20% of Americans own a passport

I read that only 20% of Americans own a passport. Just a quick poll

I am not surprised...most of the country does not travel abroad. the "middle" america peeps..usually stay domestic.

I'm not American but live in the US and obviously have a passport. There is no voting alternative for me :-)

... and sadly the ones that do have them can sometimes be perceived as the Ugly Americans. We are not known for our ability to blend in and assimulate new cultures.

If you own a Porsche, you are not most of America. Hence why the poll skews towards most on this forum having a passport.

I agree. For many of us to get to where we are in our career, which also enabled us to buy a Porsche, we had to travel abroad on business. For most of the rest, affording a Porsche also means you can afford to travel abroad, so you do. No big surprises for me here.

i'm not a yank, but i have always held a canadian passport. my US family all have US passports or got them after the 9/11 border tightenings, it helps leading 2 fewer questions while driving across the border. they don't have porsche's or travel for work so i guess they would fall under part of the "normal" population in the US and would answer yes 2 the survey. on that note, i'd be interested 2 know how many rennlisters have duel citizenship. i hold both canadian (thru birth and homeland) and pakistan passport (place of family origin and frequently visited).

orly? i oculd have sworn my uncle and aunt still have pakistani passports as well. maybe they're just the old expired ones they kept as souvenires

^ makes sense. thanks.

I know for a fact that you can have a dual Canadian/US citizenship. I am working on getting my US now and my immigration attorney has confirmed that I can maintain my Canadian status. Mind you, the US does prefer if you resign your foreign status. Check out this faq: http://www.richw.org/dualcit/faq.html#noway

Think of it this way. As your reference clearly stated, this is a matter of adminstrative policy, rather than law. As part of the ceremony you denouced your previous citizenship. That oath is enforceable if the administration chooses to do so... maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but who can predict what the future brings? In the current climate would you want to do anything that could result in the loss of your US citizenship? People have and will continue to have their citizenship stipped for some of the pettiest of things. It all comes down to how important it is to you as an individual that you retain the citizenship of either country. Just something to ponder.

i would think that most here on rennlist would have a passport..people spending 80k plus on a car have been a few places i would guess...i personally travel for a living and my passport is full..

I am a dual citizen - Canada and US - and carry both passports. In fact, when travelling to the US, I am required by law to carry both, a fact that apparently was not communicated to the average INS officer. Dual citizenship was not a choice in my case, and let me tell you that it is an absolute f'ing nightmare if you are a US citizen living in another country. Absolutely not worth it.

I have dual citizenship.. my mom is as american as it gets and my dad is as Venezuelan as it gets, I was born in the U.S. but by law I can have both citizenships.. I am not really trilled by being half Venezuelan though, is getting very scary down there in these days

As a European, that is an incredible statistic. However, based on my own business related experiences, I totally believe it...

One thing duals should keep in mind, especially if their other citizenship is in a troubled region: The US government does NOT guarantee consular support overseas to duals (this is also true of other governments, including Canada).

^^^ sad but true

How do they know you are a dual?

Just received mine a month ago so I can go to Belgrade, Serbia-Montenegro.

They don't, necessarily. But if your Canadian passport, for example, shows a foreign place of birth, it begs the question. Similarly, if your US passport shows a foreign residence, they'll ask. In practice, Canada is pretty generous about this. Remember the thousands of duals we shipped out of Lebanon a while back at taxpayer's expense, only to have them return when the shooting stopped? The US is more hard assed about it.

I am also a dual.. Born in Nevis. ".. Saint Kitts and Nevis, officially the Federation of Saint Christopher and Nevis (or the Federation of Saint Kitts and Nevis), located in the Leeward Islands, is a unitary island nation in the Caribbean and the smallest nation in the Americas in both area and population..." Wiki... I worked in Saudi and the Middleast as an expat for the us govt. I needed a step up in security clearance and they sent a hot....hot.... hot.... female FBI agent to reinterview me. I had to do another oath that required in case of conflict with St.Kitts and Nevis I would take up arms on the side of the USA. I politely explained that there was no standing army or navy in St.Kitts, that the police/customs boat doubled as my cousins fishing boat after 5pm and weekends.. that a squad of marines with side arms could take the country in 15 minutes or less.... no sense of humor the feds

nycebo, PM me if you'd like a perspective on dual citizenship before you commit. There are some very nasty surprises in store for you, especially if you plan to retain your Canadian status and possibly live in Canada again. I don't want to bore the crew here with it, but am happy to answer any questions.

Tippy, Dobar dan! Wifey born in Belgrade...