Hi, all.

I noticed the recent thread about travelling, but I am sick with panic over this and the timing is horrific.

I hold dual citizenship, US & Australian, and I was born in the US but have lived and worked in Australia for 5 years.  I need to return to the US for my mother's funeral who passed away yesterday.

My US passport is still current, but reflects my (incorrect) birth gender of female and female birth name as I left the US with no intention of returning until I could renounce citizenship there ($3,000 - have not been able to afford to do this).

My Australian passport is current and reflects my (corrected) male gender and male name which are both legally changed here. 

However, I do not know what to do in regards to making the booking for the round-trip flight and which passport/name to use and where.

Can I make the booking for a round-trip from Australia to the US and back to Australia again in my Australian name and gender with my Australian passport or will entry to the US require my US passport name/gender even though I have a full beard, etc.?

Note:  I would rather be denied entry to the US than to be denied return entry to Australia, if that helps. 

Thanks in advance if anyone has any advice.

In my experience with international travel and dual citizenships (had one for a bit with US and Germany) you can use either passport as long as it is valid, both for entering the U.S. And returning to Australia. I always only had to present one passport when I traveled to and from the U.S. And back to Germany. The only thing you may want to take into consideration is that you may have to obtain certain visas for travel between some countries. For example, traveling back to the U.S. With a U.S. Passport will not require you to need any visas. Traveling from many other countries can require visas to get into the U.S. The passport you choose to use will be the only one the Customs take into consideration. In short, you absolutist can use your up to date passport, although I would suggest you look up what visas if any are needed to travel from Australia to US in case you need to obtain them.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Sorry to hear about your mother - my sincere condolences.

You're fine to travel on either passport, but you must pick one passport for the entire journey and make sure you book all your travel arrangements in the name that's on that document.

You may feel more comfortable travelling on your Australian passport because it's in the correct name & gender, and Australians can use the Visa Waiver Program to visit the US for periods of up to 90 days without needing a visa. But to do this, you need authorisation under ESTA and you have to apply for this in advance. Here are the details: http://travel.state.gov/content/visas/en/visit/visa-waiver-program.html

The problem is: they run security checks on all applicants and of course your history will most likely show things like name changes etc., which may raise red flags & lead to delays. I daresay you'll need to travel pretty soon, so I highly recommend you contact the US Embassy in Canberra, explain the situation (including your dual-passport status) and ask for their advice.

Just wanted to give you my condolences too, and the US embassy is the first thing that popped into my mind when I read your question, as well.

Wishing you a lot of fortitude and calm.

NF

Big hug! I'm sorry to hear about your loss. My mom passed earlier this year. It looks like you'll be OK on the traveling, best wishes to you.

Hugs, Devlyn