Need help: my daughter is in the DR with expired passport

The situation is that my six year old daughter is in the DR with an expired US passport. She is down here for the summer and my plan was to get an extension for her in July, but events conspired such that I could not arrange this until now. I was under the mistaken impression that it would not be a problem to have this done a lot quicker than it now seems possible without an emergency request.

I was told that my circumstances would probably not qualify me as an emergency case where I could have request expedited for an emergency extension and I would need to wait the standard 2-3 weeks for an extension. In addition to that, I was told that emergency cases require proof of travel plans in order to qualify as an emergency and it doesn't make any sense to buy non-refundable airline tickets that I very likely will need to cancel.

Since it now looks very doubtful that I will get a passport extension until after her school in the US starts on Aug 20, here are my questions:

will my daughter be allowed to travel to and re-enter the US with an expired US passport and an original Consular Report of Birth Abroad Report. It looks like re-entry by air may not be possible but what about taking the ferry to San Juan to re-enter the US?

what about if I get her a Dominican passport (establishes identity) along with the US Consular Report of Birth Abroad (establishes US citizenship). Would this combination allow her to travel to the US?

how strict is the embassy about requiring proof of travel to qualify as an emergency? I would think that a rational human would understand that a six year old being in school is an emergency situation to a greater extent than someone that needs to incur a change fee because they cant make their reserved flight date. (I really do not understand why they dont just require someone to pay an extra $100 to expedite rather than show proof of travel plans).

My appointment at the embassy is scheduled for tomorrow. Any tips for what to have prepared to get a positive result? Any other advice on how to resolve this situation to my advantage? I do request responses refrain from scolding me about not taking action on renewing the passport earlier as I am now well aware of this error in judgment on my part. Thanks to everyone in advance.

JuanDolioLiving said:

Also comes the question why did you allow this to happen when you knew first hand that her passport were going to expire within weeks and another question that comes to my mind is, how was that she was allow to travel outside the USA with a passport that was expiring in few months or was she living here and not in the USA?

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I acknowledge that I should not have let it get to this point. I was under the impression that one could get an expedited passport for a fee similar to the service offered when you are in the US and did not understand that those services are only offered on an emergency basis from the consulate. I also had to go back to the US earlier than expected in June and just got back to the a couple days ago to take care of this.

My daughter goes to school in the US and she spends most of the summer in the DR with her family (she was born in the DR). I try to spend as much of the summer as possible in the DR as well with the wife and my two stepkids. I will be sure that I dont end up in this situation again in the future.

NotLurking said:

Section 215 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1185) states:

Citizens:
Except as otherwise provided by the President and subject to such limitations and exceptions as the President may authorize and prescribe, it shall be unlawful for any citizen of the United States to depart from or enter, or attempt to depart from or enter, the United States unless he bears a valid United States passport.
(c)Definitions
The term "United States" as used in this section includes the Canal Zone, and all territory and waters, continental or insular, subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. The term "person" as used in this section shall be deemed to mean any individual, partnership, association, company, or other incorporated body of individuals, or corporation, or body politic."

This means you must ensure you have a valid U.S. passport for travel from and to the United States at all times.

Unlike a lost or stolen passport, an expired passport does not constitute an emergency that normally warrants the issuance of an emergency passport

NotLurking

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Not sure how that applies since the passport was valid when we departed. I suppose you are saying that someone who just up and loses their passport due to carelessness is more entitled to an emergency expedition than a six year old that would then miss several weeks of school.

Fine if they want to punish me, but what is the point of taking it out on a little girl that had nothing to do with it? I would be happy to pay an extra $100 or more and it would be no skin of their back to take the money as pure profit. This is how it is done from inside the US and I am sure that they could figure out how to do something similar over here.

BTW, after what I have been through getting my wife and stepkids their visas and other services that were not delivered in the time frame promised (as in the case of the processing of my wife's visa the timeline as defined by statute), the embassy down here owes me at least this one.