American passport

Better asking your own authorities rather than some random person on a travel forum.

Assume that it was not illegal to visit those countries at that time. A Cuba stamp would be a problem. And I don't ever remember an immigration officer checking stamps.

Thank you for the responses. I travelled there 7 years ago. It is worrisome because on the news there was the report pf the Norwegian being detained recently at a U.S. airport because he had visited Iran. He has a Diplomatic passport, so it was shocking. That coupled with all of the recent event at airports etc. is why I was concerned.

I think that Executive Order has been blocked by a judge now, so you should be ok.

Having a stamp from one of those 6 countries, was definitely be a problem for non US citizens. An Italian woman returning from Costa Rica, via Atlanta, was handcuffed and detained for 8 hours at ATL since she had multiple stamps from some of those countries. She had gone there in previous years for work, and it took the intervention of her lawyer, the Consulate, her employer to clear her. She had to pay an additional ticket and received a bill by the US CBP of $2800 for using staff resources. It's in yesterday's leading Italian newspapers.
http://www.repubblica.it/esteri/2017/02/06/news/decreto_trump_italiana_bloccata_per_ore_alla_frontiera_degli_usa_in_iran_sudan_e_libia_per_lavoro_-157656685/

I don't think they would have barred a US citizen from returning, however I presume there would have been intense questioning.

With this administration, do not make any assumptions.

And I don't ever remember an immigration officer checking stamps.

That was then, this is now. It is hard to say currently whether visiting countries (which were entered legally at the time) deemed "unhelpful" to the US security or economy will impede travel in the future. The article posted by the OP about a diplomat detained because he had visited Iran in the past is not quite the same case as detaining someone with a US passport. But how this will all play out is a big unknown.

Wherever you are in Europe I would find the nearest US embassy or consulate and talk to them. Nobody on this forum will be able to answer your question accurately.

Dear Nancy:

Try getting through to speak to a human being at a Consulate. It is impossible.

Kalild, I'm sorry to hear that. I guess your only options are to keep trying and if you can't contact anyone, just head to the airport very early for your flight home in case there are issues actually getting on the plane. If they let you on the plane you probably won't have any trouble with immigration when you get to US.

If you are a citizen of a country, according to international law they cannot refuse to let you into the country. That would make you a stateless person, with nowhere to call home.
But, they can still give you a hard time.
And, certain countries have in the past been known to ignore international law, and there is no guarantee countries may not ignore it in the future.

You have a US Passport US citizen. Just be prepared to answer their questions strait.
Otherwise they will probably just give you a hard time.

I have had a Cuban stamp from two years ago in my passport. Have been through immigration three times since then and no one noticed it. If I was in your position I would not be concerned.

from two years ago

I think it is reasonable to ask here. Sure, there is no definite answer, there never is, but getting an overview isn't bad. Of course NOW, no one knows for sure what travel to certain countries will mean. It could be ignored (as in the past--which is a great predictor of older government policies) or entering the US can be a problem.

If in doubt, get a new passport. If you had a current passport in 2009, it will only be valid for a few more years anyway.

Some immigration officers check the stamps. I had in my American passport stamps from Thailand and Nepal (among many others) and I was questioned why I went there. Nowadays with a Syrian stamp in your American passport I can imagine you could be questioned for quite a longer time than I was.

You said you were in Europe. What are the options? Come home and see what happens.

Kalild dont ry phoning an embassy , if possible go in person. You may have to wait for some hours however .

Its a mess whats happened , so many innocents caught up and harrassed in the most lame attempt of security i have ever seen.

Its shocking and disgraceful and worst of all has done far more evil than good .

It is most appropriate, on a travel forum, to ask about the experiences of other travellers in various situations.

I think it's appropriate as well, although you'll more likely get the most definitive answer from an embassy or consulate. The trouble here is that I'm not sure any one of us can give you an accurate answer, given the latest uproar. Still, I can't imagine a U.S. passport holder would not be able to return home, although you could be given a thorough going-over by immigration.

Best advice I'm seeing here is to go to the nearest embassy in person, if at all possible.

Please let us know how this all works out for you, Kalild? We'll cross fingers that you have no difficulties.

Asking a question at the embassy could be far different from what the CBP officer will ask when entering the country. Ultimately, it will come down to the CBP officer whether they subject you to any difficult questions.

Similar to you I was wondering if I would get any questions about my past visits. I too had gone to Syria and Lebanon in 2008 but unlike you I have a newer passport so the Syrian visa dosen't show up. However, I'm sure there is a record somewhere in some database. Entering back into the US last week from Canada (Calgary), the officer didn't bother looking at the passport - just wanted to know where I was going and scanned the boarding pass.

I also had my Global Entry interview last week, also in Calgary, and there were no questions about past travels even with me listing lots of strange places like the Stans in the application form.

No matter who you ask, the answer should be the same -- as a US born citizen, you will be allowed into the United States. You may be stopped for questioning if a passport control officer looks through your passport and decides to ask you questions. That was the rule before the recent immigration Executive Order and continues to be rule and, of course, the order does not apply to US citizens. At any time an immigration officer can look at your passport and question your trips; in fact, they should if they see something suspicious. I have been questioned about why I have some many trips to France. My husband gets questioned every time he returns from one of his mega business trips that take him to up to 10 countries in 2 weeks. What will happen on the ground when you are faced with a passport control officer could be a totally different thing from what is theoretically required, because any given officer may be confused about the application of the EO, etc. but it will usually not go any further than a supervisor. For example, recently a client who is a naturalized citizen from one of the countries covered by the recent Executive Order arrived at a US airport during the time the order was being enforced and was detained and told he would not be allowed entry into to the US and he asked to speak to a supervisor who cleared it up and he was free to go after about 30 minutes extra time at the airport. The order does not apply to naturalized citizens so he should not have been told that but things happen in the real world when there is lack of clarity about a rule.

JHK.

Thank you for responding.

I have sent to you a private message.

I can't imagine you having any difficulty with your history as you've described it. Of course, things are happening in the U.S. these days that I can't imagine, so take that for what it's worth. As petty as it sounds, your name (if it's similar to your nickname on this website) may raise at least an eyebrow.

To Nancy in Corvallis, who wrote:

"Nobody on this forum will be able to answer your question accurately."

I would characterize that as quite harsh. It's entirely possible, and even likely, that one or more persons on this forum would be able to answer kalild's question accurately. Now, they most likely won't be able to answer it authoritatively -- I'll grant you that -- but accurately? That's a tad pessimistic.

Granted, poor choice of words, guess I failed semantics 101.

I'm an American citizen, born in the US.

It helps if you look like a descendant of the Mayflower pilgrims.

I have had a Cuban stamp from two years ago in my passport.

Had the same even though I requested the Cuban officer not to stamp it.

If in doubt, get a new passport.

Exactly what I did.