Contemporary Practice of the United States Relating to International Law

Abstract

A Department of State telegram to all diplomatic and consular posts sent on March 18, 1977, outlined U.S. policy concerning visas, dual citizenship, travel documentation, and other matters for U.S. citizens traveling to North Korea, Cambodia, Vietnam, or Cuba. With regard to obtaining visas to the first three of these countries, the telegram indicated that any application for visas may be directed to any embassy in a foreign country with which Vietnam, North Korea, or Cambodia, as appropriate, maintains diplomatic relations. The decision to issue or not to issue a visa is made only by the country to be visited. The United States may not interfere in the visa matters of these countries, and it is therefore the responsibility of the traveler to obtain such visas. The telegram pointed out that, although the United States rejects the concept of dual nationality as a matter of policy, it does accept its existence in individual cases as a matter of fact resulting from the conflicting laws of other countries which cannot be controlled by the United States. U.S. citizens who may also be nationals of North Korea, Cambodia, or Vietnam