Travel to Mexico with Home country passport- is it dangerous?

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Mauricio22

Registered Users (C)
I applied to a visa to visit Mexico and it should take more than 2 weeks, and I won't have time to wait because my flight and vacation is already planed. Does anybody know if I would have any trouble if I used my home country's passport ( I don't need a visa if I use that one) and come back to the US with my Refugee Travel Document?

Thank you so much,
 
Mauricio22 said:
I applied to a visa to visit Mexico and it should take more than 2 weeks, and I won't have time to wait because my flight and vacation is already planed. Does anybody know if I would have any trouble if I used my home country's passport ( I don't need a visa if I use that one) and come back to the US with my Refugee Travel Document?

Thank you so much,
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It would be very dangerous, especially if you are still an asylee whose I-485 has not been approved yet.
 
Mauricio22 said:
when i come back to the US?
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When you return or at any point thereafter (including your adjustment interview (I recently had one) and citizenship interview).
 
do they check stamps,etc in your RTD?

also do you know of any links tthat describes the procedures at the point of entry of what they do to check where we went?
 
thankful said:
It would be very dangerous, especially if you are still an asylee whose I-485 has not been approved yet.
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what if you've been approved and have your green card?
 
asylee22 said:
also do you know of any links tthat describes the procedures at the point of entry of what they do to check where we went?
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well, your ticket is a link. Also, they will look at where did you go. If you don't have any stamps in your passport, it could be suspicious. Also, when you board the plane, you board with your passport. They record the passport number. If you switch it, on the other end they will know.
just my few cents ...
 
Mauricio22 said:
I applied to a visa to visit Mexico and it should take more than 2 weeks, and I won't have time to wait because my flight and vacation is already planed. Does anybody know if I would have any trouble if I used my home country's passport ( I don't need a visa if I use that one) and come back to the US with my Refugee Travel Document?
Thank you so much,
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If Mexico is your home country, then you might be in trouble going there one way or another while in the asylum status. But if you just go there on vacation, then it won’t be a problem using your national passport to enter the Mexico and your refugee document to come back to US.
My friend did this. He went to one of the eastern European country (neighboring with his own) with his valid national passport without a visa. When he boarded a pane back to the US he had to show both passports: his national – because they wanted to check again for a valid visa (in his case he didn’t need one) and when they asked if he has a green card or anything valid to came come back to US, he showed his RTD and the airport security stamped it with the exit stamp. At US borders he only showed his RTD. Got new I-94, nobody asked any questions.
 
Peach said:
If Mexico is your home country, then you might be in trouble going there one way or another while in the asylum status. But if you just go there on vacation, then it won’t be a problem using your national passport to enter the Mexico and your refugee document to come back to US.
My friend did this. He went to one of the eastern European country (neighboring with his own) with his valid national passport without a visa. When he boarded a pane back to the US he had to show both passports: his national – because they wanted to check again for a valid visa (in his case he didn’t need one) and when they asked if he has a green card or anything valid to came come back to US, he showed his RTD and the airport security stamped it with the exit stamp. At US borders he only showed his RTD. Got new I-94, nobody asked any questions.
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your friend was very lucky. you should not travel with 2 passports (or travel documents). This is illegal and you can have many problems. Again, you can have 2 passports, but use only one on one travel. They keep track of every passenger and their passport number. If you board one plane with one and then go to the next one with the new document, they can legally detain you. Lucky it was a not too educated airport security guy. I know many people that did this, but I also know some that got stuck ... So, whatever you do, be careful and be prepare to accept responsibility, just in case something goes wrong.
 
how ironic

that I could not board a Delta Airlines flight back in June BECAUSE i DID NOT HAVE A HOME COUNTRY PASSPORT, JUST AN RTD. They said that they have seen RTD holders, but they always had passports in addition. I just wanted to cry (and did after 1 hour of harrasment and almost missing my flight).

You can certainly count on encountering ignorant people everywhere....
 
Nofreedom, where it says that travel with two passports is illegal?

nofreedom said:
your friend was very lucky. you should not travel with 2 passports (or travel documents). This is illegal and you can have many problems. Again, you can have 2 passports, but use only one on one travel. They keep track of every passenger and their passport number. If you board one plane with one and then go to the next one with the new document, they can legally detain you. Lucky it was a not too educated airport security guy. I know many people that did this, but I also know some that got stuck ... So, whatever you do, be careful and be prepare to accept responsibility, just in case something goes wrong.
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Some embassies won’t even issue you a visa, if you present them with your RTD. And some will ask for too many supporting documents, which might take you months to get. On the other hand – the same countries might not required visas for US passport holders and to the neighboring countries passport holders. That’s one reason why many people use two passports. Because it’s easy and less expensive.
Also: coming back to US it is only a half of the problem. The other half – travel back to the country you abandoned (due to prosecution) with your refugee travel document. They look at you like you some sort of a traitor. And this is another reason why many people use two passports – to have a peace of mind and less questions while on vacation. I know many people, who live in US for a long time and was afraid to go back before they got naturalized.
This summer I had some troubles to cash my Travelers checks, because stupid people in a bank didn’t know what country issued my RTD and why in my picture I looked sideways instead of straight, like in everybody else’s passports. :eek:
Although people in the airport, in my home country, treated me surprisingly nice and didn’t ask any questions.
When you travel abroad you can use your national passport if it’s still valid. Nobody stopping you. You need your RTD only like a proof that you can be admitted back into US. But this is only my opinion....
 
i also don't think it's ilegal to travel with 2 passports

this involves people who are NOT refugees or asylees:
My friends who are brazilian/americans DO TRAVEL with 2 PASSPORTS.And nobody ever detained them. They use 2 passports because Brazil currently requires a VISA for US Citizens- so does the US for Brazilians ( of course). So, they use their Brazilian Passport to enter Brazil - without a visa; and then the American Passport to enter the US- also without a VISA ( THEY DO THAT EVEN WITH THEIR KIDS). And that has never been a crime. I THINK THIS IS A FORUM TO GET TRUSTFUL INFORMATION ABOUT IMIGRATION, AND ISSUES THAT PEOPLE'S LIVES DEPEND ON. I AM NOT SURE ABOUT IF IT'S A CRIME TO TRAVEL WITH 2 PASSPORTS, BUT I WOULD BET IT'S NOT.
 
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