Can I use my german passport to travel to USA or do I use my US passport?
And if I lived and worked in germany my whole life and never in the USA and never filed taxes can I enter USA without problems?
I just found out I am us citizen a few years ago don’t ask why but I’m 34 and recently traveled to US with my german passport and they were all like “wtf where is your passport” and I’m like: “Here…” and they “Yeah your american passport?!” and I’m “I’m german” and he is like: “Dude you are born on american ground you are american!”
Well they let me travel in to the states without american passport but told me to go to the embassy as soon as I arrive back in germany or else I won’t be able to enter USA again.
That being said, I done that. Now I have my american passport. But do I show both passports or only US passport? And after doing my research I found out americans file taxes every year. I haven’t done it the last 18 years of working. Should I just not file? I will never work in the USA and I will never live in the USA. Or will I get problems at the airport? Can they see I don’t file?
If you were born in the USA, lived in Germany your whole life, and only recently learned of your US citizenship, you need to seek legal advice from a German law firm or from the government. I suspect that getting your US passport was a huge mistake. You may want to contest the validity of your citizenship, as it doesn’t sound like it offers you any benefits, and might actually be a financial liability.
I don’t disagree, but why would him getting a US passport matter? Either way, he would still be a US Citizen.
Because getting the passport and traveling with it makes it pretty official. If you’ve never held a passport, it could be easier to argue that the citizenship isn’t valid at all, rather than having to go through the very expensive process of renouncing.
I don’t see why that distinction matters. The US has documentation saying OP was born in the US. That alone is enough to say he’s a citizen.
You’re saying that it doesn’t matter because the US government is able to prove his citizenship, but that isn’t in question. The crux of this matter would be whether OP was ignorant of his citizenship and if that ignorance would have any relevance to his case.
Securing official documents only available to American citizens makes it more difficult to argue that he was ignorant of his status as an American citizen. He likely could still make a compelling argument (provided he acts quickly), but it does make it a bit more difficult.
Removed by mod
Always enter and exit the US with your US passport. Not doing so is illegal.
For anything else, use your German passport, especially in the EU. That’s what I have been doing for years.
I don’t know if it is an issue for immigration, but you absolutely are required to file taxes every year and can get in trouble if you don’t. There’s a “streamlined procedure” that you can do if you’ve never filed taxes to start filing without incurring any fines or penalties.
my guy…
US citizens are obligated to enter the US on their US passport. They are also obligated to file taxes regardless of where they live. As a US citizen, you could be living on Mars for your whole life and still have to file US taxes.
You also have what, 6 years of back taxes to file? You should find a CPA with knowledge us US/German tax laws to prepare that for you. There may be treaties in place.
As someone else said, there’s also the selective service you were supposed to have registered for
I pay taxes in Germany, I earn about 40.000 € a year. So I don’t know.
I tried the IRS homepage but my english isn’t good enough to file taxes. I don’t understand much.
I am 35 years old and the lady that gave me my american passport tried to explain to me that I don’t have to sign up for selective service anymore, I am too old lol. I didn’t understand much of what she explained but she said: “it’s fine don’t sign up for it it’s for young people” and sent me out of the embassy in munich.
Selective Service is “the draft”. It’s where the country can force you into military service.
The US does not recognize dual citizenship if you are a US citizen then you must use your US passport to enter the country.
Important distinction - the US doesn’t recognize it, but it also does not forbid it. You don’t need to renounce anything, but in the eyes of the US federal government, you’re a US citizen.
If you will never live in the US, you should renounce your citizenship. This will be permanent and irrevocable, so consider it wisely. This eliminates any issue with not filing taxes while working overseas.
Is this possible? I’ve heard, that no matter what you do as an expat you’ll always have to file taxes for the US IRS.
From the point of view of the US, is renouncing citizenship even a thing? For Turkey for example it is not. You just can’t “delete” your Turkish citizenship.
deleted by creator
Leave Germany either your German passport. Enter the US with your US passport. Leave US with you US passport. Re-enter Germany with your German passport. Easy. Unless you are very wealthy the IRS aren’t going to come looking for you on a short stay.
I agree. This is what I do. Carry both in case that ask for the other.
I always carry all my passports when travelling. Gives you some options for embassies to flee to when shit hits the fan.
