Help please- Transit through US, expired US passport

[Lemonbus]

First time very stressed poster. Will try to keep it short. Feeling very stupid so please be kind!
After spending the day researching this online I think I know the answer to this but just wanted to check if anyone had experience of this.
Booked a once in a lifetime holiday to Central America flying via US. All British citizens. Only DD16 has dual citizenship UK/US (born in US). Has only ever had one US passport when she was born which expired years ago. We fly in a week. Have only just discovered she has to go through US immigration on a valid US passport. (Feeling v.stupid) Is that it? Anyone experienced this? Are ESTAs checked at departure airport? Have read that if you can get to US they will allow you through immigration with a severe talking to but feel that's a huge risk. Is our only option now to book new flights not going via US at all.
Apologies not as short as I wanted. Thanks for reading.

Well if United have said it’s ok they’ll be the ones getting the fine so fingers crossed you get the green light to go and have a fabulous trip!!

Long shot but would she consider renouncing her US citizenship?

Do you need to go through immigration? How long is the stop over? Can you stay in the airport, air side?

If you decide to book new flights for two of you, remember you should be able to claim taxes back from unused flights, if you can somehow split the tickets and cancel them. Not the full amount, but you might be able to recover some it.

United partner up with Lufthansa, Swiss and Austrian hence the difficulties in rerouting you, I would assume. This alliance relies heavily on US connections for access to the Americas through United (or Air Canada).

If you’re ever going again in the future and prefer to avoid this situation, BA and AA are Iberia partners so one can go either through the US or through Spain - much easier to transit through document-wise.

Every person landing in the US needs to go through immigration, even if their connecting flight is international.

American here with 3 kids with dual citizenship. We have entered the us before on British passport because us was expired (we took it). Nothing was said.
The thing is that the US actually can't "deport" an American citizen (except in certain criminal investigations). I would take a chance, do the ESTA (based on British passport) and take expired US passport. They might flag it but I highly doubt they will "deport" back to the UK.

He shouldn't even have an ESTA is he's a USC.
Renewing his US passport will include as visa to the embassy at 16 with one parent. We did Dd's just after covid. Getting an appointment is a nightmare on the website I had to try daily, then take whatever they had available and ask work to let me off for a couple of days as we had to stay in London overnight to make the appointment. It came pretty fast in the post once done.

We looked into this as plan to do it anyway but it takes 3-6 months (and costs 2000+ dollars!)

Thanks, we have ESTA- filled in as dual citizen USlUK which is the bit we don't really understand! Thought it would be refused as she is US citizen.

ESTA came through as accepted. Unfortunately we fly a week today so not enough time ho get a US passport.

I have a friend who has dual citizen children. She realised her sons passport expired a week before a holiday to the US. She took him to the US embassy in London and got him a new passport.

Can you call the embassy and get her a new US passport if you can get to London?

Ah missed that, sorry

We have a similar issue but fly in a month. Younger two kids are dual citizens and their US passports expired last year, we didn’t realise they needed them to get there. Thought they could get in using their UK passports. We have an emergency appointment at the consulate next week and they’ve said they will issue emergency passports, and if they don’t arrive in time there’s a form they can give us to go with the expired US passports. Have you tried speaking to the consulate/embassy?

My son is a USC and I realised around 2 weeks before a planned trip to the US that he needed to go in with his US expired. It had long expired. I had already gotten him an ESTA on his UK passport before finding out he needed his US passport. I was able to get an emergency US passport. I got an appointment on a Monday and obtained the 1 year US passport and he flew out that Friday. This was in 2018 though.

My dd is also born in the USA. She flew a couple of times without a us passport - once via heathrow when she was a baby, airline gave us hassle but we were able to show we had applied for it, it just hadn't come.

Another time she lost her us passport so we got an ESTA on her uk passport, she flew from Dublin where they have US immigration in the airport and they questioned her for an hour or so but let her through. I don't think they are allowed to refuse entry to US citizens. (I don't think she needed the ESTA but hey, there was no one to ask)

During COVID it was almost impossible for my american friends to renew their kids passports due to no appointments at embassies, so they were allowing american kids to fly into US on expired us passports. (with another passport obv) Not sure if that still holds.

I would never give up a US citizenship! If it because she wants to be a citizen of a country that doesn’t allow dual, fair enough, but as you are allowed to be duel US/UK no way would I give one up!

Its a pain in the arse though because of the tax filing obligations and associated problems holding non-US bank accounts. I have friends with several decades European residence and dual citizenship who had their bank accounts revoked because of it.

I would never give up a US citizenship! If it because she wants to be a citizen of a country that doesn’t allow dual, fair enough, but as you are allowed to be duel US/UK no way would I give one up!

Just seen someone has already posted about the joys of filing US tax returns on worldwide income. Deep joy.

So can’t she just travel on her UK passport? Excuse my ignorance!

Here is the link for getting an expedited passport renewed at the US Embassy in London. If your travel is within 5 days, they will try and fit you in, but it has to be in person and you have to take the slot they give you. I think you then get it same day

uk.usembassy.gov/u-s-citizen-services/u-s-passports/emergency-passports/

i have asked a few times when the op travels as it’s sort of relevant to advice!

She has said - she flies a week today.

You will be fine if the ESTA is approved and you have the expired US passport with you. American citizens cannot be denied entry to the US (nor require an ESTA). You have a valid passport in date that will get her to your final destination so don't worry!

There ought to be an easier and cheaper way for accidental US citizens to renounce, given that merely being born results in lifetime tax filing obligations and makes living outside the US very difficult.

It's in the OP!