Question re Child US Passport

Hello All,   my children have both US and British passports.  Their US passports need to be renewed.  We will never move back to the USA.  They travel all over the world with their British passports and I don't see the use of two.  We no longer have connections in the US so unlikely to visit.  I can not find any law stating they need to have a US passport.  We have travelled to the US on their British passports before, purely because we did not know any different with no questions asked.
Wonder if anyone else has experienced this or has any information.  I know most of you probably have a US connection so you travel back and forth.
Thanks to everyone in this wonderful community

I can not find any law stating they need to have a US passport.  We have travelled to the US on their British passports before, purely because we did not know any different with no questions asked.
Wonder if anyone else has experienced this or has any information.  I know most of you probably have a US connection so you travel back and forth.

It is actually illegal for a US citizen to enter the US on a foreign passport. US immigration does not 'acknowledge' any other citizenship held by a US citizen, so it's very risky for your kids to enter the US on British passports.

So, if you are planning to travel to the US again in the future, you will need to renew their US passports before entering the US.

See here:
https://uk.usembassy.gov/u-s-citizen-services/u-s-passports/

From that page:

U.S. citizens are required to enter and exit the United States using a U.S. passport

Also see the FAQ:

https://uk.usembassy.gov/u-s-citizen-services/u-s-passports/u-s-passport-faqs/

From that page:

2.) I am a U.S. citizen, but also have a foreign passport. Can I travel to the United States on the foreign passport?

By law U.S. citizens must enter and depart the United States using U.S. passports, even if they hold a passport from another country.

See here for how to renew a child's US passport from the UK (if they are under 16):
https://uk.usembassy.gov/u-s-citizen-services/u-s-passports/child-passport-renewal-under-age-of-16/

The one time we went back we travelled on their British passports and nothing was mentioned.  So, just because they were born in the USA they have to own a passport?
It's an added expense which will hardly be used.  We do not have a reason to go back anymore.
I read that they could travel on their British passports and take their expired US passport if they needed a proof of nationality.  But we consider their nationality to be be British.

BTW hope you are doing okay

The one time we went back we travelled on their British passports and nothing was mentioned.  So, just because they were born in the USA they have to own a passport?

Just because nothing was mentioned that one time doesn't mean you won't have issues in the future. If the US immigration officer had realised they were US citizens trying to enter on a foreign passport, your children could have been refused entry to the US.

They need US passports to enter the US because they are US citizens. Whether they were born in the US or if they had been born in the UK to a US-citizen parent, they are still US citizens and must therefore use a US passport to enter and leave the US.

If you will never again take your children to the US, then you don't necessarily need US passports for them - but if they will be entering the US at any time in the future, they must hold a valid US passport in order to do so.

It's an added expense which will hardly be used.  We do not have a reason to go back anymore.
I read that they could travel on their British passports and take their expired US passport if they needed a proof of nationality.  But we consider their nationality to be be British.

Whether you regard their nationality to be solely British or not is irrelevant. The fact is that they have dual nationality and are citizens of both the US and the UK... which means they have to abide by the immigration rules of both countries.

If they want to enter the US in future, they must travel on a US passport. That's the law.

I'm not sure whether an expired US passport would be sufficient or not... however, as US citizens, they also cannot legally hold a US visa or ESTA, so if they tried to enter the US with a UK passport and ESTA, that could be a problem as well.

So, if you don't want to get new US passports for them right now, that's fine, but you will need to make sure your children do not attempt to enter the US again without applying for US passports before they travel.

Further information on how the US views dual nationality can be found here:
https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/legal/travel-legal-considerations/Advice-about-Possible-Loss-of-US-Nationality-Dual-Nationality/Dual-Nationality.html

Ksand is absolutely correct on this.  When I got American passports for my kids in London, I was given a severe lecture on the fact that it is illegal to enter the US on anything but your US passport.  Just because you weren't caught once doesn't mean they don't take it seriously. 

If you won't travel to the USA, it's 100% not an issue and they absolutely do NOT need British passports.

I'm in a large group of UK/US citizens and this pops up all the time.  For every "I've done it a million times without anyone batting an eyelid" there is someone who was denied entry and had the worst trip of their lives. 

Boris Johnson was the highest profile person to have issues.  He attempted to use his British passport to PASS THROUGH the USA.  He was only changing planes.  No go.  (Boris was dual US/UK citizen until that time)

But as you've said you no longer travel to the USA, then absolutely no need to keep on top of their USA passports.

Of course, right now there is absolutely no civil or criminal penalty for entering the USA on a non-USA passport if you are a dual citizen.  As mentioned above, if you are detected at the point of entry they could turn you away, or give you a lecture, or do nothing at all. With the cost of airfare, I wouldn't want to risk being turned away. Although I think there is also another regulation that says that CBP cannot deny a US citizen entry to the US - assuming you can prove it.

There's nothing to say that won't change in the future. Normally US law is not retroactive - so what you've done in the past that was not a crime at that time isn't dredged up and prosecuted under new laws. God help us all, but that could change at some point in the future as well. Depends on who's in charge after the next election. (Reference "Florida" cough cough)