Genealogy / Born in Poland, moved to US as a baby - What do i need to get a PL passport? [19]

Sounds like i'm better off handling all of this stuff over at the NY consulate - do you think I can handle everything via email and phone... or will I have to visit in person...

Genealogy / Born in Poland, moved to US as a baby - What do i need to get a PL passport? [19]

Just wanted to update everyone with the results.

So... I decided not to try to get my polish passport in Poland. Since I only had about 60 days left on my schengen stamp, it was too risky considering all i've heard about the beaurocracy in warsaw and how slow things can move there.

I went back to USA and went to the Polish Consulate in NYC.

The polish consulate in NYC (and you CANNOT do this in poland) actually considers your previous passport valid for renewal as long as it isn't expired over *20* years. I simply handed in my passport which expired in 1994 along with 1 birth certificate from Plock (really old piece of paper). I explained that I was in a rush to the woman at the consulate, and she wrote a letter and included it in my application to "Speed things up" in warsaw for me.

I got my polish passport in 1.5 months... no hassles!

Now I can go back to Poland as a polish citizen, and get my dowod and possibly name change.

Please consider getting this kind of stuff done at your consulate VS in poland... it's much easier.

Genealogy / Born in Poland, moved to US as a baby - What do i need to get a PL passport? [19]

Hey amcapol,

It actually started out as just a visit, but things can unravel quickly when you're looking for new opportunities. I'm opening a company there with my cousin. It's actually aimed at Poles like myself (and you) who still have strong ties to Poland, but live abroad. Hopefully, many of you guys will end up using it ;)

I've lived in the US my whole life. I admit i'm lucky - I got the great education, I've got (or, had, since I decided to stop working) a bunch of great paying jobs too. I've saved enough money up where i'm travelling and trying new things out. Prior to this decision, I spent a year travelling and living in various places in Southeast Asia. Living there, for financial gain, is much worse than Poland, but i'm strongly considering moving there after I spend a year in Poland.

When you have the means to escape, and you've had the taste of escaping, living in one "place" gets very stale. Whether it's Poland, San Diego, San Francisco, NYC (i've lived in all those), I want to see more. I'm only 28, but it's an important lifestyle decision for me.

So to better respond to your comment, I don't plan on living there forever ;-). I'm just trying new things out and want to launch this thing and see how it turns out.

USA, Canada / I now have a USA and Polish passport - How to behave at the border? [18]

Yeah, I also read it's an offense (especially, on the US-side).

I'm sure my entrance into Poland will go smoothly... it's really my entrance back into the US that i'm worried about.

If they already give me a hard time when everything is "standard", wait till they see 2 passports with 2 different names on it.

USA, Canada / I now have a USA and Polish passport - How to behave at the border? [18]

Here's an awesome FAQ i found about this (pertaining to the US side). I read the whole thing, and it was really worth the read.

richw.org/dualcit/

I can't find it right now, but it was in here, that I found the part about how you MUST identify yourself as a national when entering your nation (for the US). You don't want to give any hints as to a possibility that you might want to renounce your citizenship by NOT identifying yourself as a US citizen. Apparently, it is a POLICY to allow dual citizenship, and that's it. You should always play it safe and reaffirm your citizenship by always identifying yourself that way and doing things like file taxes even if you have no earnings.

USA, Canada / I now have a USA and Polish passport - How to behave at the border? [18]

Delphiadomine,

"Typical american response?" How about, typical polish pretentiousness... i'm giving valid information and you are striking down facts?

Are you a US citizen? Do you know that US naturalized citizens have to swear an oath to renounce other citizenships? Or did you allow yourself to "not notice" it because it was just a "typical" american document that meant nothing to you?

travel.state.gov/law/citizenship/citizenship_776.html

I say again, just as a matter of information for people who are curious, that oathe is STILL THERE and it's a matter of POLICY to allow dual citizenships and they are IGNORING the oathe. If you think that they can't flip that around on you within the span of 1 piece of legislation or even just policy change, then you clearly don't know how politics work. US citizens are sensitive about these kinds of issues and i'm sure it's only not been talked about because most people don't even KNOW you can have dual citizenship.

All it takes is one conservative TV special on FOX News to talk about how the middle class is full of "unpatriots" that are living one foot in the US and one foot somewhere else, to spark outrage amongst the rednecks of the country and begin legislation to close the ability to have dual citizenships. Yes, the probability is low considering that everything moves towards globalization in the benefit of big business, but it's not something that can't happen.

For people who have dual citizenships, I think it's important to know how to behave at the border, to identify yourself appropriately, to file your taxes, etc. I want to know the ins and outs, so that when policy changes in the future (and it can), I will have done everything correctly. That's simply what I was trying to get, some advice, some tips, to take extra measures of protection so I can always be on the safe side.

USA, Canada / I now have a USA and Polish passport - How to behave at the border? [18]

That rebuttal is full of holes, this will be my last reply so as to not bother other ppl on this thread.

Facts:
- You swear an oathe to renounce citizenship.
- US Government used to enforce the oathe. After a bunch of court cases and seeing that it was a widespread problem, they relaxed *policy* and allowed dual citizenship as a matter of "ignoring" it.

- When you swear that you renounce other citizenships, but then you don't, and you get another passport, you are a *LIAR*.

Check the link you sent me, did you even read it?
"5. Lying To The USCIS During The Naturalization Process " - Reasons for losing citizenship.

I don't know what you don't see about that. I'm not scare mongering. I've said repeatedly, that the US has NOT enforce this and lots of people have dual citizenships and travel fine. Some people, like me, care about the details, and feel that this is important information. You apparently don't care about the details, and that's fine too, that's your choice of lifestyle and I know many people who do the same.

"And tell me - how do you think the American Government will find out about your Polish passport?"
- WHEN I HAND IT IN TO THE BORDER AGENT. They check your US passport for stamps, and they will see none. You will have to explain that to them, and show them how you entered Schengen.