Need Visa to Travel to Country of Origin After Citizen?

[Waitinggent 2]

I am from Russia, married to American man. Soon I can apply to be citizen of US. If I receive citizenship,

will USA take my Russian passport? Will I now need visa every time I travel to Russia to see the family,

or will my old passport still be useful?

[Waitinggent 2]

Sorry, I should say thank you for all help

Elena

[faal4anisa 0]

You dont need visa to travel to Russia. You can keep your Russian passport with u

[NickD 202]

Same as my wife visiting her home country, Department of State has an agreement with Russia for what they call dual naturalization. Meaning even has a naturalized US citizen, and with your place of birth plastered in your US passport, you still need to maintain your Russian passport to visit your home country.

They don't like to call it dual citizenship, prefer dual naturalization instead, but hypocritical in the sense to maintain your Russian passport, still have to maintain your citizenship with your home country. It is dual citizenship.

Maintaining a foreign passport in this country is really a pain as only a handful of consulates in this country, with ours, have to show up in person.

You can read about your home country here.

http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1006.html

[NickD 202]

Don't make the mistake we did, were told by the USCIS wife is just like a US citizen as if she was born here. And I already traveled to Colombia freely with my US passport, I was born here.

With her US passport we got as far as the POE in Colombia, they looked at her place of birth and said you cannot enter without a Colombian passport, again, I had no problems entering, same US passport, different place of birth.

Finally after a half an hour of discussion using the arguement she had to enter Colombia to reestablish her citizenship, they let her in, but they did flag her. We could have received her Colombian passport in less than a day if we paid $1,000.00 US dollars under the table, but elected not to do that. They chased us all over Bogota for a week to get the necessary paper work and with our luck also had a week long bus strike.

We did get the necessary paperwork that her citizenship and passport was applied for, and they did check that or they wouldn't let her leave. We still had to make a trip to Chicago to get her Colombian passport. I don't speak Spanish, but don't need a degree in psychology to figure out the people at her consulate weren't exactly nice to her. Treated her like a traitor.

Strongly suggest you contact your nearest consulate and speak directly to learn their requirements before traveling.

Don't get me wrong, great to have a US passport, for all countries except your own. Its that place of birth that kills you, DOS claims they need that for identification. They already have tons of paperwork on her for identification. And the DOS and the USCIS are two entirely different governmental agencies, each with their own rules your congressman doesn't know a damn thing about. Even though they claim congress makes all the laws.

[Neonred 3,459]

No the US will not take your Russian passport away. You will need to keep your Russian passport current to travel to Russia. There is a company that will renew your passport (for a price) so that you do not have to travel to the embassy to renew it.

Being born in Russia or the former Soviet Union, will NOT be able to get a visa in your US passport to travel to Russia without doing the extensive paperwork to renounce you Russian citizenship....a lot of work.

Don't do like my wife and let your Russian passport expire and think that you can travel back to Russia on your expired passport to get it renewed. Especially if you do not have your internal passport or it is expired also.

[Waitinggent 2]

Do I have correct understanding?

So at USA airport I show the Russian passport to ticket person for the travel but also show USA passport to show that I can come back to USA? Then in Russia I only show Russian passport? Do I understand right?

Thanks everybody that you helped me

[NickD 202]

Wife used her US passport to leave this country, only used her Colombian passport at the Bogota airport to cross that POE line coming and going. Then at the Bogota airport, after she crossed that line, was back to using her US passport again.

[Neonred 3,459]

Do I have correct understanding?

So at USA airport I show the Russian passport to ticket person for the travel but also show USA passport to show that I can come back to USA? Then in Russia I only show Russian passport? Do I understand right?

Thanks everybody that you helped me

At USA airport the airlines will need to see your Russian passport to know that you can enter Russia. They will not care about your USA passport. There is no passport control leaving USA. Enter and leave Russia through passport control on your Russian passport. At the airport in Russia the airline will need to see your USA passport so they know you can enter the USA. Show your USA passport at passport control (immigration) entering the USA.

[NickD 202]

At USA airport the airlines will need to see your Russian passport to know that you can enter Russia. They will not care about your USA passport. There is no passport control leaving USA. Enter and leave Russia through passport control on your Russian passport. At the airport in Russia the airline will need to see your USA passport so they know you can enter the USA. Show your USA passport at passport control (immigration) entering the USA.

Sure hasn't been our experience, if it was, would have looked at the place of birth in my wife's US passport and told her she couldn't enter Colombia unless she had a Colombian passport as well. They don't give you tickets anymore, with 200-450 people boarding the plane at the same time, those lines are really long. Need to see some kind of identification, for international flights, always a passport, look you up in their computer, then finally print out your ticket.

Then the construction of the airport to even reach that ticket counter, seems like to even get their in some countries, have to enter that so called international zone first, but to get their need that foreign passport first, plus customs to even reach that ticket counter. Most US airports are different in that respect, first the ticket counter, then security.

One thing for sure, you are not told what to do, have to find out for yourself. And for that, you need a computer and have to do a search. Just don't assume because you are naturalized and have a US passport just like a natural born US citizen, you can go anywhere where a natural born citizen can go to. That place of birth is the real killer.

Your place of birth is of no choice to you, becoming a US citizen is a free choice with a very strict oath to take. Seems to me if they need a place of birth, should be in the city you took that almighty oath. But they don't do it that way, a different agency with different rules. Hit my wife pretty hard, is she going against her oath? But she still wants to see her family, can't change that.

[Neonred 3,459]

Sure hasn't been our experience, if it was, would have looked at the place of birth in my wife's US passport and told her she couldn't enter Colombia unless she had a Colombian passport as well. They don't give you tickets anymore, with 200-450 people boarding the plane at the same time, those lines are really long. Need to see some kind of identification, for international flights, always a passport, look you up in their computer, then finally print out your ticket.

Then the construction of the airport to even reach that ticket counter, seems like to even get their in some countries, have to enter that so called international zone first, but to get their need that foreign passport first, plus customs to even reach that ticket counter. Most US airports are different in that respect, first the ticket counter, then security.

One thing for sure, you are not told what to do, have to find out for yourself. And for that, you need a computer and have to do a search. Just don't assume because you are naturalized and have a US passport just like a natural born US citizen, you can go anywhere where a natural born citizen can go to. That place of birth is the real killer.

Your place of birth is of no choice to you, becoming a US citizen is a free choice with a very strict oath to take. Seems to me if they need a place of birth, should be in the city you took that almighty oath. But they don't do it that way, a different agency with different rules. Hit my wife pretty hard, is she going against her oath? But she still wants to see her family, can't change that.

It's a little different traveling to Russia.

[ceadsearc 516]

Well, some people give up citizenship to their country either voluntarily or involuntarily so in those cases they would only have a US passport and would need a visa if required for USCs. For example, my grandmother renounced her French citizenship. She traveled to France as a USC only using the equivalent of VWP. And some people are born abroad to USCs and are only USCs so it would not make sense for airlines to tell someone "you were born abroad so you need the passport of that country."

The general rule is you need your foreign passport to enter your home country and your US passport to enter the USA.

[Neonred 3,459]

Well, some people give up citizenship to their country either voluntarily or involuntarily so in those cases they would only have a US passport and would need a visa if required for USCs. For example, my grandmother renounced her French citizenship. She traveled to France as a USC only using the equivalent of VWP. And some people are born abroad to USCs and are only USCs so it would not make sense for airlines to tell someone "you were born abroad so you need the passport of that country."

The general rule is you need your foreign passport to enter your home country and your US passport to enter the USA.

In the case of traveling to Russia, it is not the airline that is looking at where the person was born, but that they are looking to see that this person can legally enter Russia. There are two ways to do that . One is with a Russian passport and the other is with a US passport with a visa issued by the Russian embassy. The Russian embassy is very firm about not issuing visas to Russian citizens or anyone that was born in Russia or any part of the former Soviet Union unless they present the documents that were processed showing that the individual renounced their Russian citizenship. This is a long and complicated process and one that the OP has not done.

Again the airline just needs to see that you can enter Russia hence the need to show them the Russian passport. It's a common confusion that I have seen on every trip to Russia, a dual citizen is not sure and they present both passports at the US ticket counter/check in. They are always told "show me the Russian passport" as the airlines knows what is required.

As I said, it is a little different traveling to Russia.

[ceadsearc 516]

Oh, I realize that. My comment was in reference to someone else saying the airline should have looked at their wife's passport and seen her place of birth and told her she needed a Colombian passport.

[NickD 202]

It's shocking the number of people that come here and don't even know after getting naturalized they need a US passport before they can travel out of this country. I knew that form digging into our immigration laws, but can tell you she was never told that at her oath ceremony, just watching some silly videos and lip syncing the oath.

With my wife, she left Colombia as a kid and ironically visited her family with a Venezuelan passport for years, even has Colombia as her place of birth on it. But Venezuela is next door to Colombia like Canada is next door to the USA. For over 200 years, didn't need a passport to travel to Canada, now you do. But a heck of time to learn that after you travel to that border, like it was traveling way down to Colombia. But suddenly with a US passport in her hand, they wouldn't let her in, that was a hell of a time to learn that.

There is over 200 different countries in this world, each has there own laws, and they all are different. No billboards at airports telling you these laws. You have to get on your computer and search for them.