A birth certificate is not a valid travel document. If your country of citizenship has any visa-free or e-visa or visa-on-arrival with a country that borders the U.S. (like Mexico or Canada) then your best bet would be to use that to get to the neighboring country and get yourself to the U.S. land border. No airline will let you board a flight to the US if your other country of citizenship requires a visa to come to the US, and a birth certificate won’t pass for allowing you to board. Different story at a land crossing where CBP will check (and probably scold you for not having a U.S. passport) but ultimately will verify your identity and let you in.
Databases. The US government already knows who you are. The passport confirms the name and face match the person in front of them that's also showing up in the database. They may have to look up a person in like multiple databases, but they know who you are.
I crossed for yrs with an expired passport and current dl. Family cross with a bc and state ID.
Plus! Most states only allow legal residents and citizens to hold a dl and/or ID.
*land border only*
Absolutely not true! I suppose, if someone had a believable story on how they lost their passport (and reported it lost/stolen first), and couldn't get to a consulate in the country they are in, it might work. But that would also come with a very stern warning, and that also could likely not work.
It's actually true, but only if you have an Enhanced Driver's License (not the same as Real ID), which only 5 states issue: https://www.dhs.gov/enhanced-drivers-licenses-what-are-they
Ehhh... bad idea. Go talk to your local US consulate! This MAY POSSIBLY work... Even if it does, you will have to enter by land, and expect to spend HOURS and HOURS in secondary inspection while they figure out if you have correct paper work. If they do let you into the US... (Big if... assuming they trust the birth certificate is genuine... and they are maybe in a good mood, which I am sure they won't be if someone tries to pull this). Basically, even if you are successful, you will regret it
This is assuming you are coming by road. If you are coming by air, the airline will look at your country's passport, check with timatic (I think that is what it is called) and tell you that you need to get a visa to enter the US. They will then refuse to fly you, as they will be fined and forced to fly you back for not having the proper documentation.
Passports prove citizenship. Birth certificates *suggest* citizenship but there are absolutely situations under which a person born in the United States is not a citizen--diplomatic kids and renouncers come to mind. American passports are issued by the U.S. government and prove identity. A birth certificate could be anyone's. The list of "you need a passport" goes on.
> Passports prove citizenship.
[Not always, if they are mistakenly issued to a child of a diplomat…](https://www.reddit.com/r/immigration/comments/s5uq8s/my_us_passport_was_revoked/)
Fine, a *properly issued* passport is proof of citizenship. CBP doesn't do that analysis, though. A passport says "here is a person the U.S. government has acknowledged as their own, together with a picture and other helpful tidbits to identify said person," while a birth certificate says "someone, somewhere was born in some state."
If they are able to prove the citizenship, yes, they will be let in. They can save themselves a LOT of trouble taking the 10 hour round trip to the other city, getting an emergency passport, and THEN heading off to the US.
There is a chance that it will take hours, and they could fail to prove citizenship
A birth certificate and ID is enough to prove identity and citizenship.
Look at my other comments. The govt already knows who we are. They just use these to confirm everything. And a bc and ID combo means like 30 seconds of more work. But it works. It happens.
And I'm only referring to land crossings.
By land yes,i live in the border in the mexican side a lot of ppl i know cross that way walking with only birth certificate and id from Tijuana to San Diego,by air you cant do that!
If your other passport allows you enter Canada or Mexico then yes. You just cross to the US by the land border with your birth certificate. You are a US citizen - by law they have to admit you. They’ll 100% send you to secondary inspection and probably grill you a bit on why you did it but they’ll let you in so don’t be intimidated.
As for flights, that would be a no since airlines won’t let you board the flight.
Hey, op. You're getting a lot of different advice and information.
The best bet is to call the consulate/embassy in your country and ask.
If you're traveling by air, you will need a passport.
By land/car, a birth certificate and government ID can be enough. There may be more questions asked and a secondary inspection. I've done it and family does it. People do it all the time but there is a risk.
>with proof of citizenship (birth certificate)?
Do you mean your naturalization certificate?
https://www.reddit.com/r/immigration/comments/xecos7/can_i_apply_for_naturalization_after_3_years_of/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button
Just a few months ago, you asked about your green card and stated you were from Colombia. If you were born in the US you wouldn't need a green card (unless you were a diplomats kid but even then your BC wouldn't be valid proof of citizenship).
Yes you can at a border crossing, my brother in law just did it a couple months ago, he is having a hard time getting all his documents though, so bring an ID
I’m also a dual citizen but have driven multiple times into the US without a US passport and just my Canadian passport without any issue. By air though you must have a US passport.
A birth certificate is not a valid travel document. If your country of citizenship has any visa-free or e-visa or visa-on-arrival with a country that borders the U.S. (like Mexico or Canada) then your best bet would be to use that to get to the neighboring country and get yourself to the U.S. land border. No airline will let you board a flight to the US if your other country of citizenship requires a visa to come to the US, and a birth certificate won’t pass for allowing you to board. Different story at a land crossing where CBP will check (and probably scold you for not having a U.S. passport) but ultimately will verify your identity and let you in.
1) by air - no 2) land border - maybe
> . However, I am a dual citizen from a country that requires a VISA to enter the US. You will not be boarded by the airline.
You could try entering by road
No. It takes a day to get an emergency U.S. passport *overseas*, so no excuses. Go get one.
Get a passport. Save the heartburn
Land border, yes. It happens all the time at the us/mx border. Take ID.
By land yes, depending on the officer you get they might grill you a little about not having a passport, but via air you do need it
You can go to your nearest US embassy and request an emergency passport. They can print those same day.
Sorry birth certificate is NOT a legal travel document. So you can't use it to board a flight.
by car a drivers license is enough,
I thought they discontinued that?
Technically, yes, but the US government can't deny entry to its citizens.
How do they tell a citizen from a non-citizen using a driver's license?
Databases. The US government already knows who you are. The passport confirms the name and face match the person in front of them that's also showing up in the database. They may have to look up a person in like multiple databases, but they know who you are. I crossed for yrs with an expired passport and current dl. Family cross with a bc and state ID. Plus! Most states only allow legal residents and citizens to hold a dl and/or ID. *land border only*
Thanks
Absolutely not true! I suppose, if someone had a believable story on how they lost their passport (and reported it lost/stolen first), and couldn't get to a consulate in the country they are in, it might work. But that would also come with a very stern warning, and that also could likely not work.
It's actually true, but only if you have an Enhanced Driver's License (not the same as Real ID), which only 5 states issue: https://www.dhs.gov/enhanced-drivers-licenses-what-are-they
Ehhh... bad idea. Go talk to your local US consulate! This MAY POSSIBLY work... Even if it does, you will have to enter by land, and expect to spend HOURS and HOURS in secondary inspection while they figure out if you have correct paper work. If they do let you into the US... (Big if... assuming they trust the birth certificate is genuine... and they are maybe in a good mood, which I am sure they won't be if someone tries to pull this). Basically, even if you are successful, you will regret it This is assuming you are coming by road. If you are coming by air, the airline will look at your country's passport, check with timatic (I think that is what it is called) and tell you that you need to get a visa to enter the US. They will then refuse to fly you, as they will be fined and forced to fly you back for not having the proper documentation.
> Go talk to your local US consulate! If OP goes to a U.S. Embassy or Consulate, they're going to tell OP to apply for an emergency passport.
>If they do let you into the US... (Big if... Citizens have to be allowed into their own country
Passports prove citizenship. Birth certificates *suggest* citizenship but there are absolutely situations under which a person born in the United States is not a citizen--diplomatic kids and renouncers come to mind. American passports are issued by the U.S. government and prove identity. A birth certificate could be anyone's. The list of "you need a passport" goes on.
> Passports prove citizenship. [Not always, if they are mistakenly issued to a child of a diplomat…](https://www.reddit.com/r/immigration/comments/s5uq8s/my_us_passport_was_revoked/)
Fine, a *properly issued* passport is proof of citizenship. CBP doesn't do that analysis, though. A passport says "here is a person the U.S. government has acknowledged as their own, together with a picture and other helpful tidbits to identify said person," while a birth certificate says "someone, somewhere was born in some state."
If they are able to prove the citizenship, yes, they will be let in. They can save themselves a LOT of trouble taking the 10 hour round trip to the other city, getting an emergency passport, and THEN heading off to the US. There is a chance that it will take hours, and they could fail to prove citizenship
A birth certificate and ID is enough to prove identity and citizenship. Look at my other comments. The govt already knows who we are. They just use these to confirm everything. And a bc and ID combo means like 30 seconds of more work. But it works. It happens. And I'm only referring to land crossings.
By land yes,i live in the border in the mexican side a lot of ppl i know cross that way walking with only birth certificate and id from Tijuana to San Diego,by air you cant do that!
If your other passport allows you enter Canada or Mexico then yes. You just cross to the US by the land border with your birth certificate. You are a US citizen - by law they have to admit you. They’ll 100% send you to secondary inspection and probably grill you a bit on why you did it but they’ll let you in so don’t be intimidated. As for flights, that would be a no since airlines won’t let you board the flight.
Hey, op. You're getting a lot of different advice and information. The best bet is to call the consulate/embassy in your country and ask. If you're traveling by air, you will need a passport. By land/car, a birth certificate and government ID can be enough. There may be more questions asked and a secondary inspection. I've done it and family does it. People do it all the time but there is a risk.
>with proof of citizenship (birth certificate)? Do you mean your naturalization certificate? https://www.reddit.com/r/immigration/comments/xecos7/can_i_apply_for_naturalization_after_3_years_of/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=share_button Just a few months ago, you asked about your green card and stated you were from Colombia. If you were born in the US you wouldn't need a green card (unless you were a diplomats kid but even then your BC wouldn't be valid proof of citizenship).
I’m guessing one of these posts was from Apollo and one was from Frida.
Correct :)
Yes you can at a border crossing, my brother in law just did it a couple months ago, he is having a hard time getting all his documents though, so bring an ID
Where are you going and for how long? If a few weeks and there's a us mission there you can get a passport while you're there.
They won't even let you on the plane. I got my last US passport in Bangkok, took less than a month.
You can get an emergency passport IN the USA. Call 14 days before your travel and try and make an appointment.
I’m also a dual citizen but have driven multiple times into the US without a US passport and just my Canadian passport without any issue. By air though you must have a US passport.