Upon entering the United States, is it ok to ask the US immigration agent not to stamp one's passport, and if so, would they always/typically agree?

score:7

Accepted answer

is it ok to ask the US immigration agent not to stamp one's passport,

That depends on your definition of "ok". It's certainly not illegal.

would they always/typically agree not to stamp it?

I don't think there such a thing as "typical" with CBP. I always find them to be very inconsistent and unpredictable. They may agree, they may give you a tongue lashing, they may sent you over to secondary just to make sure you miss your connection.

Upvote:6

We on this site are not CBP officers and they are not forthcoming with the minutiae of their jobs (although they did answer confirming the N days/N+1 days out rule) and so we can only guess.

The prevailing wisdom on this site is you are better be boring at the border. Be like everyone else. Make an unusual request like this and you stand out. Not a good idea. Not at all. You might think your request is reasonable -- but it's very obviously not, that's the very nature and the function of the passport -- but the officer will not necessarily agree with your stated reason. They might think you want to be able to hide/deny your visit to the United States to someone for who knows what reason.

So the reaction to this request can vary from "sure" to "you are not allowed to enter the United States, have a nice day".

Upvote:6

One way you can avoid having your passport stamped is by not having it with you. A permanent resident normally does not need a passport to enter the US; a green card is sufficient.

Upvote:9

Get Global Entry—US permanent residents are eligible if you otherwise meet the program requirements.

I cannot 100% guarantee that nobody will stamp your passport under any circumstances if you have Global Entry, but the normal flow at major ports of entry is that you use your green card at the kiosk and you'll never hand your passport to anyone from CBP unless you're singled out for special attention.

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