2 passports, 1 question

jonas says on Feb 5, 2008, 21:38:

All I know is that you MUST enter Colombia on your Colombian passport. I guess when you leave you just show both passports?

What I have, I do not want to lose, but Where I am I do not want to stay, but those I love, I do not want to leave, but those I know I no longer want to see, but Where I die, I do not want to go;I want to stay where I have never been

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Lisa Zee says on Feb 5, 2008, 21:51:

If you are Colombian you have to enter with a Colombian passport, then when you leave you have to show your American one to show you are legal to enter the USA, that is what I did on my last two trips.
I always wonder also about having two passports here in the USA, but they must know we Colombians can have dual citizenship.

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Peter (Moderator) says on Feb 5, 2008, 23:35:

You basically don't tell the US you have two passports. Dual citizenship, as far as I understand, is one of those things that's allowed by some countries but not by all. But the countries never really need to know. There are plenty of people with 2 or 3 or even 4 passports. You just use 1 at the time.

Poor but snappy

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scotty says on Feb 6, 2008, 00:00:

Petes right, i have a friend with two passports one Brazil and one USA, he uses only his USA passport. No one has ever asked him.

Get Rhythm, when you got the blues. Johnny Cash

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rocinante says on Feb 6, 2008, 04:10:

Lisa and or Peter, so when you leave Colombia you show your US passport to the airline counter AND your Colombia passport at the same time? You pay the exit tax and stuff based on your Colombian passport (which doesn't have a tourist visa stamp when you entered with Co passport, obviously).

So in the airport at Rio Negro, when leaving Colombia you are at some time showing to someone both passports?

I ask this again because as Peter mentioned I heard that the US does not like two passports and that there is a danger if they catch you with another one.

Lisa, so the US government doesn't care that when you enter the US from Colombia that your US passport does not have any stamps for Colombia? I guess they don't worry about stuff like that but I have seen them flip through the pages.

"World economic indicators point to a democrat winning 2008. It will surely be Obama. Peso 1400 by November" Feb 5, 2008

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juanalejo says on Feb 6, 2008, 04:34:

When you leave the US you can use which ever passport, it does not matter as you are simply leaving the country and you do not need visa to enter Colombia on a US passport either. When arriving in Colombia show the Colombian passport so you do not get a maximum stay in Colombia (plus your are legally supposed to do it, although since you are born in the USA nobody will question you about it), when you leave Colombia you show you US passport at the airline counter and both passports (if you finally entered Colombia on the Colombian one, if not just the US one) at the emigration booth. When reentering the US just show the US passport, inmigration will not look for stamps. You can legally travel on two passports and use one to enter or exit one country and the other to enter or exit the other.

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Peter (Moderator) says on Feb 6, 2008, 04:38:

Thanks juanalejo!

Poor but snappy

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rocinante says on Feb 6, 2008, 04:41:

Excellent reposnes thanks so much

"when you leave Colombia you show you US passport at the airline counter and both passports (if you finally entered Colombia on the Colombian one, if not just the US one) at the emigration booth" - juanalejo

So I can show both passports at the immigration booth at the same time and not a problem in Colombia when exiting to go to the US.

Good news as I always knew I'd have to show both, probably in Colombia. So there is no risk. Que bueno.

"World economic indicators point to a democrat winning 2008. It will surely be Obama. Peso 1400 by November" Feb 5, 2008

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roloenNJ says on Feb 6, 2008, 06:15:

some of the reasons why DAS in colombia asks for the colombian passport is because if you dont have it, they want you to pay the fee $ while your in Colombia in order to get you colombian Passport. I spoke to the consulate in NYC and they told me that you only need a colombian Passport if you have a cedula number. Hope it helps

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Mononoke28 says on Feb 6, 2008, 07:48:

It's very simple. Use the Colombian passport to enter Colombia. Use your US passport to enter the US and since you need a visa to do so, show it at the airport when leaving. I just show both passports when I travel and have them choose the one they want.

Diana

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robi666 says on Feb 6, 2008, 07:54:

Roci, just try to have the same name and picture on both... :)

"I am a citizen of the most beautiful nation on earth. A nation whose laws are harsh yet simple, a nation that never cheats, which is immense and without borders, where life is lived in the present."

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rocinante says on Feb 6, 2008, 08:07:

Diana you show both passports to the US Customs officials? Woah!

Leaving Colombia after 10 months and not having a US tourist Visa in the Colombian passport was the main concern. Being able to use both passports simultaneously in Colombia on the way OUT solves the issue, based on all the posts here. Thanks again.

"World economic indicators point to a democrat winning 2008. It will surely be Obama. Peso 1400 by November" Feb 5, 2008

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durito says on Feb 6, 2008, 08:15:

The US allows dual citizenship, you can have as many passports as you want.

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rocinante says on Feb 6, 2008, 08:19:

And there you have it.

"World economic indicators point to a democrat winning 2008. It will surely be Obama. Peso 1400 by November" Feb 5, 2008

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droble77 says on Feb 6, 2008, 08:25:

The only possible hiccup I can think of is with U.S. immigration if they ask you how much time you spent in Colombia. If you say 10 months, you might have to explain you have some kind of residency status although I doubt the DHS agent is going to care about seeing your Colombian papers since you were born in the states.

My dad is dual citizen USA/EU and it's really not that big a deal although some web pages and people make it seem like it's something naughty. It is true you generally don't show 2 different passports to a DHS agent, you don't want to confuse them. . . ;-))

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guacharaca says on Feb 6, 2008, 09:15:

"The US allows dual citizenship, you can have as many passports as you want."
durito is 100% correct.

I have three passports and always carry all three. I usually show two passports when I check in at the ticket counter in Colombia so they understand that I can enter both the US and Canada without restriction for my journey. Once the UK told me that they would not accept my passport because it was damaged. So I simply reached into my bag and gave him a different one. He said...Ok, that solves that problem. Everytime I walk through US Immigration, it shows on their screen that I have two more citizenships in addition to the US passport that I am showing them. The only problem in the eyes of the US Immigration (and that is only if the officer understands the law) is if you "swore allegiance" to another country AFTER you obtained your US citizenship. If that was the case, you could then potentially loose your US citizenship. If you obtain the 2nd citizenship after obtaining US citizenship, but did not have to "swear allegiance" to the other country in order to get it, your US citizenship is safe. Unless you are a diplomat, I do suspect that it may be illegal to carry two valid passports from the SAME country.

Colombianos: Las armas os han dado independencia, las leyes os daran libertad. (Santander)

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MaFe says on Feb 6, 2008, 10:48:

The US government only allows DUAL CITIZENSHIP...not multiple citizenship.
http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1753.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dual_citizenship

My personal experience, I was born with 2 nationalities, the US became my third. Once I became a US citizen, I had to give up one of my other nationalities.

This gives info about dual citizenship in the U.S.
http://www.newcitizen.us/dual.html

"All human actions have one or more of these seven causes: chance, nature, compulsions, habit, reason, passion, desire. "-Aristotle

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jorgegdiaz says on Feb 7, 2008, 10:23:

MAFE, that was b/c one of the countries didn`t allow dual citizenship?

Man with hole in pocket feel cocky all day.

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MaFe says on Feb 7, 2008, 11:43:

Jorge, the US allowed me to keep one of the two citizenships that I had. They don't allow 3!

"All human actions have one or more of these seven causes: chance, nature, compulsions, habit, reason, passion, desire. "-Aristotle

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aztec says on Feb 9, 2008, 07:30:

"MaFe says on Thursday February 7th, 2008 11:43:

Jorge, the US allowed me to keep one of the two citizenships that I had. They don't allow 3!"

Never heard that before. Can you direct us to any documentation to that effect?

Did you actually surrender in writing your other citizenship?

Thanks.

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lpdiver says on Feb 9, 2008, 15:34:

I was born with the citizenships and have aquired two more as a result of investment and employment. The US govt is aware of them all. There is no numerical limitation on number of citizenships.

t

"cook some rice!"

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juli says on Feb 9, 2008, 20:21:

Practically my whole family has two passports. Email me and I can help you out.

CEO Fajardo´s Fan Club, Medellín, Colombia

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jonas says on Feb 13, 2008, 13:22:

guacharaca: you can also hold 2 valid passports from one and the same country. You need this for example if you travel to Israel and then on to moslem countries where they wouldn´t let you in with an israeli stamp.

What I have, I do not want to lose, but Where I am I do not want to stay, but those I love, I do not want to leave, but those I know I no longer want to see, but Where I die, I do not want to go;I want to stay where I have never been

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