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T. Y.
Zythos festival and all points in between.
Sateing my travel bug while I still can.
Into amsterdam no problems. Glad I kept my passport. Beautiful and sunny here.
Received my cerfified letter from the State Department saying my Passport (and passport card) are both revoked. The letter was dated April 16th, about a week after we returned from Europe.
I guess I should be thankful it happened after we got back and not before we left, but it is still very depressing.
Does anyone know if the pending lawsuit were to be successful, is there any chance my passport could be re-instated? They want me to return my passport immediately, but I’m sure I could hold off a little bit.
Glad JM of Wi got out in time. His trip should be okay.
@MikeG I feel really bad for you.
May I ask you what type of conviction you had? Misdemeanor or Felony?
And how long ago was your conviction?
@mike g
Sorry to hear about passport revocation. Guess mine will come shortly. I’m traveling with a friend with a passport with an identifier. He’s had no problems yet. Hope that’s good news for the both of us.
What is happening to the IML lawsuit? I have not heard or seen since it was filed, than it was addressing only the technically of procedures. Is there any court dates, etc. ?
Just got back from Canada (I’m a dual citizen). This was my first time giving a 21 day notice. This is also the first time I’ve been pulled into secondary going to Canada using my Canadian Passport. They must send a real generic notice that says we are some kind of fugitive or something. The guys at the Canadian border were totally confused as to why I was flagged. To expedite the process I just told them why I thought I was flagged. They said it made it much faster than having to search and after some basic questions I was on my way. On the return to the US they pissed me off pretty badly. We were waiting for over an hour in secondary and when I stepped away to go to the bathroom they asked my wife if she knew what I was arrested for. I didn’t even think it was legal for them to divulge this kind of information without my permission. She knew, obviously, so not a big deal. Foiled again, DHS. I think the more they “cry wolf” to other countries the less impact it will have over time when they send these notices. Hopefully…
Worried….to say the least. I came into this discussion late, better later than never may have saved me; from my reading of your extremely helpful posts.
I was charged in 2012 and received 14 days in jail, 5 years of supervision and was subject to registry. My supervision was completed this past December (2017).
So my significant other and I thought we would go to Europe in June to visit my son who lives in Germany.
We are flying into PARIS, spend time in Paris then take train to Germany to stay with my son and his wife. To end our travel we had plans to fly to LONDON (via Ryan Air) spend the weekend in London and then fly back to US from LONDON.
First and foremost, thank you for the “heads up” on the 21 day notice. I will be filing that in a couple weeks.
Secondly, am I correct that I am NOT ALLOWED into LONDON?
Lastly, what other tips or suggestions would you all have for a 1st time INTERNATIONAL traveler on the registry?
Thank you in advance.
AD
i seen this i don’t know about if your green card noticed if you can still move here
https://qz.com/1260489/the-easiest-places-in-the-world-to-get-citizenship-or-residency-if-youre-rich/
Here you go folks, here is what an IL gent faced when his passport was revoked after getting home from international travel (copy of the letter he received after traveling can be read in the article):
Passport revoked (https://narsol.org/2018/04/passport-revoked/)
There are still a lot of unanswered questions regarding the Certified Mail Notification that a Passport has been revoked.
Is this correct- SOME RSO’s but NOT ALL RSO’s have received the Certified Mail Notification that their Passport has been revoked, upon their return back to the United States, or prior to leaving the United States?
To date, I have only seen 1 instance where Mike G received the Notification of Revocation after he had already returned to the United States. Is this correct?
The other 2 published instances occurred prior to RSO’s leaving the United States. I believe these 2 occurrences involve the 2 Plaintiffs in the IML Lawsuit.
I’m traveling to mexico in July I have (new passport American) but I also have a (Mexican passport) since a was born in mexico I hope they will let me in to mexico last time in 2015 a was denied entry I’m no longer in the Registry do I still have to give the 21 day notice or is just not necessary ? if they let me pass i will give more detail of the trip
@CR and TS: It does seems contrary to the stated intent of the IML for the State Department to knowingly allow an “identifier-eligible” registrant to travel first, then revoke his/her passport upon return. How does that protect the children of the country he/she just returned from visiting?? Apparently, “protect the children” is a red herring and the true intent is further punishment for past paid-for offenses.
Indeed. If they are going to wait until AFTER I return from my next overseas trip, why not just wait until my current passport expires as there as clearly no rush to “protect the children.”
How to Determine if your Passport has been Revoked:
“I think just calling and asking if there is a problem with your passport, and you need not give them more information than that.”
I called the National Passport Information Center: 1-877-487-2778
They’re saying you actually need to send a written letter by postal mail:
US Dept of State
Office of Law Enforcement Laison
44132 Mercure Circle
PO Box 1227
Sterling, VA 20166-1227
Does anyone know of any other way to determine if in fact that a Passport has been revoked?
@PK: I think you are jumping the gun. Have you considered those instances in which passports have been revoked? From everything I have seen/read, the individual receives a Certified letter from the State Department stating that their passport has been revoked. And these letters have, to the best of my knowledge, all been received AFTER the person has returned from their overseas travel. It seems pretty clear that it is an individual’s overseas travel that triggers the revocation. Apparently, the State Department is not going to hunt down all the many passports that may have been issued to registrants – instead, they are waiting to be notified that a registrant is actually using a passport to travel overseas. (Why should they waste their time revoking the passport of someone who doesn’t even travel?)
Thank you everyone for responding. Sharing your experience is VERY beneficial.
FYI – we have decided to AVOID London. We are now flying into PARIS…staying for 4-5 days…then train to Germany…then drive to Switzerland…flying back to ATLANTA from ZURICH.
MIKE G – you wrote…
“You didn’t mention if your offense involved a Minor. If it didn’t, the IML with its 21 day notice doesn’t apply to you. Also, in that case, since your offense was over 5 years ago, and your sentence was short, the customs officer in London can let you in at his own discretion.
However, if your offense did involve a Minor, you do need to give the 21 day notice. Flying into Paris is no problem, but if you try to get into London, they will scan your passport, and I think they will deny you entry. Whether they will send you back where your flight just came from, or allow you to just fly on to the US, I don’t know. Also, your passport will likely be revoked after you get back.”
Let me tell you…my offense was possession of child porn. I pleaded guilty to 1-count in December of 2012. I was sentenced to 14 days in county jail (with daily work release 6AM-6PM) and 5 years of probation. Sentence was completed in December of 2017.
I have a couple more questions:
1. Does IML consider my charge with a “minor”?
2. You mentioned that “since your offense was over 5 years ago and your sentence was short”; does that allow me to avoid IML travel restrictions to UK and IRELAND?
I stumbled upon this blog and thought it well done. My apologies if the link has already been posted before.
Someone actually gets it!
https://professional-troublemaker.com/2017/11/06/no-sex-offenders-shouldnt-get-marked-passports/
“Does anyone know of any other way to determine if in fact that a Passport has been revoked?”
I actually called the passport information center, and they indicated to me that the only way to determine if a passport is not valid, is to write a letter to the State Department Law Division, and specifically ask them if your passport has been revoked.
From what I can tell there is no online system to verify one’s passport.
It would probably would be good to know, if anyone has any other information about how to determine if a passport is valid.
Travel report–
Passing into Netherlands after 21 day notice with identifier on passport and without identifier was the same. (traveled with several friends). Reentering US was also the same. 2ndary less than 1 minute wait. For me, 5 minutes for a friend with marked passport. I will report back if the travel brings on revocation in the following weeks…
Note; I realized this trip how many times my passport was asked for. All hotels, Train, Casino… nice to still have my passport card. Using the passport is cumbersome and will eventually be both embarrassing and potentially dangerous.
@ PK,
No, when I spoke with the official from the State Department, it was when IML had just gone into effect. It was not a question about my own passport, but rather, it was a general question of what happens when a passport is revoked and what is USDOS procedure for revoking a passport. He told me that the procedure was that USDOS sends a certified letter to the passport holder notifying them that their passport has been revoked (effective as of the date of that letter, I assume). He said a passport is not instantaneously revoked (i.e., it is not instantly revoked just before your overseas flight lifts off from a U.S. runway.)
Appeals court ruled that cellphones cannot be searched at border without cause. I assume just having a prior conviction is not enough cause given details of this case. Would be great to know the real impact and what RSO can and cannot do/expect in secondary screening. Assume this also includes computers too.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/court-says-border-agents-need-suspicion-to-search-cellphones/2018/05/09/7d8ef8c0-53d4-11e8-a6d4-ca1d035642ce_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.4a47f750e0ac
Hi guys,
I’m a Canadian and had my passport revoked on me in February…
I have since hired a immigration lawyer to get it back,we work very hard to submit them information on why i’m not a risk of offending abroad..I am just waiting on their response to the revocation.
They also said they would issue a green notice in my name base on the same reason why i got my passport revoked…Now my lawyer is working on the Green notice and from i’m seeing the goverment is breaking so many of our rights doing this…I’ts absurd!!…
If a person is no longer required to be on the registry and wants to travel internationally, does that person still have to comply with the IML of giving a 21 day advance notification and also getting this crazy passport?
Travel report UPDATE:
I posted the below on April 25 after returning from Europe. I have not yet received a letter from the State Dept revoking my passport, though now that I’ve said it it will probably come today.
Please note that I was pulled aside after a flight WITHIN SCHENGEN COUNTRIES. While it ended up ok, that’s still a scary escalation.
********
Just got back from Spain. This is the first time I’ve had to give my full itinerary (change of rules in my Sorna compliant state to give all itinerary information as of this year). I used to just give my outbound flight info to the first destination outside the US.
No issue at passport control in Germany (same as always). But when I got off my flight from Germany to Spain, Spanish customs was looking for me. They were checking all passports as people got off the plane and when they got to mine, they nodded at each other and escorted me to customs inspection. They stopped looking at any other passports so they were def looking for me. ON AN INTRA-SCHENGEN FLIGHT.
one guy xrayed my luggage but looked no further. The other guy had my passport and disappeared. First guy asked me how long I was staying, what hotel, etc. I’d put all that on my 21 day notice but they didn’t seem to have that info. He was extremely friendly and my impression was he was mystified why they had to pull me out. He was not treating me with suspicion. A couple minutes later he went and got my passport and said, have a nice trip. (I thought I was on my way home for sure!!)
Sooooo, I’ve been in Europe 3-4x per year for business for years. For the rest of the trip I was worried the local Spanish cops would show up at my hotels. But that never happened and my departure from Spain was no issue, and transit through Germany with passport control no issue as always (on the way home).
I wonder what the Spanish guys would have said if I’d had the pretty RC notice on the endorsements page?