You can’t come back in!
by tamarjacobson
Way back in March of this year (four months ago) I sent my passport off to be renewed for my June 22 date of travel to England. During the past two weeks I realized that it might not arrive in time! And so, every day for two weeks I have been calling the Passport Service application status line desperately asking for assistance to expedite the process. Each time I call an extremely calm, rational and neutral sounding person tells me they are e-mailing the Passport Center to let them know about prioritizing and upgrading the process to expedite. And each time I call, a different calm, rational and neutral sounding person responds in exactly the same way: a) there is no record of the former person e-mailing the Passport Center; b) they tell me they will e-mail the Center; c) they say the same exact thing, namely: "There is a possibility that your passport will arrive in time."
At three o’clock this morning I decided I would use my Israeli passport to travel. And so, when it became time to do all the necessary calling I found out that I could use my Israeli passport to travel to England without needing a Visa for a short visit. I became excited, even hopeful. And then I called the United States, State Department in Washington DC.
"Hello," I said with an excited smile in my voice.
"Yes?" came the reply, dull, uninterested.
I told my story and suggested that I would use my Israeli passport thereby enabling me to travel to England and enjoy the flight and hike I had booked and paid for way back in March.
"You can’t come back in," said the voice. A slow, uncaring, tired sounding drawl.
"But surely, because I am an American citizen, they would let me back in?" I smiled again hopefully.
"You can’t come back in."
"But what could they do to me?" I asked, "Would I be put in jail?"
"I don’t know about that," said the voice, "I only know you can’t come back in."
I slouched back into my chair, despondent, trapped, resentful, frustrated, and very disappointed.
America, the Land of the Free?
More like, joyless, hopeless, unhelpful, uncaring, rational, bureaucratic, unyielding …
So, who knows? I might get to travel next week … or not … or I might try out the Israeli passport idea because …
… Hm … I wonder … would I want to come back in?
Oh yeah, and Happy Flag Day everyone …
tamarjacobson 
Oh my God, Madame L. What a nightmare of a story! I have experienced a couple of these myself in my past travels so I can only imagine the fear, anger, frustration for you all! Thanks so much for sharing this because I have actually been toying with the idea of using the Israeli passport because I so hate being held hostage like this with no control, hanging onto each postal delivery hoping for some sort of reprieve from our messed up governmental system.
t,
do NOT travel with your israeli passport. as you know, on friday uk immigration held 3 of my young daughters for over 5 hours in a cell like room filled with somalian refugees who often have an untreatable form of tb.
they are dual citizens us/uk. they were flying from paris, steward accompanied. they were, for some Insane Reason, insisting that they were going to put just the 13 year old back on a plane to paris. they wouldn’t even let them see their father who was being interrogated as if he were a serial killer.
i spoke to them on the phone numerous times and they were asking me all sorts of questions concerning my status in the uk in 1986! the immigration prick used the word “convoluted” 11 times (i counted) always in the wrong context. must have been the word of the day in the daily mirror or the sun.
i called my daughters’ grandmother who used to work in the home office and has the highest security clearance. she called her son, who to his credit kept his cool.
i read and re-read the law concerning dual citizenship in between calls. the immigration officer was obviously anti-american and saying inane things to me like: “well, if i went to america and told them i was going to settle there they wouldn’t let me in.”
uhm, yeah, because you’re not a dual citizen child whose uk citizen father has legal custody of you. (didn’t say that of course)
the odd thing is they have traveled paris london at least four times in the past year. as have my older daughters who hold british and american passports because they are of age.
after 5+ hours they agreed to let them in, their reasoning being that their father is a uk born citizen but chooses to hold an irish passport. absolute lunacy.
we are getting them irish passports over the summer holiday.
don’t take any chances. things are getting freaky.
Yes, Winston. This is just another example of not being prepared (or caring about) for the fall-out when they “take action!” It’s becoming a suspense story!
This entire matter sickens me. I had no idea things had degenerated this far in the good old USA. Our reward for the gross incompetence of the entire Bush administration and everything they have touched.
I so hope that a slice of magic falls your way and it arrives in time for you to take the trip.
Hi there Natalie,
I am looking into trying to acquire a visa (Israelis need a visa to come into the US. It looks like it will take too long as well and then there is the complication that I am an American citizen. Complications never work well with bureaucrats! Let’s hold fingers and toes that it all works out. Am not feeling particularly positive about it though.
Tamar, this is froth-at-the-mouth infuriating! They can’t do that to you. Can they? Anyway, I don’t understand why you wouln’t be able to use your Israeli passport to come back in? Aren’t Israeli citizens allowed in the US?
Maybe your passport will arrive in the next couple of days. I’n still counting on seeing you here.
Jean,
I tried to set up an appointment with our regional passport office. They have no openings until June 27 – five days after my trip!! What an experience this is!
But let’s not allow them to have so much power. I will just have to come at another time if this one is blown out of the water!
Oh no! Tamar, how utterly sickening! let us keep hoping very hard for a few days more, yes?!
Indeed, what a joke our ‘free world’ is becoming. The only thing that is better in the UK is that it is a small country, so in these circumstances you can travel to the passport office and demand your passport the same day in extremis.
Danny,
I am probably going to have to cancel my trip. The airlines is very understanding because this is happening a lot lately. The hike will not refund my more than $600 because they covered themselves at the beginning by telling me to insure against cancellation … which of course I didn’t do because I was sure I would receive my passport in time! Am so fed-up I could scream! But who knows, maybe the passport will arrive within the next five days or so … our government is completely in disarray … in case we didn’t know. I like the idea of getting myself sent to Guantanamo, actually – a lot! But I have a book to write and a deadline. Hey, Danny, do you know what a book deadline is?
Am still coming to see you in July though : )
Oh my God, what a nightmare! If I were you, I’d go anyway and take my chances with my Israeli passport, that is total absurdity. And if you’re arrested and shipped off to Guantanamo, you’ll have a nice lawsuit on your hands and endless material for your blog. Do they have wireless Internet access in Cuba?
My sister recently went through that same hell trying to get her kids’ passports renewed. She ultimately had to cancel their trip to join her husband on his European tour. What is wrong with our bureaucracy??