Dual citizen travel to Russia

[chili74 0]

That is ridiculous. I can't believe USCIS told her what names she could use! Well technically, I guess I can believe it, but, wow.

Edited April 15, 2009 by chili74

[slim 1,530]

I thought you could change your name to whatever you wanted via SSA and USCIS had to suck on it. Guess I thought wrong. That sucks!

I bet, Danno, you got caught up in a "local" case. Your idea sounded solid to me and probably would work somewhere else. Different rules in different places.

[mendeleev 68]

When my former boss, a Russian citizen who now has a US passport too, goes back to Russia on business or to visit his parents, he simply enters Russia with his Russian passport and exits Russia with his American passport.

The only downside to this method of entry is that if he were to get into trouble in Russia (fat chance!) the US embassy wouldn't even make inquiries on his behalf, since he entered as a Russian.

OP might get peace of mind talking with a Russian consulate (maybe not, since it is Russia) but risks of this approach seem low.

YMMV.

[chili74 0]

Novotul, sorry, I seem incapable of quoting. Yes, I think that is what eekee and others suggested + it's a very common approach among my friends. Of course, again, it means keeping that R external passport current which is also a lot of shlepping. Edited May 9, 2009 by chili74

[eekee 182]

When my former boss, a Russian citizen who now has a US passport too, goes back to Russia on business or to visit his parents, he simply enters Russia with his Russian passport and exits Russia with his American passport.

The only downside to this method of entry is that if he were to get into trouble in Russia (fat chance!) the US embassy wouldn't even make inquiries on his behalf, since he entered as a Russian.

OP might get peace of mind talking with a Russian consulate (maybe not, since it is Russia) but risks of this approach seem low.

YMMV.

I don't think it matters how you entered. If you're a dual citizen, the US really can't help you out in Russia. Period. That's why the US discourages dual citizenship in general. And when you fill out the visa form, there are questions about whether you have ever had Russian or Soviet citizenship, and whether or not you still have this citizenship isn't really something you can lie about. I am fairly certain that the Russian consulate would deny your request to get a visa as an American citizen if you are also a Russian citizen.

External passport not current? Sucks for you, but it's part of your duty as a Russian citizen living abroad to keep it current.

Edited May 10, 2009 by eekee

[sashitaski 3]

Even after reading these posts the procedure still looks rather confusing, I think. I have read about this procedure on other sites, and it seems the procedure should look like this:

When leaving the U.S., show your Russian passport when checking in. As someone here mentioned, it is the airline who cares whether you have the proper documents to be permitted into the country you're traveling too. When going through U.S. customs, show them your U.S. passport (If you show them your Russian passport they might wonder how you were in the U.S. without a visa). U.S. customs doesn't need proof that you will be allowed entry into Russia, just that your stay in the U.S. was legal.

Enter Russia on your Russian passport.

When exiting Russia, show your American passport to the airline when checking in for the same reasons mentioned above. When going through Russian customs, show them your Russian passport, so that there won't be any visa/registration issues.

Enter the U.S. with your U.S. passport.

Good luck!

[slim 1,530]

Sounds about right!