In the case of US citizen children travelling on a non-US passport, the CBP field manual has this to say...



> It is important to note that although the United States does not formally recognize “dual nationality”; many other countries do. It is not unusual to encounter a United States citizen (even native born) bearing evidence of both United States citizenship and foreign nationality. For example, a child born in the United States to a foreign national may, under the laws of that country, be entitled to its parent’s citizenship and be included in the parent’s passport. Under certain circumstances, that document may be used for identification and entry, if presented in conjunction with a birth certificate or other evidence of U.S. citizenship. Specific provisions relating to passport requirements for United States citizens are outlined in 22 CFR 53.1 and 2.


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## ESTAUSVISAAPPLICATION (Apr 17, 2021)

I need help
I will be travelling to the US in a few weeks and I have to complete the ESTA. Now it should be a pretty straight forward process ..
Few years ago while a student in London I applied for a visa for the US on my passport from country that doesn't have the visa waiver. I was 19 and clueless of the fact that as I didn't have any family ties in the UK they would think I wanted to immigrate there so they rejected my visa.









Fast forward 6 years I have a British passport, married and a job so I really 'want to live in the US.

My question is as my passport for the ESTA is different and I am a UK citizen, it should be OK but they have a question of being rejected on the ESTA. Would this flag me as a non ESTA eligible and can I apply for a visa if needed?

Thanks


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## Crawford (Jan 23, 2011)

You have to declare you refusal regardless of whether you have changed your passport.
Why are you travelling to the US? Covid restrictions are still in place.


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## Moulard (Feb 3, 2017)

They key question is this one...



> Have you ever been denied a U.S. visa you applied for with your current or previous passport, or have you ever been refused admission to the United States or withdrawn your application for admission at a U.S. port of entry?


Given the answer is Yes, you will not be issued an ESTA. But you can still apply for a Visa if needed. The perceived risk of immigration intent will now be different and it is quite likely that a tourist visa for example would not be refused.


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## Italia-Mx (Jan 14, 2009)

Crawford said:


> No daughter cannot travel on her UK passport to the US as per the ex President's proclamation of May 2020. She can't get an ESTA if she is claiming to be a US citizen and so won't be allowed to board the aircraft.
> What is the temporary Green card? Have you just applied for a spouse visa for the US?
> 
> I would suggest moving your travels to May and applying for daughter's passport in the meantime.


He can only apply for a greencard if residing inside the United States with the American spouse. At that time, a conditional (not temporary) green card is issued and travel outside the USA is not permitted until permanent greencard is issued. So I don't know what he's doing outside the USA with a "temporary" greencard.


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## Moulard (Feb 3, 2017)

Italia-Mx said:


> He can only apply for a greencard if residing inside the United States with the American spouse. At that time, a conditional (not temporary) green card is issued and travel outside the USA is not permitted until permanent greencard is issued. So I don't know what he's doing outside the USA with a "temporary" greencard.


Its entirely possible to apply for a green-card while living outside the US. I did so for my spouse and we entered together about 6 months later (those were the days).

Depending on how long one has been married one is either issued a conditional greencard (married less than two years), or an unconditional one (married for more than two years). 

If issued with a conditional visa one receives a Green Card valid for two years. I would assume the reference to a temporary greencard is in fact, a conditional greencard.

The easiest way to be outside the US with a conditional greencard is not to have made initial entry.. which if one reads the original post, is appears to be the case.


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## Italia-Mx (Jan 14, 2009)

That would not have been a greencard applied for outside of the USA. It would have been a visa based on a family immigration benefit and that is why the person is calling it a "temporary" greencard as he apparently doesn't even know the correct term for a greencard because he hasn't applied for one because he's not in the United States. It's expensive to apply for a greencard and it's a ton of paperwork which does not get handled outside of the USA. After the conditional greencard is issued, the foreigner cannot leave the United States until a permanent greencard is issued. An initial greencard is always conditional. The length of time married has nothing to do with it.


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## Moulard (Feb 3, 2017)

Italia-Mx said:


> An initial greencard is always conditional. The length of time married has nothing to do with it.


This is patently false. 

While you are right, in that there is no such thing as a temporary green card, it is used colloquially to refer to conditional residence.

There are only two categories of people who have conditions place upon their permanent residence

EB-5 Investor Visa holders
Spouses of US Citizens whose marriages were less than two years old at the time they were admitted into the US.
The condition placed on both these groups is that, at the end of two years in the U.S., they must submit an application to USCIS to recognize that they continue to be eligible for U.S. residence.




Italia-Mx said:


> After the conditional greencard is issued, the foreigner cannot leave the United States until a permanent greencard is issued.


This is also patently false.

Firstly the greencard is not in itself the visa. Its an Alien Registration Card given to those who hold a visa.

To be able to leave the US after initial entry but before receiving an Alien Registration Card you simply need to obtain Advanced Parole by filing Form I-131. If approved you will get a re-entry permit which will allow you to reenter the country.

I would agree that it is probably advisable not to exit the US until you have recieved your Alien Registration Card because a re-entry permit does not actually guarantee that you will be allowed to re-enter the U.S. While the odds may be low that you would be denied re-entry, those odds are probably similar to the odds that someone holding an Alien Registration Card in their hand and an Immigrant Visa in their passport would be denied re-entry.


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## Italia-Mx (Jan 14, 2009)

You are wrong that there are only two categories of people who have conditions placed on permanent residence. B1 Tourist visa holders who marry US citizens while the visa is valid also have this condition placed on them. 

You would need a good reason to file and be approved for the I-131 advanced parole. Tourism/vacation is not a good reason. 

I also do not agree that length of time married removes any conditions for a greencard. If a foreigner has permanent residence in the USA because he is there on a work visa, for example, after marriage to an American citizen the work visa must be converted on a timely basis to an immigration benefit by marriage -- and the foreigner does not get to choose when to apply based on how long he's been married. 

This means when he applies, he will have been married to a US citizen less than two years and the conditional green card still applies regardless of how long he's been living in the USA on a work visa. Another reason is that the United States does not want non citizens hanging around. Before the greencard expires, the person is expected to file for citizenship because a greencard based on marriage will not be continuously renewed. Not these days, anyway.


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## Moulard (Feb 3, 2017)

I don't have the time nor the inclination to argue with you but your examples are of no relevance to the OPs circumstances.


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## Italia-Mx (Jan 14, 2009)

Moulard said:


> I don't have the time nor the inclination to argue with you but your examples are of no relevance to the OPs circumstances.


Neither are yours.


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