Entering US with non-US family members

Hi,

I am taking my wife and daughter with me to the US to visit my sister in January.  My wife and daughter are both EU citizens.  This will be our first trip to the States together.

I was just wondering if they are allowed to go through passport control with me (the American line) when we arrive in the States or will we have to separate and they have to go through the foreign arrival line?

I'm just concerned about being separated (like I get through first) and then they have a problem for whatever reason.  I'm not expecting problems, but I've heard horror stories. 

What do you folks usually do when traveling with family of different citizenship?   

If your daughter is your biological daughter (and not step-daughter or adopted), she is an American and should travel on an American passport.

ETA: There are some exceptions where you can't automatically pass American citizenship to your children, but you probably don't fit those exceptions.  If you were born abroad and didn't meet a residency requirement, then she might not be American.  But, if she is your daughter by birth, then she is a dual citizen, and should travel into a country she holds citizenship for on that passport to avoid complications.

I think you should stay with your wife until she clears. Also, you I would think could go through the visitors line with her.

Good thinking. She may need help and I know at Heathrow they don't allow you to communicate with anyone if they hold you.

I've been travelling to the States with my British husband for the past 19 years and he always goes with me through the US citizens line.  Never had a problem.

I've only once travelled to the US with my husband and we didn't know you had to keep the family together so I went through the American line and he went through the visitor line. The guy at passport control told me I would have to go into the visitor line with hubby but when he saw how big that line was, he told me to go get my husband and come through the American line. We're going to the US for Thanksgiving and I plan on taking him through the American line with me. It's always shorter.

My husband and I recently went to the US and when we arrived we both went Through the American Passport holders line even though he has a British passport. I figured we were traveling together so it should be fine and it was. They didn't even blink an eye at us. It was only when we flew back home that we had issues. We both got in line in the British line this time and when we got to the front they wouldn't let me through.  Both lines were massive so I wasn't "cheating" by getting in the short line. They said my husband could continue on but I would have to go to the non British passport line. We both turned back and went to the other line only to get to the front of it and have the same agent that turned me away wait on us! WTF! I don't see what difference it made wether I was in line 1 or line 2. Really I guess it depends on the border agent you get. We were really ticked off. From now on when we travel together were just gonna get in the visitors line so we are sure we can stay together and avoid any issues.

My husband is dual, but my daughter and I are not, so while we never have problems entering the US as a family I've always wondered about what to do when we enter the UK.

So far we've just hopped in the "All Other Passports" line - a) because it's usually a whole lot shorter than the UK/EU line, and b) because two out of three of us have an "other" passport. We've never had a problem with him accompanying us.

Alistair, I thought I remembered reading that anyone who has a claim to US citizenship is required to get a US passport before entering the country. I'm trying to find the link. Either way, it would be worthwhile for you to get this sorted before traveling. If she was born in the UK, you'll find these links helpful:

http://www.usembassy.org.uk/cons_new/acs/passports/robirth4.html

And here are the citizenship transmission requirements:

http://www.usembassy.org.uk/cons_new/acs/passports/robirth.html

Thanks for sharing your individual experiences entering the U.S.  We'll all go through whichever line is shorter then.     Worse case scenario it seems is sending us to the back of the long line.  

I appreciate others who expressed citizenship concerns, but we're aware of our options and have chosen accordingly to our wants and needs as a family.  Being a dual citizen myself, I understand the pros and cons.  No one in my family has UK citizenship, btw.

Thanks again  

Alistair, I thought I remembered reading that anyone who has a claim to US citizenship is required to get a US passport before entering the country. I'm trying to find the link. Either way, it would be worthwhile for you to get this sorted before traveling. If she was born in the UK, you'll find these links helpful:

http://www.usembassy.org.uk/cons_new/acs/passports/robirth4.html

And here are the citizenship transmission requirements:

http://www.usembassy.org.uk/cons_new/acs/passports/robirth.html

My dual-citizen friend who opted to not get her daughter an American passport got in huge trouble trying to enter the US with her daughter. They suspected her of kidnapping and all sorts of things, nearly refused them both entry, and finally admitted them under the strict condition that her daughter never travel to the US again until she had her American passport issued. I do think they take it quite seriously!

Yes, it's required that a US citizen enter the US on a US passport.  This was discussed on UKY in detail previously...

http://talk.uk-yankee.com/index.php?topic=40515.0
http://talk.uk-yankee.com/index.php?topic=18784.0

And this is from the US State Department:

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.

My dual-citizen friend who opted to not get her daughter an American passport got in huge trouble trying to enter the US with her daughter. They suspected her of kidnapping and all sorts of things, nearly refused them both entry, and finally admitted them under the strict condition that her daughter never travel to the US again until she had her American passport issued. I do think they take it quite seriously!

That can happen if both parents are not with the child and only one parent is with their child of a different nationality.  That's where the kidnapping thing comes in.  In that particular case, you are supposed to travel with a documented proof from the other parent stating the child has permission to be traveling with the other parent outside the country. 

That can happen if both parents are not with the child and only one parent is with their child of a different nationality.  That's where the kidnapping thing comes in.  In that particular case, you are supposed to travel with a documented proof from the other parent stating the child has permission to be traveling with the other parent outside the country. 

Her British husband was with them at the time when this happened, however...

Her British husband was with them at the time when this happened, however...

Well, what the customs folks said/did makes no sense then unless they had different last names on their passports.  Like I said, I've heard all kinds of weird stories of peoples problems at airport immigration.

Well, what the customs folks said/did makes no sense then unless they had different last names on their passports.  Like I said, I've heard all kinds of weird stories of peoples problems at airport immigration.

Why doesn't it make sense?  The kidnapping part, okay.  But it is a requirement to use a US passport to enter the US if the individual is entitled to one.

But it is a requirement to use a US passport to enter the US if the individual is entitled to one.

I have never found any documented law to support this.  If you already have claimed citizenship and have a passport, then yes, you must use it.  If you have not claimed it and hold no US passport, I've seen no written requirement for it anywhere.

Some people seem to repeat it, but can't point to a law.  I'd love to see the rule though from a US Government website that says an eligible person by law must claim citizenship and be issued a US passport.

Seems immigration might question you about it, but I've found no evidence (thus far) that anyone has been denied entry to the U.S. over it. 

I'm also not here to argue about it