Help, unique passport question

[Tra4]

We have a 16 year old exchange student staying with us from Germany and we are cruising in March on the Jewel to the Caribbean. Here is the possible problem and question.

 

She has a US passport but this expires in Feb. She was born in the US but now lives in Germany and also Brazil in the summer. We went to renew the passport, but she needs her social security number which her parents insist she was never issued one. Since she has a current Brazillian passport can she use that for the ship? Also, does she need a visa as well and how does she go about getting one. We do have a notorized letter regarding her travelling with us from her parents.

 

Thank you!!!

[nickam]

don`t know if passport issue i us is same as uk but in uk you only need to send the old passport to be issued another one only stipulation is that if your facial appearance has changed considerably since your last passport then you have to get it endorsed as a true likeness by a proffesional person e.g. a doctor.they just use the information from your previous passport fromthere records to verify the information needed on your passport as it is a renewal and not a new application.You can apply for a renewal before the othr runs out and any remaining months left are added to the new one

[wrp96]

I would not rely on answers from this board on such an important question but I think she has to renew her US passport. The way I understand it (and I could definitely be wrong on this) is that if you are a US citizen then you are required to use your US passport to travel to and from the US. She would not be able to use her Brazilian passport to travel back into the US at the end of the cruise.

 

As to the visa issue, if she is travelling using a US passport, then no visa is required for the ports that the Jewel of the Seas visits in the Caribbean. I do not know what the visa requirements might be for someone who is not travelling on a US passport as that is specific to the country of citizenship.

[livinezy]

Not relying on a message board is good advice. If you haven't tried the website travel.state.gov I recommend you do. Lots of good info there.

[cruise_lover]

Please listen to everyone here who has common sense. Don't rely on all the advice you read here. Go to the nearest passport office and ask them the questions. They are the only ones who would give you the correct answers.

[clansac]

Ditto others- I'd be really concerned how you get her back into the country with a Brazilian passport. She may need a student visa for reentry and that would be complicated and messy.

 

I'd see what you can find on the state dept's website or call them directly and ask.

[Tra4]

i've already been to the passport agency which told me that I cannot renew her passport without a social security number, which her parents say was not issued.

 

I just wondered if anyone else used a Brazillian passport on a cruise. She is a citizen of both countries.

[dforeigner]

Why not have her apply for a social security number. She should get it the same day. Also, other countries may have different Visa requirements in the Caribbean.

[ShillyShally]

Why not have her apply for a social security number. She should get it the same day. Also, other countries may have different Visa requirements in the Caribbean.

 

I agree - see if she can apply for a social security number. I would focus on renewing the US passport first and foremost. Also, how is she going to get back into Germany without renewing it at some point. yes she could use her Brazilian one but I would think she'd need both.

[wrp96]

i've already been to the passport agency which told me that I cannot renew her passport without a social security number, which her parents say was not issued.

 

I just wondered if anyone else used a Brazillian passport on a cruise. She is a citizen of both countries.

 

 

You need to contact INS not just the passport agency. I don't think that she can use her Brazillian passport on a cruise out of the US because she is a US citizen. There are very specific rules for holders of duel passports.

 

http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1753.html "Most U.S. citizens, including dual nationals, must use a U.S. passport to enter and leave the United States."

[Tra4]

You need to contact INS not just the passport agency. I don't think that she can use her Brazillian passport on a cruise out of the US because she is a US citizen. There are very specific rules for holders of duel passports.

 

http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_1753.html "Most U.S. citizens, including dual nationals, must use a U.S. passport to enter and leave the United States."

 

That is what I thought, and it annoys me the the ISE program (International exchange program) let her travel here (also fully knowing about the cruise trip) with a passport that is going to expire.

 

Just to cut my steps possibly in half, does anyone know if I need to call Mississippi where she was born for a social security number or can I go from Illinois where I am at. Thanks much.

[vickiw0318]

It's a federal process, so I imagine you can use any office. Her parents may be correct - Social Security numbers are applied for after birth, not automatically issued. They may not have completed the process (although I can't figure how she got her initial passport without it.) Just start calling.

[reallyitsmema]

Her social security application should have been part of her hospital discharge process at birth. It was for my 17 yr old, you signed the application and the hospital sent it in for processing.

[dforeigner]

Additionally, if you plan to use the Brazilian Passport, your best bet is to contact a Brazilian Consular office to find out whether or not she will need any visas while visiting the Caribbean. The Caveat is returning to the US with an expired Passport. And, unless she has a US Student visa with her Brazilian Passport, she will not be able to enter the US using that Passport.

[Jancruiser]

Take no chances. Go to the Passport office and ask questions. My brother-in-law took a German visitor to Niagara Falls, and without thinking went to the Canadian side. They had a terrible time getting back across the border--I think they were detained for like eight hours. Take no chances. J.

[MtnBikerFallDown]

My brother is a dual national (US/Australia) and he has to use his US passport here (both entering and leaving). Then, has to use his Australian to enter there.

 

He had an expired US passport coming in once and it caused a HUGE headache. They made him do forms in the airport and apply for a temporary passport, had to pick them up that day at an INS agency, I believe (or maybe a passport agency, I truly don't remember). Regardless, it was a MESS. So, I would do what I could to get her a US passport.

 

As for birth certificates, I think you have to obtain them from the state of birth. But, lots of states now have a website you can order them from. Once you have that, she should be able to get an SSN pretty easily. You may have to get another letter from her parents, but I doubt it.

 

Good Luck!

[uksimonusa]

A dual citizen, must enter and leave the US using their US passport , it always causes confusion when I go back to England, I leave the US on my US passport, and enter the UK on my UK passport, when I come back to the US, my US passport does not have any foreign stamps in it and the Immigration people ask why am I coming back when I haven't been anywhere

[FL_Cruiser64]

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[FL_Cruiser64]

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