Dual Citizenship

They were presumably trying to find out what your immigration status was into the USA just from your Irish passport as they had nothing else to go on. Did you use your USA passport details in connection with your return flight?

Just curious: Did you manage to get a boarding pass for the flight back to the USA?

You didn't do what the Irish consulate advised. They said to use your US passport to enter the US. You were leaving Mexico for the US and tried to use your EU passport.

Thanks, Marco. I presented my US passport, which they immediately accepted. However, I keep the Irish passport because I
identify more with being Irish than with being American. It would make sense for the agents to ask about a Residency Card when entering the US, but not when simply boarding a plane for the US. This hyper vigilance is part of the American attitude that disturbs me. Could you explain what you mean by the "details" of my passport?

Airlines get fined huge amounts and are required to return any passenger to the point of origin for that flight at the airline's own expense if those passengers do not have the correct entry documents for the destination of any international flight. The airline only wanted to be certain you were legally allowed into the US which a EU passport does not necessarily indicate by itself. It is not just the US that does this.

I have dual citizenship and what Mark said is exactly correct.
You noted that the Irish consulate advises American citizens to use US passport for departing and entering US. This is a requirement for holders of US passports, you don't get a choice.
I disagree that this is "hyper vigilance". The airlines don't want to be stuck paying the return fare for someone who has no legal right to enter a country.
It's not unique to the US.

I'm glad you brought this up. I, too, have both USA and Irish passports. I have been afraid to use my Irish passport when entering Europe (even though their lines are shorter) from the US for fear it will bring up some sort of legal hassel. Entering with one passport & leaving on another. Or do they not care? Or not know?

My husband has dual residency with Ireland & the US. Simple solution, we always carry both and present both.

I agree with Mary, present both and let the authorities use which they want, that would solve most any issue. I also am curious why a US citizen going from Mexico to the US would use anything other than their US passport. And complaining about the airline and/or immigration authorities (either on the Mexican or the US side) being too vigilant or too 'nit-picky' boggles my mind. I thought tighter border crossings was what people in the US want.

Interesting issues here. It's no surprise to learn that cost to the airlines involved is a major factor. However, what I don't understand is that the claim that a EU passport doesn't guarantee the bearer a right to enter the US. When EU citizens fly to the US, they are asked upon arrival how long they plan to stay. Why is the port of entry the appropriate place to prove citizenship and/or duration of stay? Does anyone know what other countries have this policy? As Mary suggested, carrying both passports and showing both when getting your boarding pass for a return flight to the US will solve this problem. If you have both with you, there shouldn't be a problem.

I think they meant using the Irish passport to enter EU countries. That way you are exempt from any restrictions (the infamous 90 days), and they can't refuse you entry for not having enough money or similar reasons.

@Kateja, I think you would have been better using your Irish passport to enter the EU, it gives you LESS hassle that using a US one.

I was born in the USA and have never actually resided in Ireland.
I keep the Irish passport because I identify more with being Irish than with being American.

To me these two statements are contradictory. How can you feel Irish when you have never lived there?

However, what I don't understand is that the claim that a EU passport doesn't guarantee the bearer a right to enter the US. . . . . Why is the port of entry the appropriate place to prove citizenship and/or duration of stay? Does anyone know what other countries have this policy?

AFAIK all other countries have this policy. Equally a US (or any other non-EU) passport does not guarantee you the right to enter an EU country.
The USA, and the Schengen Area, and the UK all require the airlines to supply details of all incoming passengers, including passport details (name, number, expiry date), before take-off. They then pre-vet all passengers before boarding, and, for example if you appear on a list of people previously denied entry or expelled. If the destination country says no, you are denied boarding. Even after this vetting, they still refuse some passengers entry and send them back. The airlines are strict about checking your ID matches your passport to ensure you don't try and get round the system.
This is why travelling to the EU on an EU passport is safer, they then can't refuse you entry.

Why is the port of entry the appropriate place to prove citizenship and/or duration of stay? Does anyone know what other countries have this policy?

Ummmmm . . . every country in the world.

Why is the port of entry the appropriate place to prove citizenship and/or duration of stay? Does anyone know what other countries have this policy?

And what would be the appropriate place?

However, what I don't understand is that the claim that a EU passport doesn't guarantee the bearer a right to enter the US.

No citizen from another country has a "right" to enter any other country (unless they've entered into a union like the Schengen agreement).

The U.S. and the E.U. (well, most countries of the E.U. - the U.S. still excludes some E.U. countries from having this privilege) have agreed that their citizens have the privilege to enter each other's space without a visa if the intention is to stay for 90 days or fewer as a tourist (and some other conditions are met). In almost any other case, the country one is trying to enter will ask for the traveler's visa. An E.U. citizen does not have the right to come into the U.S. and stay as long as they want without having requested permission in advance (permission which is shown as granted by the visa in the passport). The reverse is true as well. This is all pretty basic stuff.

Note that you can kind of do things the other way around because the Irish Authorities have a system where you can get a stamp put in your American passport to show your rights regarding entering Ireland (the so called 'Stamp 6').

This can however only be done in person in Dublin, and is a bit surplus to requirements since you have already paid out for an Irish passport.

I see why Nancy asked the question about "appropriate" port of entry. My typing mistake--should have been "why is the [actual] port of entry NOT the appropriate place. In other words, classifying the foreign airport as the place where re-entry into the US begins seems strange to me; I think of it as the place of EXITING the foreign country; and, therefore, the arrival port of entry to the US as the US port of entry. Decades ago, I believe it was that way, but made my memory misleads......
Thank, everyone, for you answers.

A little additional detail?

Along with what some other folks above have said, citizens of the 38 Visa Waiver Program countries (Ireland is one of them) must also have ESTA authorization to enter the U.S. by air or sea; something U.S. citizens do not have or need. So, to enter the U.S. just on one of those counties' passports, you have to have ESTA as well.

So leave and enter the U.S. with a U.S. passport, and enter and leave Ireland with the Irish one.

You have to differentiate between the airlines and passport control.
No one is "classifying" the Mexican airport as the point of entry to the US.

The airline is doing their own due diligence to avoid a fine for transporting a passenger who will be denied entry. I don't know what date stamps are in your Irish passport but, for some reason, the airline thought you would not be entering the US legally on your Irish passport.

No matter what country you identify with,a US citizen by law must enter the US on a US passport.
You cannot enter the US on your Irish passport.

Your Mexico flight is a good reminder of why it's important to always take both passports on a trip. I know a US/Canadian dual who was coming down for a conference but couldn't board in Toronto because she didn't have one of her two passports with her.
I'm a dual EU/US citizen, too. I use my French passport only for travel within the EU, and then it's really not necessary because the French ID card serves the same purpose within Schengen. Also, be careful about how the name is presented, as Some European documents have maiden and married names, which is how the French do passports, whereas the US has only my married name. Have to remember for plane tickets.

Entering the EU, if you have a bio-metric passport, as I do, and you get into the EU line, you won't get a stamp in your US passport. You have to be put in a line for non-biometric passports and ask them to stamp your US passport.

Although ... If you have EU passport, there may be special discounts for seniors (Budapest free transit, some museums.) My husband carries his, uses US entering and leaving Schengen (so the stamps are easy to find) and EU in between.

Jazz+Travels- Dual nationals cannot always just use the US passport.
Just like the US, some countries require their citizens to enter/exit on the passport of that country. Israel is one example.
Every country is different so dual nationals need to be aware.

I agree Jazz + `travels, but if we are staying over 90 days, we need the EU passport or ID card. Also, some countries require both passports, as stated above and proven in the case with my US/Canadian acquaintance.

I also have dual citizenship - US and Israel. Whenever I fly from Israel to the US (direct or plane change) the airlline wants to see my US passport to verify that I can legally enter the US. Friends who use European passports to go to the US from Israel also have to show their European passport when checking in for the flight. As others have said, the airline doesn't want to get stuck with you.

When I travel to other countries from Israel, I often use only my Israeli passport. But sometimes the US one is more useful. For instance I flew to Vietnam a couple weeks ago and could get a cheaper and less time-consuming visa with the US passport than the Israeli one. But when I left Vietnam, I entered Thailand with my Israeli passport since that's my last country on this trip. When I leave Thailand for Israel (sadly in just over 48 hours) I can stow my US passport away and will only need the Israeli one. Unless there's a good reason to use both passports on a trip, it's simpler to stick with one and leave the other one at home.

Well Jazz, my daughter has dual citizenship and if she didn't have her German passport on her, when she shows her American passport when entering the US, they question when she entered Germany as it doesn't have any entry stamps in it. When she says she lives here, they then ask for her residency card or stamp. Obviously, she does't have that either as she is also a German citizen. Thus, it is better to have both as it makes things ever so much easier.

OP, , an EU passport absolutely does NOT guarantee the bearer the right to enter the US. Under the Visa waiver program, they still need an Electronic Travel Authorization, or ESTA.

https://www.esta.ie

It doesn't matter how long they are staying. I have read that even people just transiting through a US airport between other countries need the ESTA.

The airline is responsible for ensuring that all passengers have the appropriate travel documents to enter the US before boarding the plane. That doesn't make The airport in Mexico the "port of entry." It is just where you satisfy the airline they won't have to bring you back.

Airlines are responsible for monitoring other aspects of your travel documents as well.

When we flew from Sydney Australia to New Zealand on a one-way ticket two years ago, would not have been allowed to board our Emirates flight had I now been able to show we actually had tickets out of New Zealand as well. I had booked these as separate one-ways on two different airlines. Fortunately I was prepared with a copy of our other tickets as I had read about this New Zealand rule in the forums on TripAdvisor.

More hints for visiting New Zealand I learned there: if you bring hiking boots, wash them thoroughly before travel, as they will be inspected for dirt. I did scrub ours but there was a small pebble stuck between the lugs of the sole that caused some consternation.

And do not even think of bringing in any honey.

I don’t know about Ireland, but the Italian Government requires Italian citizens like me (I’m dual Italy and US) to enter/exit the EU with the Italian passport. Obviously I must carry both, because I need also my US passport to re-enter the US. I don’t know what would happen if I enter the EU using the US passport, but the Italian Consulate told me that is the law, so I abide.
If I travel to other countries outside Europe (like Mexico) I would use the US passport (except for Cuba I guess).

I thought tighter border crossings was what people in the US want.

Nancy, that is what our government seems to think. I don't know of anyone personally that feels that way.

Maybe I didn't state this clearly enough in my original posting:

If you have a valid US passport, you cannot be refused entry into the US.

If you have any other passport from any other country in the world, even with the visa waivers that exist, you can still be denied entry into the US for any reason the border officer decides is a good enough reason.

That is why showing your US passport worked while showing the Irish passport caused the airline to ask questions about other documents.

Entering with one passport & leaving on another. Or do they not care? Or not know?

I would think you would enter and exit with the same passport. You could use your other to enter and exit other countries where it offers some benefits to do so (such as lower visa costs as one poster mentioned). So you exit the US with your US passport, enter Ireland with your Irish one and then exit Ireland with the Irish one, and then reenter the US with the US one. This would be useful if you needed to stay in Ireland for more than the 90 days allowed to US travelers. Also, it doesn't leave any one with a dangling incomplete entry/exit pair of stamps.

I found these two items on the State Department's website:

ESTA Application for Irish Citizens
Irish Citizens are Required to Apply for ESTA
Since January 12, 2009 Irish citizens entering the United States under the Visa Waiver Program have been required to apply for ESTA (Electronic System for Travel Authorization). ESTA is a required "travel permit;" it is not a U.S. visa. The ESTA requirement applies to travelers entering the United States by air or sea under the Visa Waiver Program. ESTA Applicants must also have a valid machine-readable passport or ePassport. Irish travelers without an approved ESTA Travel Authorization or a valid U.S. Visitor Visa may be denied boarding on all U.S.-bound flights. Don't let this happen to you! The U.S. government recommends that all Irish applicants apply for ESTA at least 72 hours prior to traveling to the United States.
What is ESTA?

ESTA stands for the Electronic System for Travel Authorization. ESTA is an online application system developed by the United States government to pre-screen visa waiver travelers before they are allowed to board an airplane or ship that is bound for the United States. ESTA and a US Visa are not the same. ESTA is only a U.S.-entry requirement for passport holders from visa waiver countries (including Ireland).

I am sure your Irish Passport raised a red flag on your return.

Hi,

What the Irish consulate told you, ie "use their US passport for departing and entering the US" and their other EU passport , in this case French or the Identity Card for entering and exiting other EU countries, this is exactly the same info given by the French consulate in SF for those having both US and French citizenship and are, most importantly, registered with the French Consulate.

This way the dual citizenship person (US and an EU country) won't be, as pointed out above, pestered by the 90 day Schengen time constraint.

Agree—though the French have never specifically asked for my EU passport when entering and exiting via Paris, in Iceland I was told, or shall I say admonished, to always enter and exit the EU with my EU passport. The US passport is for exiting and entering the US. Now the question is do you carry both to Mexico? If you were ever in a crisis situation, would you go to the US or Irish embassy for help? Where would you want to be repatriated?