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I entered the USA on ESTA with EU passport via land crossing from Mexico.

My stay in the USA is about to expire and I cannot find/lost my EU passport.

I have not enough time to get a new one from Embassy.

I need to leave the USA.

My only options are to use my Canadian passport and book a flight out to either Mexico or Canada.

I'm thinking Canada is easier given that I have a valid Canadian passport.

Does this present a problem?

  1. Will I need to clear US Immigration when leaving the USA for Canada by air?

  2. If so, will US Immigration not be wondering when and how I entered the USA given that my Canadian passport has no entry stamp and/or there's no entry record for the Canadian passport?

  3. Does US immigration even cross-reference entries and exits into and out of the USA?

  4. When I arrive into Canada, will I have a problem with CBSA, given that they won't have an exit record out of Canada (US entry record)?

The spelling of my first name on the EU passport is spelled slightly differently than the one on the Canadian passport, but family name and DOB are same.

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  • When you obtained your ESTA, did you say you were a dual-national?
    – Henry
    Commented Oct 29 at 9:44
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    The US does have logic to match different-but-similar passports on exit and entry, though I've mostly paid attention to it in the context of departure with a foreign passport after an entry with a US passport. It's hard to imagine that they would not also use it to match people using different foreign passports. But why would you use ESTA/VWP to enter the US instead of entering as a B-2 visitor with your Canadian passport? You would have a longer period of admission, the possibility of extending it without leaving the country, and some more rights as well.
    – phoog
    Commented Oct 29 at 11:03
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    Adjacent: You need to go to the police and report your EU passport lost/stolen ASAP. Have your passport number close (as otherwise they cannot mark it as a lost/stolen document in the interpol database), and get a copy of the police report. This will help with getting a new one, prevent misuse of the lost one, and will help with establishing your story that you lost your EU passport and as such had to leave with the Canadian passport.
    – ave
    Commented Oct 29 at 12:46
  • If you have a Canadian passport why did you enter the USA on your EU passport? Canadian passports are significantly less hassle when entering the US.
    – DJClayworth
    Commented Nov 3 at 14:39

1 Answer 1

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Will I need to clear US Immigration when leaving the USA for Canada by air?

No, the airline will provide all the needed information to the CBP.

If so, will US Immigration not be wondering when and how I entered the USA given that my Canadian passport has no entry stamp and/or there's no entry record for the Canadian passport?

Maybe.

Does US immigration even cross-reference entries and exits into and out of the USA?

Yes. When you come back with your EU passport or try to renew your ESTA this may come up and you may have been recorded as overstayed. You'll need to keep all the evidence of your timely exit and potentially submit it to the CBP to update your records (see here, at the bottom).

When I arrive into Canada, will I have a problem with CBSA, given that they won't have an exit record out of Canada (US entry record)?

Doubt it, and it is not relevant anyway since as a Canadian citizen you have an unconditional right of entry into Canada.

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  • The more interesting question is what happens if you lose your only passport. Obviously, you go to your embassy and wait for emergency papers but you should also somehow contact the American authorities and explain your situation. In any case we are approaching a situation regarding passports that resembles the situation regarding airplane tickets maybe 20 years ago: The relevant information (you have a ticket/you are a citizen) is all there. The airline knows I booked the flight, U.S. immigration has my biometric data. The passport is as redundant as a printout of my e-ticket.
    – Peter - Reinstate Monica
    Commented Oct 29 at 15:03
  • @Peter-ReinstateMonica A passport might be redundant for the explicit purpose of exit checks, but it is nowhere near redundant in general. Your paper passport is the only official evidence of your travel history that is portable across all sorts of countries. Until all the countries in the world introduce a global electronic system for sharing immigration records (fat chance of that happening any time soon), paper passports are here to stay.
    – TooTea
    Commented Oct 29 at 22:08
  • @TooTea First and foremost, it serves identification and proof of nationality. The travel history aspect can be and has been circumvented when necessary by using another passport -- in fact, especially when necessary!
    – Peter - Reinstate Monica
    Commented Oct 29 at 23:47
  • I have in fact been going through US immigration without ever showing my passport to anyone at least on a couple of occasions, but I had to show it to the airline at check-in/boarding
    – littleadv
    Commented Oct 29 at 23:54

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