A family member visiting from overseas who usually uses her Australian passport found on preparing for her trip here that her USA passport is expiring while she is in the USA. She entered with the US passport, and can leave with the Australian. On return to the third country where she lives she can get a new US passport at the embassy. Leaving on a different passport seems to be against the rules technically, but not a punishable offense. However her parents are upset and think she needs to pay to get a new and expedited (and expensive) passport immediately. Opinions?
Let’s not mince words. It’s illegal.
https://www.law.cornell.edu/cfr/text/22/53.1
You are correct that breaking the law in this case carries no penalty. There is no ICE checkpoint leaving from a US airport, and the airline will be mostly concerned that the traveler will be able to enter the destination country. Can the airline deny her passage? Yes. Will they? Probably not. Is the savings of the $60 fee for expedited serviced more important than not making the flight? It depends upon how risk adverse she is. Personally, not a chance I’d take.
The usual renewal fee is $110 with an additional $60 for expedited service. I was curious because my D’s passport will be expiring within 6 months of her next visit to Australia (her bf is a dual US-Aussie citizen) and I checked and learned that obtaining a passport card with a 1 - 2 day delivery is an additional $15.89 if you are in the US at the time.
Honestly, I don’t think your relative should take a chance. The expedited is $60 and averaged out over the 10 year life of the passport, it’s $6 extra a year or 50 cents a month. I think she should just do it.
LOL! You mean her family didn’t specifically plan for her to renew her passport while here instead of having to handle it outside the country? I sure would have! It is my understanding that US passports aren’t issued abroad anymore. All she can get is a temporary travel document to use in an emergency while waiting for the real thing to be processed here, and then delivered there.
The second she arrives in the US, she should start the renewal process, and just pay the fee for expedition. If she needs some kind of US ID for the time she would be without her US passport, and doesn’t have a US drivers license, she should find out if she can get a local sheriffs/non-driver ID with a friend or relative’s address and her current passport.
If she is reaching the end of her stay, and regular expedition isn’t going to be fast enough, there are passport agencies in most major cities that can handle this in one day. The service is expensive, and she will need evidence (plane tickets) of immediate travel, but it certainly can be done.
You never know what they’ll say at the airport, either. My dad was supposed to fly to South Africa last year, but when he got to the airport they said he didn’t have enough blank pages in his passport book so they didn’t let him board! Maybe he should have known that ahead of time, but he’s been travelling internationally for 50 years and this was a first.
In the current environment, I’m with the above Just renew it. At a minimum, she should call her airline to check their requirements. If she has her US passport number attached to the ticket record, she may be questioned at check-in if she tries to use the return portion with a different passport. I have observed travelers at airline check-in counters at ORD being quizzed resulting in the travelers displaying multiple passports to satisfy the airline.
US passports can be renewed through a US Embassy or consulate for those living abroad. We’ve done it recently.
https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/international-travel/International-Travel-Country-Information-Pages/SouthAfrica.html and http://www.dha.gov.za/images/final_Immigration_Regulations_2014_1.pdf (page 9) says that South Africa wants the passport to have at least two unused pages.
I’m a dual citizen. I always returned to the US to renew my US passport. It’s sooo much easier than doing it outside the country. I now live in the US but was visiting the other country last year when I realized I had less than a year on that passport. By the time I realized it, there were 3 business days left before my flight. I happily paid for it to be expedited. I’ve had citizenship documents go astray in the mail and would much rather pay to have them put in my hands than to trust them to a couple of different countries mail systems.
Your understanding is incorrect. US passports are issued abroad, although the procedures might be different by country. i.e. some embassies/consulates will do passport renewals in-person by appointment, while others will only handle through mail. Check with the local US embassy/consulate for the specific procedure for that country.
I’m a dual citizen and have always renewed my U.S. passport at the consulate in Toronto. They are speedy, even if you don’t ask for expedited.
@skieurope - Thanks for the update. The last time I needed to look at this was shortly after the chips started being put into the passports, and the US consulates were no longer keeping a stash of blank passports. They would issue a short-term travel document in an emergency, but for regular renewals, the passport had to be requested and then the user needed to wait for it to be sent from the US. Good to know that has changed! In the pre-chip days renewal needed just one trip to the consulate.
@happymomof1 It may depend on what city/country. I don’t know for sure but it’s possible that our experience with the consulate in Toronto is that it is a very busy consulate and there are a lot of Americans here.
Thank you for the replies! We have been out of good internet range due to a rural wedding, which was the reason for the family gathering. This is a young woman living independently in a third country, so no fault of her parents. Getting an expedited passport was not easy as getting appointment times in the city where we met was impossible and there were no free days to stand in line. Her family of origin is doing their typical multi city blitz of short stops in a variety of places far from cities with passport offices.
They decided to take their chances and if there is a problem flying out, it would be easier to be stuck in her final destination with a passport office and family in the city than interrupting the trip and canceling flights.
Having a expat family, I am well aware of the page issue in passports. My dad used to have one that infolded like an accordion. I have gotten overseas passports, if a while ago, and found it no problem if interesting about the chip issue for a time. She lives in a major city abroad.
So we shall see what happens on departure! Her parents came around to accepting that getting an expedited passport might be problematic. Will report back in time.
Update- niece got out of the country yesterday without an issue. She scanned her Australian passport on exit and no questions were asked. A relief for all concerned. This is a good reminder to check those passport expiration dates, for my family as well as others.