Travel Documents for Non-US Citizens and Refugees

The passport woes recently faced by NBA star Enes Kanter have put a spotlight on US Travel Documents. Kanter, who plays center position for the Oklahoma City Thunder basketball team, is a Turkish citizen and a legal resident of the United States. He's lived in the US for six years, playing for the Thunder and the Utah Jazz. Earlier this month, he ran into major passport problems while traveling in Europe.

Today, we'll take a look at what happened to Enes Kanter, and learn more about the travel documents available to non-US citizens who live in the US.

What Happened to Enes Kanter?

On Saturday, May 20, Enes Kanter was traveling on an international tour on behalf of his non-profit foundation. He arrived in Bucharest, Romania on a flight from Germany, and was stopped by Romanian officials. The officials told him that his Turkish passport had been canceled by Turkish authorities. Kanter, who has been an outspoken critic of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, believes his passport was canceled for political reasons.

Because his passport was no longer valid, Kanter was not able to enter Romania. He remained in the airport until he was able to board a flight to London. He arrived back in New York on Sunday, May 21. It doesn't hurt to be a well-known NBA player — Kanter was able to get help from inside the Department of Homeland Security so he could return to the US even though he doesn't have a valid passport.

Enes Kanter is a legal resident of the United States, holding Permanent Resident status. (This is commonly known as having a "green card.") He's said that he's interested in becoming a US citizen. But it can take up to five years for a permanent resident to become a citizen and get a US passport. Since Kanter no longer has a passport from his home country, what will he do if he needs to travel internationally?

US Travel Documents for Non-Citizens Without Passports

Enes Kanter's situation made the news because he's a star athlete, not because it's a unique scenario! There are a lot of non-US citizens who legally live in the US but don't have passports from their country of citizenship. Some don't have passports because they fled their home country and came to the US as refugees. Others, like Kanter, have had their passports revoked because of political issues. There are even people who can't get their passport renewed simply because of administrative issues, like the closure of a consulate.

Luckily, the US government provides options to legal residents, so they can still travel internationally and return to the United States. Legal residents like Kanter are able to apply for a US travel document. US travel documents for non-citizens look like passport books, with a lighter, slightly greener cover. Unlike US passports issued to citizens, which are issued by the Department of State, travel documents are issued by the US Citizenship and Immigration Service, part of the Department of Homeland Security.

Types of Travel Documents

Prior to 2003, there were two different types of US travel document book. The two types of travel document, the Permit to Reenter the United States and the Refugee Travel Document, were issued as passport-style books. Reentry Permits had a white cover, while Refugee Travel Documents had a blue cover. (It was a lighter blue than the navy covers of US passports, so it could easily be distinguished from a citizen's passport.) Both types of travel document were issued by the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), which was part of the Department of Justice.

In 2003, the INS was dissolved, and immigration services were moved over to the new Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services (BCIS), part of the new Department of Homeland Security. BCIS streamlined the application procedure for travel documents and began issuing both types of the document as a single style of book. This new book had a green cover, and was simply labeled "Travel Document."

Although the BCIS is now known as the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), and the Travel Document's Cover is now more blue than green, the rules surrounding travel documents remain the same. All of the travel documents discussed below can be applied for using government form I-131.

Reentry Permit

Reentry Permits are formally known as Form I-327, Permit to Reenter the United States. They are issued to people living in the United States as permanent residents or conditional permanent residents. Once issued, the Reentry Permit is valid for two years. It can't be renewed, but you can apply for a new one when it expires.

For people like Enes Kanter, who are not able to get a passport from their home country, a Reentry Permit can be used just like a passport for international travel purposes. You can even use it to get visas!

Reentry Permits can also be issued to people who do have valid passports for their home country. If you are a lawful permanent resident of the US, and you need to travel outside the US for an extended period of time, you may want to get a Reentry Permit. Otherwise, if you are out of the US for a long period of time (usually a year or more), you might lose your permanent resident status.

Refugee Travel Document

People who have come to the United States as refugees seeking asylum are especially unlikely to be able to get passport services from their home country. Perhaps your country does not have diplomatic relations with the United States and thus doesn't have an Embassy here where you can apply for a passport. Maybe your country doesn't have a functional government due to civil war or other events. Perhaps your country would refuse to issue you a passport because you are a political dissident. Refugee Travel Documents (Form I-571) are the answer to all these situations.

Like Reentry Permits, Refugee Travel Documents can be used just like a passport. They are only valid for one year, though, and are only issued to people who have refugee or asylee status, or who have become permanent residents after entering the US as a refugee.

Although Enes Kanter has had his passport canceled due to his political activity, he would not qualify for a Refugee Travel Document. This is because he was already a permanent resident of the US, and he didn't come here as a refugee — he came here to play basketball!

Advance Parole Document

The final type of travel document issued to non-US citizens is not a passport-style document at all. Form I-131 is also used for applications for Advance Parole. Advance Parole documents are issued to non-US citizens who are not permanent residents, but who are seeking to adjust their status to become a permanent resident. In order to apply for Advance Parole, you need to have a valid passport from your country of citizenship. Advance Parole is used if you are in the US, waiting to gain "green card" status, but you want to travel internationally. The Advance Parole document gives you permission to travel outside the US without giving up your request to become a permanent resident.

Source: https://passportinfo.com/non-us-citizen-travel-documents/

What Happens to Valid Visas in Old Passports?

Globetrotting friends, have you ever faced the problem of having a valid visa in a passport you need to renew? By the time your passport is out of visa pages or close to the expiration date, you may have collected quite a few visas. When you have long-term visas to visit other countries, it seems like a shame to give them up when your passport is cancelled!

The good news is that some of the valid visas in your old passport may still be of use. Read on to learn more about what happens to the valid visas in cancelled or expired passports!

The General Rule About Valid Visas in Old Passports

In general, when your passport expires or is cancelled, all the visas inside it are automatically cancelled as well. Unless you have specific confirmation that you can use a visa in an old passport, assume that any visas in your old passport are not valid for travel. Better to be safe than sorry! You don’t want to fly halfway around the world only to find out that your visa is no good.

However, there are a few important exceptions to the rule that you can’t use valid visas in old passports. Several countries that issue long-term multiple entry visas to US citizens have special rules that may allow you to use the visa in your old passport.

Brazil Visas

Brazil is one of the rare countries in the Americas that requires visas for US citizens to visit. The good news is that if you’re visiting for tourism or business meetings, you will be granted a visa valid for ten years with multiple entries. (If you are visiting for other reasons, like volunteering or doing technical work, you may be granted a shorter duration on your visa.)

Your Brazil visa will be valid starting on the day it is issued, and you’ll be able to enter Brazil as many times as you like while it is valid. You can stay up to 90 days on each entry, for a maximum of 180 days per year.

Since the visas are issued for 10 years, and US passports are valid for 10 years, it’s inevitable that your passport will need to be renewed before your Brazil visa expires. But that’s no problem! You can keep using your Brazil visa until the day it expires. You will need to carry both passports with you when you travel – your new passport, and your old passport with the Brazil visa.

China Visas

In recent years, the Chinese government has also moved toward issuing 10 year visas to US citizens as a matter of course. If you’re visiting China for business or tourism, you’ll likely be granted a multiple entry visa that is valid for a full ten years. You may be granted a short-term visa if your passport is close to expiring, though.

Now that ten year China visas are available to US citizens, it’s great that China has followed the example of Brazil. They, too, allow you to keep using your valid Chinese visa even after your passport has been renewed. You will need to carry both passports with you when you travel. They do have one specific rule, however: all of your personally identifying information has to be the same on both passports. This means that if you change your name when you renew your passport, you can’t use the Chinese visa on your old passport. It also means that if you have dual citizenship, you can’t use the Chinese visa on your old US passport if you are traveling on your non-US passport.

Just to make sure everyone knows the rules, the Chinese consulates even stick a note into your passport when you get a new visa!

India Visas

Like China and Brazil, India is another popular destination that offers long-term visas to US citizens. Tourists who apply for an Indian visa to be stamped into their passport will be issued a multiple entry visa valid for 10 years. Business travelers aren’t automatically granted long-term visas, but they are eligible to apply for an Indian business visa valid for one, five, or even ten years.

If you’ve got a valid visa for India in your cancelled or expired passport, you actually have two options to continue to use it. One option is to travel carrying both your old and new passports, just the way you would for Brazil or China. Your other option is a little more complicated up front, but might be easier in the long run. You can apply for a visa transfer to have your remaining visa validity stamped into your new passport. Visa transfers are applied for just like any other visa. You’ll need to fill out a new visa application, and submit your passport, a new photograph, and all the normal supporting documentation. The big difference is that the consular fee for a visa transfer is a lot lower than getting a brand new visa! The nice thing about a visa transfer is that you don’t have to fuss with carrying two passports when you travel.

Other Countries

The majority of the other countries in the world do not allow you to use visas that are in an expired or cancelled passport. If you want to check on the validity of any of the visas in your old passport, you can start by looking on the website of that country’s embassy in Washington, DC. If you can’t find an answer there, you can try calling the embassy, or check with a reputable visa expediting company like RushMyTravelVisa.com or G3 Global Services.

Source: https://passportinfo.com/valid-visas-in-expired-old-passports/

Update: US Soon to Revoke Passports for Tax Debt

In December 2015, we brought you the news of a new law regarding passports and tax debt. This law, which allows the US State Department to deny or revoke passports if the traveler owes taxes to the Federal Government, is about to come into force.

This law won’t affect the vast majority of travelers. But if you owe federal tax debt of $50,000 or more, you could soon find yourself without a passport!

The IRS has just released detailed information about the tax debt and passport law, and how it will be enforced. Let’s take a look at the most important details.

The IRS Will “Certify” Citizens with Tax Debt

The IRS is currently going through their records to identify individuals with major outstanding tax debt. They are looking for people who:

• Owe more than $50,000 in unpaid Federal taxes.
• Have had a federal tax lien filed or a levy issued.
• Are not in the process of paying back or negotiating their tax debt.

People who meet these criteria will be “certified” and will have their names and Social Security Numbers sent to the State Department.

How Will I Know If I’ve Been Certified?

If you are on the certification list, the IRS will notify you by mail. They will send an official form to your last known address to let you know that the State Department has been informed of your tax debt. This form is known as Notice CP 508C. It will include a phone number you can call for more information about your case.

Does Being Certified Mean My Passport is Automatically Revoked?

IRS certification doesn’t mean that your passport is immediately cancelled. It’s still up to the State Department to make the determination to revoke your passport. They have the right to cancel your passport immediately, with no grace period.

What Happens If I Apply for a Passport After Being Certified?

If you are on the IRS certification list for your tax debt, and you apply for a passport, your application won’t automatically be rejected. Instead, the US Department of State will hold your application for 90 days to give you time to resolve your debt. If you haven’t paid off your debt or entered into a payment plan within that 90 days, your application will be rejected. You won’t be able to get a passport until after your debt has been addressed.

How Can I Get Off the Tax Certification List?

After you’ve been certified as a “seriously delinquent” tax debtor, you’ll have to deal with your debt before you can get a passport.

If you believe that you were certified in error, you have the right to file suit in US Tax Court or US District Court. The court will order that your certification be reversed if you win your case.

The simplest way to get off the certification list is to pay off your tax debt! Can’t afford to pay your full debt at once? You can work out a payment plan to pay in installments. Alternately, you can negotiate an “offer in compromise” to settle your debt.

Please note that you can’t get off the certification list just by paying your debt down below the $50,000 mark. You’ll need to either pay it all off, or have arrangements in place to satisfy the whole debt.

The tax debt wasn’t your own? If you’ve been certified because of your spouse’s tax debt, you can file for “innocent spouse” relief.

We recommend that you seek the services of a qualified tax attorney to help you resolve your tax debt!

What Happens When My Certification is Reversed?

You’ll be notified by mail when your certification is reversed. The IRS will mail you Notice CP 508R to let you know that you are no longer on the certification list.

The IRS may take up to 30 days to reverse your certification and notify the State Department after your debt is cleared.

Once you’ve gotten Notice CP 508R, you are free to apply for a new passport.

What If I Need a Passport Urgently?

If you have received notification that you’ve been certified by the IRS, you can continue to use your passport until the State Department notifies you that your passport has been revoked. Not sure if your passport has been revoked or not? You can call the National Passport Information Center at 877-487-2778 to confirm your passport status.

You can contact the Department of State at the number listed on Notice CP 508C if you have urgent passport needs. You may be able to have your current passport adjusted to a limited validity passport that you can use for urgent travel.

Once you have cleared your debt, you can call the phone number listed on your certification notice if you need to have a passport issued on an emergency basis.

Source: https://passportinfo.com/us-passports-revoked-for-tax-debt/

Passport Mistakes You Won’t Believe!

If you’re a follower of PassportInfo.com, you know to avoid the most common passport mistakes. You’ve learned which mistakes to avoid on your passport application. You know what not to do with your valid passport. You are careful to keep your passport safe from damage.

If only everyone knew as much about passports as you now do!

We’ve reviewed the news and found plenty of stories of truly unbelievable passport mistakes. Read on for tales of passport mistakes made by governments, airlines, and even travel experts!

Government Passport Mistakes

 

The vast majority of times, when new passports are issued, they are printed correctly. However, it does happen every once in a while that a mistake is made! We have seen passports issued with errors like misspelled names, incorrect expiration dates, and the wrong state of birth listed. If your passport is ever issued with an error, you can have it corrected free of charge within the first year after it is issued. But don’t delay! If you want to correct a mistake on a US passport that was issued more than one year ago, you’ll have to apply for a passport renewal instead and pay the full government fee.

Most passport mistakes are pretty mundane, but these printing mistakes were major enough to make the news!

Toddler’s Passport Issued With The Wrong Photo

 

A British mother took her story to the news after UK Passport Agency officials “laughed off” her concern that her son’s passport was issued with another boy’s photo on it. Lewis Killingworth, age 2, had been issued a passport with the photo of a different boy, who appeared to be at least two or three years older than Lewis!

After his mother made further complaints, little Lewis was issued a corrected passport so that he could join his family on a vacation to Spain.

Man’s Passport Photo Looks Like Hitler

 

Our next tale of passport printing errors also comes from the United Kingdom. British citizen Stuart Boyd applied for a new passport so he could take a trip to celebrate his 50th birthday. When his new passport was delivered, he was appalled to discover that the scanned photo printed on to his passport made him look like Hitler! Boyd is clean-shaven, but a printing error gave him what appeared to be a Hitler-like mustache.

Boyd contacted the Passport Office and was able to have a new passport issued free of charge… but only after he’d posted his passport photo to Facebook, and had his story picked up by the media!

What Good is an Old Passport?

If you are renewing your passport for the first time, you might wonder what will happen with your old passport. The old passport you submitted with your passport renewal request will be marked cancelled, even if it is already expired, and it will be returned to you. Passport books can be marked cancelled with a stamp or by having holes punched in the cover. If you also submitted a passport card, it will be cancelled by having one corner snipped off. Don’t be surprised if your cancelled passport arrives in the mail after your new passport, in a separate envelope.

What should I do with my Cancelled Passport?

You might think that it’s a good idea to shred or destroy your old passport, the way that you cut up your old credit card when you get a new one. Don’t do it! Hold on to your cancelled passport. Store it in a safe place – you may want to store it in a different location than your valid passport.

Your old passport, even though you can’t use it for travel, is still a useful document. Here are some of the reasons you should keep your old passport.