I am a brtish passport holder and have held a green card for the last 9 years, my husband is american, as a result of his work we are almost constantly overseas, I was told that I cannot apply for an american passport because I have not lived in the US continuously for 5 years, that this is a prerequisite for application, does anyone know anythig about this?

Yes of course, residing for five years continuously in the US (not America, that is the continent shared with Canada et al) is a pre-requisite, the same as many other countries including UK and France. I suggest you hire an immigration lawyer to streamline the process seeing as your husband is a US citizen and you have a green card.

I am a brtish passport holder and have held a green card for the last 9 years, my husband is american, as a result of his work we are almost constantly overseas, I was told that I cannot apply for an american passport because I have not lived in the US continuously for 5 years, that this is a prerequisite for application, does anyone know anythig about this?


It is my understanding that US passports are available only to citizens and “nationals.” Nationals are a very small group of American Samoans - and, yes, I had to look that up.

US law does permit dual nationality and foreign passports to be used. When a US citizen enters or leaves the US he MUST use the US passport, not the foreign passport.

I see nothing about a “5 year rule” or anything similar. According to what I am reading you need to be a US citizen to obtain a US passport. A US Passport is proof of US citizenship and, of course, you are not a US citizen.

US Immigration says: "A United States passport is an official government document issued by the United States Department of State. A United States passport CERTIFIES AN INDIVIDUAL'S IDENTITY AND US CITIZENSHIP. A passport is an internationally recognized travel document and it allows the passport holder to travel abroad and return to the United States. A valid United States passport may be used to enter most foreign countries. U.S. citizens may now apply for the new U.S. Passport Card and hold both a regular passport and passport card. Due to the proposed measures of the WHTI (Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative), many U.S. citizens will be required to obtain a U.S. passport or U.S. Passport Card."

Yes, forgone conclusion citizenship would be a necessity, but being from the UK with many advantages for travelling as a UK passport holder, becoming a citizen of the US would not be an advantage. Dual citizenship is only afforded to people born in one country of parents living and working in another legally and with green cards at the time the person was born. Such as our son, born in the US when both of us were working there on green cards, therefore, he has US and Canadian passports.

Yes I see no real advantage in having a US passport, but they will have to apply for citizenship to get the passport.

An immigration attorney would be best to handle this