Will I have trouble at immigration?

24 comments

1. [deleted]

2. Get your wife to write and sign a note saying it’s ok. Not japan based but I have divorced parents and that’s what was done when I was little since my last name was different from both parents.

3. You could bring a copy of family register (戸籍謄本) or other public documents that certify the relationship w/ an English translation certificate (costs you approx. JPY 20K), but I personally don’t think that’s necessary.
   陰ながらお母様のご無事をお祈り申し上げます。

4. I traveled alone with my Japanese kid a few times, and while I was never stopped, I did make precautions.

   I had my spouse write and sign a bilingual letter of consent to our travel. And, second, I brought a copy of our koseki (family registration) to prove my relationship to my child.

5. You can ask your wife to prepare a letter to be safe. You can find online example letters.

6. So just to clarify your son (who is Japanese-US dual), who has a different family name to you, will be traveling on a Japanese passport to the US? Or do they have a US passport (it’s not mentioned in your Op).

   I don’t know US immigration law, but I could imagine like most countries, if one is a national of that country they must enter/depart that country as a national of that country I.e ideally via a passport (or at minimum a birth certificate…)

   (for example Japan allow dual nationals to enter on a foreign passport + Koseki (issued within 6 months). See a Q16 here https://www.moj.go.jp/isa/applications/guide/kanri_qa.html)

   The tricky part comes into play if you have not got your Son’s US passport yet. Because he was born in Japan he has no proof of being a US citizen, apart from I guess his Koseki stating you as the father. But then I have no idea if the US will accept the Koseki as proof of US nationality.

   So he would maybe be entering the US illegally (due to being a US national, but potentially no deemed acceptable way to prove US nationality). Additionally, traveling on a Japanese passport would then require an ESTA. But then they are likely going to question why adult man John Smith is traveling with a young Japanese boy who John Smith claims to be his son, but the Japanese boy does not even have the same family name as John Smith as per his Japanese passport, and the Japanese boy has no way to prove his US nationality of which he would have got from John Smith.

   So anyway yes, possible issues if you haven’t got his US passport yet. But my advice would be to take the Koseki (+certified English translation) because you might be able to use that to prove he is your son and prove his US nationality.

7. I traveled alone with my daughter; she has Japanese passport, my husband’s surname and she doesn’t look like me at all and no one asked anything. But yeah maybe have some pictures of your son when was a baby on hand or a written note from you wife would be the safest route!

   Sorry about your mom!

8. Have both names on both passport, that’s what my family did.

9. Fill this form out and bring it with you. It’s a written consent for you to travel alone with your kid.

   https://www.jal.co.jp/tabi/info/visa/miseinen/freesample.pdf

   My son does not have my last name, so I use this form.

10. You can have your last name in brackets on the Japanese passport, just need to put it on the application.

11. Here is a good template for a parental consent form:

    https://travel.gc.ca/docs/child/consent-letter_lettre-consentement-eng.pdf

12. Make sure you tell your 3 year old to not be a smart ass when border patrol asks if she knows who you are.

13. If you think it help take a copy of your Marriage certificate and the child’s birth certificate that list you as the father. As a back up.

14. For context, in my country, the wife does not take her husband last name after marriage. My wife has travelled back home with our kids but without me a few times and was never questioned by immigration in either Japan or my home country. Noone ever asked why would she travel with two kids who don’t share her last name. We did take precaution and brought along the kids’ birth certificate though.

15. Yes. Get a consent from your wife. Carry a copy of you consular certificate of birth abroad too. Note that under US law if your children have US citizenship they should enter the US on US passports.

16. I traveled alone with my Japanese daughter – I had husband sign a letter saying he knew where we were traveling, when, and for how long. We also took a copy of her koseki/family register, and he stood by at checkin when leaving Japan, just in case aha. We had no issues!

17. Practically speaking, at the airport, if you show a Japanese passport to check-in, they are going to ask whether your child has a visa, green card, or ESTA. So you would need to have ESTA approval. Upon arrival in the US, it could go any of three ways:

    (1) They simply admit your child as a Japanese national on ESTA. This is quite possible even though you’re American, because the fact that you have a US passport doesn’t automatically mean that your kid is entitled to one, and the CBP officer may not want to stick their nose into that issue if your documents are otherwise all in order.

    (2) They inquire whether your child is a US citizen. If you can then prove that the child is a US citizen, they will admit them while telling you that you need to get a US passport for them. (CBP basically cannot deny entry to US citizens so long as that status is proved with some facially valid documentation.)

    (3) They decide you are an evil human trafficker and lock you up. But minimal chance of this especially if you have proof of parental relationship with you. Single parents travel with kids all the time without even getting questioned.

18. Can someone explain to me what the deal is with my wife not changing her surname to mine?

19. Does the child have a consular report of birth abroad? A Social Security card? A US passport? These are all things that you should really have set in motion as soon as the child was born.

20. My Son has my Name in brackets in his Japanese Passport. Ask about it when it’s being made.

21. If the passport is fine, you should be fine… unless dumb racist bullshit, which is always possible

22. Did you file for the born overseas document when they were born? I did that for my kid and got their passport at the same time. Your kid can have your name on their US birth certificates and legally have a Japanese alias with their mom’s last name. If you didn’t do any of this when they were born, you probably got a lot of extra paper work to file.

    They leave Japan on their Japanese passport, enter US on US passport. Leave US on US passport, enter Japanese on Japanese passport. Despite carrying extra passports it’s easy. Sounds like you messed up.

23. Does she have a US passport too? I traveled as recently as last month with my son. His US passport has my wife’s last name as his middle name, and my last name as his last name. His Japanese passport says my wife’s last name as his last name, followed by my last name in parentheses. We have had no problems.

24. This was an issue getting my kids replacement passports through the Australian embassy here. They wanted a signed statutory declaration from my wife (Japanese citizen) that she consented to them getting the passport. I just carry that with me now every time I go back home with the kids and my wife doesn’t come with us. It’s good you’ve thought about it, because it’s a bit confronting. But it’s not a big deal if you’re prepared. Have a look online for legal type letter formats, and take those with you.

    It’s kind of sad that Australia (and other countries) takes it so seriously, but Japan has a really bad track record with dealing with cases of Japanese parents essentially kidnapping mixed kids. But divorces amongst domestic couples aren’t exactly fair either.