Passport to return to the US???
 

This is my problem....

I live in the US and I came to Brazil to visit family here and I got into the country without an American passport because I was born here abroad. I am an American citizen as well as a Brazilian citizen. All I had to do was show them my Brazilian passport(which was expired but still worked) and I was fine. But now the problem... I do not have my American passport with me but I do have my valid drivers license and a copy of my birth certificate stating I am an American citizen..... Can I get back into the US with these 2 things or am I going to have problems...? Please someone help, my flight is on the 27th....

I think it would be a good idea to check it out with the US Embassy. Since you have your birth certificate I think it would be Ok, but you don't want to get sent back for any reason at the airport. Good luck.

Definitely go to the Embassy or a consulate. You are going to have a difficult time getting back on an expired Brazilian passport.

I would call both your airline and the US government. Either could prevent your return (airline - not let you on the plane in Brazil and gov't - not let you in the country after the flight).

Ask a U.S. embassy or consulate. U.S. immigration will not let you into the country from Brazil without a valid passport, period. It doesn't matter that you're a U.S. citizen. The birth certificate and driver's license thing only works for Canada and Mexico, and even that will come to an end eventually. As far as the U.S. looks at it, travel to Brazil has always required a passport. Well, maybe once upon a time it didn't, but certainly for years it has.

Yikes, that is a problem. Let us know how it turns out.

....yea it does sound like a problem... looks like I am going to have to go the consulate ASAP and apply for another passport and hopefully I can pay a fee or something to get it accelerated because I called today and they told me it would take 15 business days to get it back which is over a month from now..... I dont know whats going to happen but I will let you all know later on tomorrow. Thanks everyone for your help!!!!! Very appreciated!!

Can someone back in the US send you your passport? You could get your Brazilian passport renewed and then get an American visa as a last resort if your stuck in Brazil for any length of time

I have no idea where my passport is in the US which sucks...I should of thought of this problem before....and
im in the process of getting my Brazilian passport renewed also. How would I get an American Visa??? I have dual citizenship......Damn this is gonna take some work.....

You really need to talk with the U.S. government asap!

I can't believe they will let you re-enter the country without a passport (either United States or Brazilian, current not expired).

You would apply to the U.S. embassy or consulate in Brazil for a visa. The standard application fee for citizens of most countries here in Latin America is $100. That's just a processing fee with no guarantee that you'll be granted the visa. You would have to jump through the same hoops as any Brazilian citizen applying, meaning you'd need to demonstrate an intent to return to Brazil and not to stay in the U.S. And that would seem to be the problem to me: a tourist visa would not allow you to remain in the U.S. I'd think getting a new U.S. passport would be the best option, even if it means delaying your return to the U.S.

But I'm not an expert in these matters. This is beyond the scope of anyone on this board. I'd say you need to contact the consulate, explain everything and ask them what your best option is. I'm sure they will be puzzled how you were able to enter Brazil without a current passport, but they're the only ones who can tell you what to do.

I don't think you are allowed to get a tourist visa to go back to the US. Even if you could in Sao Paulo and Rio it takes two months to get a interview.

If you can go to the consulate in person they may be able to expedite this passaport for you. Without it the airline won't even allow you to get onto the airplane to go back.

Yea I think you can get it expedited for an extra fee of USD$30 but it just so happens that on Fridays the Consulate does not do passport work........got to wait unitl Monday now.... also thanks again for everyones help!!!

"I have no idea where my passport is in the US which sucks...I should of thought of this problem before"

Yes, you should have. Just out of curiosity, what were you thinking when you left the country with nothing but an expired passport? Seriously, was there some reason you didn't take your US passport, especially since the US requires dual nationals to use their US passport to reenter? And did you fly, and the airlines let you board with an expired passport? And didn't Brazilian immigration notice that your passport was expired? Do they accept an expired passport as proof of citizenship, (which would be odd)? Sorry, but this makes very little sense to me.

I am not an expert, but I don't think you can apply for a turist visa since you do hold US citezenship. If you lie on your application and withhold the information about you real US status, that could backfire big time if they find out.
Why don't you call US consulate/embassy and just ask them what your actions should be? I am sure they would be able to give you the right information. We can guess and speculate on this forum but you need first hand info from right people in the consulate.
Good luck

I'm with KT. What airline/airport let you on the plane?

TAM airlines(which is a brazilian airline) let me on the plane with an expired brazilian passport and someone told me before I came here that I could get back into the US with a birth certificate and valid drivers license. I should have checked the evidence...not like Mexico...but too late now... just have to get another passport here...

You will need to get a new brazilian passport in order to leave the country. Immigrations allows you to enter the country, but not leave it.
It seems that you got your way with the US Consulate, and you might also consider having a travel authorization letter from the consulate, which is usually faster just in case you are running out of time, but as from the info I have it should be more expensive. Check with the consulate for this possibility as well.

Hope it helps.

Regards,

And yes, forget about the tourist visa. No way for you to get one. By the time you get your citizenship, you are not allowed to get a tourist visa, by the simple fact that you are a citizen of the US.

Travel authorization letter?? That sounds good, I have to ask the consulate about that...hopefully they can do that since my actual flight is suppose to be on the 27th... thanks everyone!!