how much foreign visa fee have you saved after becoming US citizen?

T

TwoScoops

New Member
This just occured to me... :) Guess it's just one of the benefits of
becoming a US citizen... :D

With my home country's passport, I have to get visas when I visit most
countries. (Schengen visa, for example) Looking at the old visas in my
current passport, I estimate that I must have spent nearly $1000 in visa
fees to those countries in the last 6 years.

Once I become a US citizen, I will then be able to travel to those same
countries visa-free. This means I'll probably save a bundle of money.
(just picture me saying this in the Geico gecko's voice :D )

For those of you who have already become US citizens, how much
money have you saved so far? (in visa fees) :)

Thanks! :)
 
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MartinAub said:
None,

just getting cats across borders is very expensive as I just found out - more then visa cost.
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Well, yes and no... It depends on which countries are involved.

I brought my cat from my home country to the US. I only had
to get a health certificate from the vet(about USD$50)... plus
about USD$175 for the airline(kitty had to travel in her own
cage in the cargo compartment) When I arrived in the US,
the airline employee brought the cat to me in the baggage
claim area. The US Customs agent didn't even bother looking
inside the cage to see what I was carrying... he only said
"you got a pet in there? Welcome to America" :) The poor
kitty had to endure a 14-hour nonstop flight.... fortunately,
the captain assured me that he made sure the cargo
compartment was nice and warm during the flight... :)

In fact, it is much, much harder to bring a cat from the US
into my home country. The reason is that the US is not a
rabies-free zone. My home country is a rabies-free zone.
All animals from the US must be quarantined for up to 120
days in customs before being allowed in... :(
 
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Yep,

got my guys fresh shorts and they get the RFID chip soon. I am pissed at the airline because they allow only one in the cabine. A reason to dump the airline after I burned my miles.

Likely another two weeks for me, then it's over.
 
MartinAub said:
Yep,

got my guys fresh shorts and they get the RFID chip soon. I am pissed at the airline because they allow only one in the cabine. A reason to dump the airline after I burned my miles.

Likely another two weeks for me, then it's over.
Click to expand...

What do you mean by the last sentence? :confused:
What's going to be "over" in two weeks? :eek:
 
I will save none, the countries that I could travel to without a visa on my old passport are the same as on the US passport. The only headache removed for me is being asked how long I was out. Anyone care to tell what the USCIS border agent says for returning US citizens?


TwoScoops said:
This just occured to me... :) Guess it's just one of the benefits of
becoming a US citizen... :D

With my home country's passport, I have to get visas when I visit most
countries. (Schengen visa, for example) Looking at the old visas in my
current passport, I estimate that I must have spent nearly $1000 in visa
fees to those countries in the last 6 years.

Once I become a US citizen, I will then be able to travel to those same
countries visa-free. This means I'll probably save a bundle of money.
(just picture me saying this in the Geico gecko's voice :D )

For those of you who have already become US citizens, how much
money have you saved so far? (in visa fees) :)

Thanks! :)
Click to expand...
 
Something like "Welcome home". It's nice to hear that.

I am also saving $0.00. I didn't have much trouble with GC either. It gives some extra peace of mind when coming back.

I recently had a land crossing experience where I gave the passports to the U.S. border agent. He asked where we live, I answered and then there was some sort of trouble at other booth and he just told me thank you and said I could go ahead and left the booth to go to the other one. Anyway, quick and troublefree :)
 
No fee savings for me - I've only traveled internationally once since becoming a USC, and that was back to the UK, whose passport I hold anyway.
 
Some parts of the world there is hostility for the US due to the Iraq war. Have you felt hostility at foreign border immigration points when travelling on an US passport. Americans are also target for fundamentalists. Did you try to keep lower profile as an American as opposed to being xx (say Canadian)? I know some of my local friends have said they sometimes say they are Canadian because they find Americans are not much loved thanks to our Texan President.
 
Well, right now there are no savings but it cost me $275/person to get visa to be able to go back to my birthland (lifelong multiple entry visa) So for a family of 4, we are talking over $1000+. Not that I am complaining :-)
 
I pick what to call myself depending on the country. For example, I will be American in the UK, Canadian in France and Pakistani in Maldives :)

brb2 said:
I know some of my local friends have said they sometimes say they are Canadian because they find Americans are not much loved thanks to our Texan President.
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