Travel documents and customs! UPDATE PAGE 2!

[EsmeraldaX]

Hello fellow DIS fans. I am hoping that you might be able to help a friend of mine. She's at a loss as to what to do and I knew someone at the DISboards would be able to help.

She is getting married in the Virgin Islands on May 9th. Her & her fiancé will be flying out from Boston that weekend, getting married on the beach on the island, and returning the following week. They are both American citizens. It sounds like a wonderful and great wedding trip.

The problem she is having is this:

Her fiancé can not get a passport because according to the post office (who I'm told gladly took his $140-something) told him that he does not have enough proof that he is a citizen. Getting to the islands won't be a problem, but returning will be and they might not let him in.

He was born in Germany on an army base. Both of his parents are deceased and he has very little in the way of "proof" of his US citizenship.

He does have an actual copy of his birth certificate but it is torn and creased. The seal is also missing and so is the name of his parents. He has his dad's birth certificate and his parent's marriage license. He has most of his school records, but he does not have apparently enough to claim he is a citizen of the US.


Does anyone know if, when he returns, a voter's registration card and a marriage license is enough to clear customs? He can't get a copy of his birth certificate. The post office told him to contact INS and I suggested contacting the US army for a copy, but the wedding (which is non refundable and paid for) is coming up in less than one month and we all know how long paperwork can take

Please, please someone help. Feel free to PM me here or email me at (email address semi obscured against spammers) sjipson AT SIGN comcast.net.

Thank you all,
Sheri

 

[DMickey28]

which island is he getting married on?

 

[debster812]

I think he will have an easier time if they are getting married in the USVI versus the BVI (British).

When DH and I travelled to the BVI 12 years ago on our honeymoon, I KNOW we did not have passports, but we did have raised seal Birth Certificates, and Driver's Lic (photo ID).

I would contact the consulate (or consul general's office) of whichever island they are being married on, and find out exactly what they will need, and see if the folks there can help.

Good Luck to them!!!

 

[EsmeraldaX]

Thank you!

I know it is either St. Thomas or St. John but for the life of me, I can't recall which.

Thank you for the info and I'll get an definitive answer as to which island it is very, very soon.

Sheri

 

[Alex]

Debster's right.. he needs REAL answers from a consulate. There was a similar situation on the cruise board not that long ago and the Irish consulate told the person that if they left they risked not being able to come back to the US for years.

 

[adamak]

If it's USVI, then you're OK, I think. If it's British Virgin Island, then no. A voter's registration card + marriage license will not get you through custom. Actually without a passport, you can't even leave Boston (they check to make sure you have documentations to enter BVI, which means a passport of some sort). You either need a green card or a US passport to prove you're a US citizen.

If he cannot get his birth certificate re-printed, he should contact an immigration lawyer asap, not just the INS. Considering the amount of work INS is dealing with, they will just ask you to fill in paper, and there is no way he'll get in a month. An immigration lawyer may be able to dig out his immigration info.

Does his parents had any kind of record that prove they emmigrated here?

 

[debster812]

Will this link help any?

USVI Immigration

I thought for SURE there was a Consulate General for the USVI in Boston, but I am having a hard time finding it.

Here's another link with phone numbers for INS offices in the USVI

INS Phone Numbers

Oh, and did Alex actually say I was RIGHT?????

 

[EsmeraldaX]

Originally posted by adamak
If it's USVI, then you're OK, I think. If it's British Virgin Island, then no. A voter's registration card + marriage license will not get you through custom. Actually without a passport, you can't even leave Boston (they check to make sure you have documentations to enter BVI, which means a passport of some sort). You either need a green card or a US passport to prove you're a US citizen.

If he cannot get his birth certificate re-printed, he should contact an immigration lawyer asap, not just the INS. Considering the amount of work INS is dealing with, they will just ask you to fill in paper, and there is no way he'll get in a month. An immigration lawyer may be able to dig out his immigration info.

Does his parents had any kind of record that prove they emmigrated here?

Thanks. Unfortunately, neither of his parents are living He only has what he has

I think it's the USVI. I'm almost positive.

 

[Mskanga]

If he was born in an Army base, all he has to do is contact the Army, they should be able to tell him how to get a copy of his birth certificate.
Good luck if he goes the INS route, I have been waiting since September to get a renewal for my permanent resident card, and I have been told it will take anywhere from 12-15 months, that's for a renewal , not for an application.

 

[Kermit]

I agree that if he was born on an army base, it shouldn't be too hard to get his birth certificate. They document everything in the army. He just needs to find someone who can help him get it quickly.

 

[Alex]

kermit...did you just say quickly in a sentence referering to army paperwork?

 

[robsmom]

Years ago in college we went on a spring breack trip. One dear friend forgot that or didn't realize she needed proof of citizenship until the day before. It was a weekend and her birth certificate was locked in a safe deposit box at the bank. After a bit of panic her Mom said "don't you have you votor registration card". She did and we called the airline and it was good enough. From what I recall you have to be a citizen to vote so presumably he proved he was a citizen to get the card. Call the airline they are flying and find out what is required they will give you exact information.

 

[EsmeraldaX]

Thanks. I know he has a voter card, but I also read on a website that to get back into the US, a voter card would not work, but who knows, maybe certain airlines are not as strict?

I think in the past two-three years they've just gotten way stricter on security (which is obviously a good thing for everyone) but maybe they are starting to loosen up the ropes a little bit on people who are obviously US citizens (I mean, he has the voter card, drivers liscense, school records, parts of his BC and his dads BC).

Thanks all!

 

[Alex]

it doesn't matter what the airlines say. When he tries to reenter the country he has to face custom's and immigration and the airline has no control over what they do. Unless he has an "official" answer he would be nuts to leave the country.

 

[ennazus]

I know you don't have much time... but I have an address that might help:

Passport Services, Correspondence Branch, US Dept. of State, 1425 K St. NW, Room 386, Washington, DC 20522-1705

I'm not sure if you can get a phone number based on that address

Let us know how it turns out.

 

[gemmie214]

Can you still get a passport from the McCormack building in Boston (The FBI building)? If you can I would go directly to them and file there. They have much more info at thier fingertips than the post office.
I wonder if I cango there to get my name changed on my passport. They keep stopping me for it and I keep telling them we just got married

 

[calypso*a*go-go]

Why did he say he couldn't get a copy of his birth certificate? If his parents were a military family stationed in Germany, the Dept. of Defense should be able to help. I am assuming he has a SSN. It would also be helpful if he has his fathers SSN. At some point he should have had a military I.D. as well. He needs to get moving to get the paperwork back in time for his wedding. Otherwise, he might have a new country of residence.

 

[missypie]

Yes, the military is the way to go. A guy I dated was born on an Army base in Germany. When he needed a birth certificate as an adult he ended up with this huge fancy one with ribbons coming off it that was signed my the US Secretary of State!

 

[Mskanga]

Don't go by the voters registration card, I have a voters registration card and I am not a US citizen. Why? Because when I got my PA license one of the questions was , would you like to vote? I answered yes ( not meaning I would like to vote before I became a US citizen ) and they sent me a voters registration card. They never even checked, but I have never voted because I know I can't ( yet ).

 

[EsmeraldaX]

Thank you ALL.

I got an update and my friend took the advice gained here and got in touch with the place in Boston. They actually told him he doesn't even NEED a passport to go to the USVI but he was able to get a copy of his BC there by talking to someone who knew what they were doing. The person said he would have it within 2 weeks.

Thank you ALL so much.

Sheri