Chet Hanks Says He Is Stranded in Colombia, Needs Green Card Despite U.S. Citizenship

(COLOMBIA) — Chet Hanks said he could not leave Medellín, Colombia, after airline staff told him he needed a green card to board a return flight to the United States, a claim that conflicts with U.S. rules for American citizens but reflects how carriers police entry documents at check-in.

Hanks, 35, the son of actors Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson, described the situation in a series of Instagram videos posted on Friday, February 27, 2026, after traveling to Colombia on a Greek passport because his U.S. passport was near its expiration date.

“I don’t have a green card because I’m an American citizen. I’m literally stuck in Colombia. I’m stuck in Medellín. and the only embassy to get this [s***] settled is in Bogotá.” (March 1, 2026)

The episode has spread widely online because it sits at the intersection of dual nationality, airline boarding checks and the U.S. requirement that citizens use U.S. documents to enter the country, even when they hold another passport.

Airline agents do not decide who is a citizen at the border, but they do decide who gets a boarding pass. That makes document mix-ups most likely at check-in, when a traveler presents a non-U.S. passport for a U.S.-bound flight and the airline’s systems or staff look for proof the passenger can be admitted on arrival.

For lawful permanent residents, that proof is often a green card. For foreign nationals, it can be a visa or an ESTA-style authorization if eligible. For U.S. citizens, the expectation is different: they must show a valid U.S. passport to board to the United States, even if they also hold another nationality.

The U.S. Department of State sets out that expectation in its guidance for dual nationals. “U.S. citizens, including dual nationals, must use a U.S. passport to enter and leave the United States.”

That policy helps explain why a U.S. citizen who arrives at the airport holding only a foreign passport can run into trouble, especially when the U.S. passport is near expiry or not being used for the trip. A dual national can hold more than one passport, but U.S. policy does not treat the foreign passport as the appropriate U.S. entry document for a citizen.

The result can sound illogical to travelers. Airline staff may mention a green card because that is a standard document airlines look for when a passenger presents a foreign passport but still claims a right to live in the United States.

A green card, however, is proof of lawful permanent resident status, and the pathway and requirements for permanent residents do not apply to U.S. citizens. The confusion instead stems from how carriers screen passengers before boarding and how tightly airlines tie check-in decisions to document rules.

U.S. authorities place the burden on carriers to ensure passengers have acceptable entry documents before flying to the United States. That gatekeeping happens far from U.S. border booths, and it can be rigid, especially when a traveler’s status does not match the document in hand.

In practical terms, the simplest way for a U.S. citizen to avoid a check-in stalemate is to confirm, before going to the airport, which document the airline expects for a U.S.-bound flight and whether a soon-to-expire passport will trigger a refusal to board. Travelers who hold two passports also need to keep track of which passport they used to enter a country and which they plan to use to leave, because switching passports mid-itinerary can confuse both airline systems and staff.

When a U.S. citizen abroad cannot use a regular U.S. passport to return, the U.S. government’s standard remedy is an emergency travel document.

In Colombia, the U.S. Embassy in Bogotá is the location authorized to issue emergency travel documents for U.S. citizens. That can matter for travelers outside the capital, because the solution may require travel to Bogotá in person.

An emergency passport is generally a limited-validity U.S. passport issued to meet urgent travel needs. It is meant to get a citizen home or onward when a full-validity passport is not immediately available.

The process typically requires an in-person appearance and planning for an appointment, with travelers expected to bring evidence that supports identity, U.S. citizenship and the urgency of travel. Applicants also usually need to meet passport-photo requirements as part of the process.

U.S. officials describe processing time as dependent on circumstances, though the guidance in this case pointed to a fast turnaround for emergency documents. Emergency passport processing typically takes one business day.

After returning to the United States, travelers who used an emergency passport generally need to replace it with a full-validity passport, because the emergency document is limited in validity by design.

Hanks said the only embassy option to address his situation was in Bogotá, aligning with the embassy’s role in issuing emergency passports. He had traveled to Colombia on his Greek passport, after receiving dual citizenship in 2020, because his U.S. passport was near its expiration date.

His account illustrates a common sequence behind airline denials: a U.S. citizen presents a foreign passport at check-in, the airline’s system treats the passenger as a foreign national, and the staff look for the corresponding permission to enter the United States. If the passenger insists they are American, the airline may still require the document that policy and airline procedures associate with that status for boarding: a U.S. passport.

Because U.S. citizens cannot be issued an ESTA as a foreign national, and do not rely on a green card as proof of permanent residence, the airline’s demand for a green card can reflect a misfit between the passenger’s status and the passport presented at check-in rather than a requirement that applies to citizens.

The Department of Homeland Security’s position on dual citizenship also shapes how this plays out. The U.S. allows dual citizenship, but does not recognize the foreign passport of a U.S. citizen as a valid travel document for entering the country, a stance that can collide with how travelers use multiple passports abroad.

The episode also comes as countries expand automated pre-travel screening and tighten document checks by airlines, especially for travelers who hold more than one nationality or who switch passports between legs of a trip.

On February 25, 2026, the United Kingdom fully enforced its new Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) system, which mandates that dual U.K. citizens must use a U.K. passport or a “Certificate of Entitlement” to enter Britain. The change has generated widespread reports of “travel chaos” for dual nationals who were accustomed to more flexible checks.

Such systems make it more important for travelers to match the correct passport to the correct authorization. If an authorization attaches to one nationality and one passport, presenting a different passport at check-in can derail boarding, even if the traveler has a right of entry under another status.

That tightening affects more than entry to the country running the system. Airlines often run document checks through automated tools, and a mismatch can lead to a no-board decision because the carrier risks transporting a passenger who will be refused entry.

For dual nationals, the safest approach is consistency across an itinerary. That means checking requirements by destination and by the passport that will be used at each point, and accounting for passport-validity rules that can vary across countries and airlines.

Hanks’ case also highlights a basic but often misunderstood division in U.S. entry documents: citizenship, lawful permanent residence, and non-immigrant travel each have different proof.

A U.S. citizen typically relies on a U.S. passport for international travel and for boarding a flight home. A lawful permanent resident generally relies on evidence of that status, commonly a green card, to board to the United States. Foreign nationals generally need a visa or authorization appropriate to their citizenship and purpose of travel.

Those categories can blur at an airline counter when the traveler’s document does not match the status they claim. A dual national who hands over a foreign passport may prompt the carrier to apply the foreign-national checklist, even when the traveler is also American.

Official government sources can help travelers resolve that confusion before a trip and, when needed, while abroad. Airlines and border agencies typically base boarding and admission decisions on published document rules, not on informal assurances at the airport.

The U.S. Department of State’s dual nationality guidance sits at travel.state.gov, including its statement that “U.S. citizens, including dual nationals, must use a U.S. passport to enter and leave the United States.”

Emergency passport instructions for Colombia appear on the U.S. Embassy’s site at co.usembassy.gov, which directs U.S. citizens to the Bogotá-based process for emergency travel documents.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection also publishes document requirements at cbp.gov, a reference point that travelers and airlines use to confirm what a U.S.-bound passenger must present.

Hanks’ videos, posted from Medellín, turned a technical documentation problem into a celebrity-driven lesson in how unforgiving international travel can become when nationality, passport choice and airline enforcement collide, even for someone who says he is an American citizen.