Hey there r/JapanLife. Here’s the deal. I’m an American, wife is Japanese. Kiddo has a Japanese passport. We’re in the works to get a US one.
Basically, there’s a lot of stuff I don’t understand.
How is my kid supposed to travel? Off the top of my head I thought “one trip, one passport” makes sense but then I heard if you try to bring an American kid into the US without an American passport you’re gonna be arrested (!?!?!?).
I really don’t understand.
We’re gonna get her US passport ASAP but two things
1. In the meantime if we have to fly back to the US for a family emergency and she only has one passport, what happens?
2. What is the best way to do all this? Like if we had 2 passports for her what’s the “optimal” route?
8 comments
1. They would probably let her in, but they wouldn’t be happy with it.
2. When she leaves Japan she shows the Japanese passport. When she enters the U.S. she shows the U.S. passport. When she returns to Japan she shows what ever the airline agent wants to see, but when she arrives in Japan, she shows the Japanese passport.
1. Call the embassy and ask about getting an emergency passport, citizens are required to enter the US with a US passport.
2. For any Japanese immigration and formalities, use the Japanese passport. For any US immigration and formalities, use the US passport.
If you only have the one passport it’s ok. Just make sure your child has their ESTA visa ready ahead of time. When you get to the states, they can come with you in the same immigration line since you’re a family.
If you are able to get both passports for your child in time, then they’ll use the Japanese passport when they leave and re-enter Japan, and the US passport when they enter and leave the US.
1. a) A kid doesn’t need a passport to cross the US/Canada land border – you just need proof that they’re American/Canadian. You could fly to Canada and drive across.
b) Embassies will sometimes issue passports very quickly in emergencies. I’ve personally seen 24 hr turnaround – exact speed probably depends on how emergent your emergency is.
c) There may be other exceptions to the “own country passport” rule for emergencies.
2. At check-in in Japan show them both passports. Leave Japan using the Japanese passport. Enter other country using the other country’s passport. We’ve never had a problem.
Ya, tons of people in jail cause of bringing their children into the US. 🤦♂️ /s
No one is getting arrested. Where the heck did that come from?
Your child can enter the United States as a Japanese citizen. It may be the case, at the moment, that you and your child face different quarantine procedures if there still are any (I am way out of date on that topic). You will also need to file [ESTA](https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov/)s for your wife (unless she already has a visa) and child.
The airport may have separate lines for US passports, Foreign passports with permanent residence visas (green cards), and Foreign passports with other or no visas (tourist, etc.) at the immigration counters. Your child can go through with your wife as a foreigner, or you can try to stick together as a family and explain everything to the immigration officer (might make some cops unhappy, but they won’t throw you in jail over it).
The below only applies for traveling to the USA for a dual US JP national departing from Japan and then returning to JP later.
1. Buy the round trip ticket using the USA passport info
2. At Narita or Haneda ticketing counter, show the US passport because that’s the name the ticket was purchased under.
3. The guy at security before the xray and metal detector might ask to see your passport and boarding pass. Show the USA one.
4. At the border immigration control, those guys behind those square desks that sees people one at a time, here you show the Japanese passport. They don’t check your boarding pass so no problem of your JP name doesn’t match USA name.
5. Sometimes just before getting on the plane they ask to see the passport. Show the USA one
6. For entering and leaving the US, use the US passport.
7. Onve you boarded the return flight back to Japan, put the US passport away, it is no longer needed. Upon arriving back in JP, show the JP passport whenever asked.
There is one logical flaw you have. Your child is still not a us citizen since it doesn’t have a us passport. Hence, treat it like a Japanese citizen traveling to the US.