Wife had trouble returning to U.S. recently

[roykirk]

Just an FYI for others out there who may have similar circumstances.  My wife is a U.S. resident with a 10 year green card.  She recently returned from a visit to Russia with our daughter (U.S. citizen with passport).  She carried with her a valid Russian passport in her maiden name, her green card, and a certified copy of our marriage certificate.  This is the way we've always traveled since we've gotten married and have never had any problems.  However, at LAX, the customs official threatened to not let her in because her Russian passport had her maiden name.  He refused to look at the marriage certificate and told her that her Russian passport must have her married name in it or at least the "this person is also known as..." notation.  After several uncomfortable minutes of pleading with the officer, he finally gave her marriage certificate a quick look and let her in, with a warning that she needed to get her passport fixed because next time she might not be let in.   

The problem is that her old Russian passport used to have the "this person is also known as..." notation in it, but when it expired and she had to get a new one from the Seattle Consulate they told her "we no longer do that."  And the only place she can get her official name changed in her Russian passport is in Russia, a process that she's been told can take a month or longer.  She'll likely never visit Russia that long the rest of her life.  Not sure what we're supposed to do until she gets citizenship some day. 

[Shadow]

Not sure what we're supposed to do until she gets citizenship some day.

Hope you do not meet the same officer.

[roykirk]

Hope you do not meet the same officer.

No kidding.  If anyone knows of ways to get the passport name changed here, or about getting the "aka" notation in the passport, please let me know. 

[Lily]

The problem is that her old Russian passport used to have the "this person is also known as..." notation in it, but when it expired and she had to get a new one from the Seattle Consulate they told her "we no longer do that."  And the only place she can get her official name changed in her Russian passport is in Russia, a process that she's been told can take a month or longer.   

Assume that you talk about a Russian travel ("international") passport. I hold the same, and have a hard time figuring out this kind of information in my passport.
Where it is supposed to be? What does it look like?
 
If we talk about an internal Russian passport, which document is not supposed to be taken out of Russia, then there is a page ''Family" in it. Upon marriage, a married person receives a stamp on that page that mentions her name and her husband's names. However, a person cannot use this passport outside Russia as an ID.

[Wayne]

If your wife has lived in USA for at least three years, she can apply for US citizenship.
 
However, she would still have the Russian citizenship and is supposed to use her Russian passport to enter Russian Federation.
 
As everyone knows, enough cash can get her name changed on her passport in Russia in one day.

[roykirk]

Lily - Yes, I'm speaking of her international passport.  In her expired one, they simply typed on the last page, "The holder of this passport is also known as...."  That's it.  I've sometimes wondered why a person couldn't just put a passport in an old manual typewriter and type the same thing because that's all the Consulate did by all appearances. 


Wayne - Perhaps she could have used that trick when she was in Russia, but now that she's back with no plans to return for a very long time she missed the opportunity.  And there's no way I'd try that at the Consulate in Seattle.  The most angry and surly Russians I've ever seen.  Yes, even more so than in Moscow.   

[pokerintherear]

So why did she not hand him her Green Card? When they scan the card or enter her Alien Number all information comes up on the screen in front of him. What really happened?

[roykirk]

So why did she not hand him her Green Card? When they scan the card or enter her Alien Number all information comes up on the screen in front of him. What really happened?

Not sure what you mean "what really happened?"  The Customs guy had her Green Card, and her certified marriage certificate (with Apostle mark).  What he was making an issue of was the fact that her Russian passport had her maiden name, which didn't match her Green Card, which  has her married name. 

[GQBlues]

Not sure what you mean "what really happened?"  The Customs guy had her Green Card, and her certified marriage certificate (with Apostle mark).  What he was making an issue of was the fact that her Russian passport had her maiden name, which didn't match her Green Card, which  has her married name. 

I'm with poker on this one, too. I don't understand why it happened either as the green card was more than sufficient. Moreover, wifey didn't have an 'aka' in her international passport. I asked her and she doesn't know anything about it. As far as the POE officer is concerned, the green card, especially one with a marriage certificate accompanying it, was far more than sufficient. It was with my wife as it was before I became USC (carried non-US passport with a different name than what is shown on my GC at the time).

[pokerintherear]

You don't enter the US with a foreign passport without an valid Visa in the passport. The Green Card is the controlling document for entry.

What I mean........... It was probably wasn't as bad as you say. Not worth trying to scare travelers because someone had their feelings hurt.

[roykirk]

You don't enter the US with a foreign passport without an valid Visa in the passport. The Green Card is the controlling document for entry.

What I mean........... It was probably wasn't as bad as you say. Not worth trying to scare travelers because someone had their feelings hurt.

I agree that it's entirely possible that it was just one Customs officer having a bad day and bad attitude, but to hold her there for at the counter for 10 minutes and threaten to not let her in to the country, while she has a crying 4 year old on her arm, made me wonder if there's some sort of new ICE policy people should be aware of. 

[Wayne]

From what I have seen when green card holders were going through passport control in front of me, they just scanned the green card, then the person put their thumb on the scanner to confirm their print. She did not even need to show her passport!  This is from the official instructions:
 
  10 U.S. Customs and Border Protection Part I B. U.S. RESIDENTS - must provide one of the following: • Permanent Resident Card, Form I-551 • Expired Conditional Resident Card Form I-551 accompanied by Form I-797 Notice of Action indicating the card is extended • Immigrant Visa and passport • Temporary Residence Stamp (“ADIT”) contained in a passport or on a Form I-94 • Reentry Permit, Form I-327 • Refugee Travel Document, Form I-571 • Parole Authorization, Form I-512 • U.S. Government issued Transportation Lette

[roykirk]

From what I have seen when green card holders were going through passport control in front of me, they just scanned the green card, then the person put their thumb on the scanner to confirm their print. She did not even need to show her passport!  This is from the official instructions:
 
  10 U.S. Customs and Border Protection Part I B. U.S. RESIDENTS - must provide one of the following: • Permanent Resident Card, Form I-551 • Expired Conditional Resident Card Form I-551 accompanied by Form I-797 Notice of Action indicating the card is extended • Immigrant Visa and passport • Temporary Residence Stamp (“ADIT”) contained in a passport or on a Form I-94 • Reentry Permit, Form I-327 • Refugee Travel Document, Form I-571 • Parole Authorization, Form I-512 • U.S. Government issued Transportation Lette

Sounds like we're talking more about a single bad attitude then.  Wife said he acted very serious about not letting her in and it was only when she was about to burst in to tears that he gave the marriage certificate a look and let her enter.  I asked if she got his name so I could find some way to file a complaint, but she was rushing to not miss their connecting flight and didn't pay attention. 

[GQBlues]

Sounds like we're talking more about a single bad attitude then.  Wife said he acted very serious about not letting her in and it was only when she was about to burst in to tears that he gave the marriage certificate a look and let her enter.  I asked if she got his name so I could find some way to file a complaint, but she was rushing to not miss their connecting flight and didn't pay attention.

Getting any 'names' of officers working POEs is fairly easy to do. DHS have information on which officers worked in what POE and in what aisle on any given day.

The question is, what is likely *more probable* (since this is your wife's FIRST trip back to/from Russia on her own) that she may well have been under duress and might have *acted* (unintentionally) suspicious (likely neglected to show her GC and showed her passport instead), or the officer did in fact was rude and was having a bad day (which I highly doubt)?

My feeling is, it's likely the former.

[ML]

Hey, anything can happen when entering any country.

I have had varied experiences over my tons of international travel including coming back into USA.  Once I had forgotten about the great ham sandwich from Denmark . . . but the German Shepard dog found it!  I got quite a dressing down for that.

On her last trip back to enter Kyiv, Ochka was taken into a room when trying to go through with her luggage.  They told her to take out all her money and count it in front of them.  She was quite frightened and suspected they would take all or some of it.  It was quite a substantial amount, although still under the limit requiring written declaration.

But, they didn't take any and let her proceed on.

[Wayne]

The way that you act when going through passport control can trigger investigation. If you show that you are upset, they will give you a difficult time.
 
You can bring up to $10,000 USD into Ukraine without doing a customs form.

[roykirk]

Getting any 'names' of officers working POEs is fairly easy to do. DHS have information on which officers worked in what POE and in what aisle on any given day.

The question is, what is likely *more probable* (since this is your wife's FIRST trip back to/from Russia on her own) that she may well have been under duress and might have *acted* (unintentionally) suspicious (likely neglected to show her GC and showed her passport instead), or the officer did in fact was rude and was having a bad day (which I highly doubt)?

My feeling is, it's likely the former.

Certainly a possibility that she was unconsciously looking suspicious or something.  Perhaps we're a family of suspicious looking people because I've gotten grilled a couple of times myself trying to come back in to the country following various trips.  I've always attributed it to the fact that most people think I look Middle Eastern.  Going thru airport security and customs in the months following 9/11 wasn't exactly a speedy process for me.  Wife has been held up twice previously, although both times were before she had a GC.  When she finally moved here on K-1 they kept her and a couple other Russians in an ICE office for just under 3 hours while they played "100 questions."  And the whole time there I was outside security in a panic because I didn't know what was going on, where she was, whether she had even been on the flight, etc. 

[Wayne]

The airlines know exactly who boarded their flights. The information is on their computer system.
 
When you enter USA, they scan your passport or green card and can see exactly what countries you have visited. If you traveled with someone else, they can see that. If you are wanted by any law enforcement agency, there could be a hold on you.
 
When entering on a K-1 it could very well take several hours to clear. By then, your luggage could be placed in an unclaimed area.

[Shadow]

Hey, anything can happen when entering any country.

I have had varied experiences over my tons of international travel including coming back into USA.  Once I had forgotten about the great ham sandwich from Denmark . . . but the German Shepard dog found it!  I got quite a dressing down for that.

On her last trip back to enter Kyiv, Ochka was taken into a room when trying to go through with her luggage.  They told her to take out all her money and count it in front of them.  She was quite frightened and suspected they would take all or some of it.  It was quite a substantial amount, although still under the limit requiring written declaration.

But, they didn't take any and let her proceed on.

I had that one happen once. And the mood of the customs officer went down a few notches when she saw that I was carrying about 10 different currencies though all in small amounts. In the end she sent me away without writing all down...

[tfcrew]

Apply for USA citizenship obtain an American passport, and shell out for visas if they are needed.

[Wayne]

I just recently applied for a visa to Russian Federation. If you are a dual citizen, USA and RF, you must use your Russian passport to enter RF.
 
RF won't issue you a visa in your USA passport if you still are a Russian citizen.

[tfcrew]

I have always wondered ...how would anyone know otherwise if someone had a Russian passport?

&/Or..why not just go ahead, ignore, and let the Russian passport expire?

The downside of use one passport to come another to go....

There have been several instances in which U.S. citizens who also have Russian citizenship have entered Russia using their Russian passports, but then could not leave as planned because their Russian passports had expired during their stay in Russia, or because they lost their Russian passports. Since these travelers had not obtained Russian entry/exit visas in their U.S. passports, Russian authorities did not permit them to depart using their U.S. passports.

It can take several months to obtain a new Russian passport in order to satisfy Russian requirements for departure. Dual citizens who plan to enter Russia using their Russian passports should make sure that their Russian passports will be valid for their entire stay in Russia.

http://stpetersburg.usconsulate.gov/dual-nationality.html