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What passport to use traveling to USA with two citizenships? (lemmy.world)

submitted 8 months ago by Grogon@lemmy.world to c/asklemmy@lemmy.ml

67 comments fedilink hide all child comments

Can I use my german passport to travel to USA or do I use my US passport?

And if I lived and worked in germany my whole life and never in the USA and never filed taxes can I enter USA without problems?

I just found out I am us citizen a few years ago don't ask why but I'm 34 and recently traveled to US with my german passport and they were all like "wtf where is your passport" and I'm like: "Here.." and they "Yeah your american passport?!" and I'm "I'm german" and he is like: "Dude you are born on american ground you are american!"

Well they let me travel in to the states without american passport but told me to go to the embassy as soon as I arrive back in germany or else I won't be able to enter USA again.

That being said, I done that. Now I have my american passport. But do I show both passports or only US passport? And after doing my research I found out americans file taxes every year. I haven't done it the last 18 years of working. Should I just not file? I will never work in the USA and I will never live in the USA. Or will I get problems at the airport? Can they see I don't file?

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[–] TheGalacticVoid@lemm.ee 6 points 8 months ago (2 children)

I don't disagree, but why would him getting a US passport matter? Either way, he would still be a US Citizen.

[–] BreakDecks@lemmy.ml 5 points 8 months ago (1 children)

Because getting the passport and traveling with it makes it pretty official. If you've never held a passport, it could be easier to argue that the citizenship isn't valid at all, rather than having to go through the very expensive process of renouncing.

[–] TheGalacticVoid@lemm.ee 1 points 8 months ago (1 children)

I don't see why that distinction matters. The US has documentation saying OP was born in the US. That alone is enough to say he's a citizen.

[–] nelly_man@lemmy.world 4 points 8 months ago

You're saying that it doesn't matter because the US government is able to prove his citizenship, but that isn't in question. The crux of this matter would be whether OP was ignorant of his citizenship and if that ignorance would have any relevance to his case.

Securing official documents only available to American citizens makes it more difficult to argue that he was ignorant of his status as an American citizen. He likely could still make a compelling argument (provided he acts quickly), but it does make it a bit more difficult.

[–] Oszilloraptor@feddit.de 4 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (1 children)

Because the US taxes it citizens. Regardless where they live

(oversimplified)

[–] TheGalacticVoid@lemm.ee 13 points 8 months ago* (last edited 8 months ago) (1 children)

You can be a US Citizen without a passport. That was half the point of OP's case lol

[–] Oszilloraptor@feddit.de 0 points 8 months ago

Sorry, was high and missed the point