I-407 / Approved ESTA - Enter into US

[randomstairs 270]

14 hours ago, OldUser said:

Correct, but dual citizenship doesn't let you choose your nationality to present selectively when you visit countries of your citizenship.

 

E.g. you will be percieved by authorities as a US citizen in US, despite having UK passport. You will also be perceived a UK citizen by British authorities when coming to the UK despite of US citizenship.

 

In third country (say Germany), you choose whether to present yourself as British or American.

 

The DoS recommends using your US passport even in the country(s) where you also have a citizenship if the latter allows it. This way the US government can offer you a much better protection than if you enter such a country with its passport. Because I only had my US passport, I traveled to the country of my other citizenship on it. I had previously inquired about the option at their embassy and they confirmed that it was okay to do so.     

[Redro 4,601]

20 hours ago, Kyley84 said:

 

Ok well i fly out in 2 weeeks and i read that US citizens can't be denied entry. So i simply have to explain the situation to the CBP and worse case i will need to go to the secondary area to explain? I mean she is 5.

Hopefully, they'll take pity on you because you are traveling with a 5 year old. 

But, I've been in secondary before watching people get grilled. Not sure why you might want to expose your daughter to unpleasantness after a long flight to an additional couple of hours while they sort out her paperwork and your paperwork. 

I know you can't turn back time- so this is a message to other people who might find themselves in a similar situation-  but you could have renewed her US passport 6 months before it expired... so before you left for the UK or even right after you arrived to the UK.  

[Kyley84 11]

Apologies, i had reached my daily post limit, so could not respond yesterday....

 

23 hours ago, Mike E said:

Please withdraw your vow to lie to CBP.

 

WITHDRAWN - i apologise if it came across this way. I geniuenly thought it was perfectly legal for my daughter and I to enter the US using our UK passports and ESTAs in lieu of a GC and US Passport. I have learned a lot over the past day!

 

 

22 hours ago, Mike E said:

So OP wants to compound the problem by misrepresenting the daughter as a non U.S. citizen. This is what can happen to U.S. citizens who claim to not be U.S. citizens at the port of entry:

 

https://web.archive.org/web/20200118025123/https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2019/07/23/francisco-erwin-galicia-ice-cpb-us-citizen-detained-texas/

 

Misrepresnting unintnetionally, again apologies. On the ESTA i stated my daughter was born in the US, was a US citizen and gave her expired US passport number and expiry date and the ESTA was still approved. The fact it was approved naturally made me think what i was doing was correct. I was not trying to pull wool over anyones eyes, i was transparent and provided all the information and it was still authorized. I know now i should never have applied in the first place.

 

I would like to say i have learnt a lot and now understand my daughter should enter on her US passport, and I on my GC and then sign a I-407 in exchange to be able to stay as a visitor for my scheduled 2 week visit (i have always planned to abandon). I hold my hands up and say yes i was undeducated and ill informed, you don't know what you don't know and when both ESTAs were authorized i assumed i had done everything correctly but yes i should have researched earler! I have now been corrected and understand for the future! I hope at least this is a good warning to others.

 

As i said i will enter with my GC and be transparent with my situation. I have an appointment booked next week (earliest possible) at the US embassy in London to get a US passport for my daughter, this will have to be an emergency / expedited one as we leave 8 days after the appointment, keep your fingers crossed.

 

One final question please: My ex-wife / daughters mother (who we are fluing over to visit) can't attend so is going to sign a DS-3053 consent form, have it notorised and send to me along with a copy of her ID. Can the form be a photocopy? I.e. scanned and emailed to me? Or does it have to be the original? I see nothing online explicilty stating it has to be the original?  She is going to scan and email but also send via Fed-Ex on the quickest delivery possible, but just want to know my options incase it doesn't arrive in time.

 

Thanks again for all the advice, perhaps i will sort all this out just in time. Lesson learned!

 

Edited July 6, 2023 by Kyley84

[M+K IL 102]

2 hours ago, Kyley84 said:

As i said i will enter with my GC and be transparent with my situation. I have an appointment booked next week (earliest possible) at the US embassy in London to get a US passport for my daughter, this will have to be an emergency / expedited one as we leave 8 days after the appointment, keep your fingers crossed.

 

Fingers crossed for that! Hope your daughter gets her new passport in time

 

[Kyley84 11]

A final update on this!

 

My daughter got an emergency passport at our embassy appointment. The London embassy is brand new and we were in and out within an hour with an emergency passport in hand. It's valid for a year but once I return to the UK I basically post it off and they send back a full US passport for her.

 

At the Port of Entry I was not asked a single question about my greencard.

 

They asked why my daughter had an emergency passport. I explained the situation and the border patrol officer was totally fine with it. Basically straight through in 30 secs. So a lot of panic intially, thankfully a stress free entry but I learned a lot for sure. Cheers guys.

[Redro 4,601]

5 minutes ago, Kyley84 said:

A final update on this!

 

My daughter got an emergency passport at our embassy appointment. The London embassy is brand new and we were in and out within an hour with an emergency passport in hand. It's valid for a year but once I return to the UK I basically post it off and they send back a full US passport for her.

 

At the Port of Entry I was not asked a single question about my greencard.

 

They asked why my daughter had an emergency passport. I explained the situation and the border patrol officer was totally fine with it. Basically straight through in 30 secs. So a lot of panic intially, thankfully a stress free entry but I learned a lot for sure. Cheers guys.

Thank you so much for the update! Did you enter on GC or ESTA? 

[Kyley84 11]

1 minute ago, Redro said:

Thank you so much for the update! Did you enter on GC or ESTA? 

 

I entered on my GC as recommended by this thread / the actual legal way to do it.

 

He didn't ask about my ESTA application (perhaps he couldn't see it / or maybe he didn't care).

 

He literally didn't ask a single question about I or my GC, only my daughters emergency passport.

[Mike E 11,726]

Congrats.

 

Did you sign I-407 at the port of entry?

[Boiler 43,720]

That seemed the logical route I assume no I 407 as that would have resulted in some conversation.

[Kyley84 11]

No I didn't sign the I-407 at the PoE. We had been travelling the best part of 20 hours and I didn't want it to open a potential can of worms.

 

I have a completed I-407 with me and plan to post it off while I am here.

[Mike E 11,726]

To increase the odds that you are not on U.S. territory when I-407 is processed, consider sending it USPS registered mail. It is slow by design. It also ensures the form and GC gets there.

[Boiler 43,720]

Maybe as you leave.