They would do that to one of their citizens who is breaking the law of an allied country. The idea is that they expect their citizens to not do things that would get them kicked out, like, for example, overstaying visas. “Thee shalt not cause diplomatic incidents and make our country look bad” kind of stuff.
What, they are going to make him stateless for overstaying his visa? People overstay visas all the time, it is hardly going to cause an international incident, especially as he is doing his best to make his situation legal again, and denying renewal of his passport only exacerbates the problem.
If he has broken U.S. law (I guess he has, technically) it is up to the U.S. to punish him. If he gets deported from the U.S. (harsh but conceivable if he can’t get things sorted out soon) then it would be up to Germany to take him back, updated passport or not. If countries routinely refused to take citizens with expired passports back, there would be thousands of people living in airport lounges all over the world, not just the one Iranian in Paris. If there is some German law against citizens breaking American immigration law (unlikely but conceivable) then they could punish him there. I can see no circumstances where either country benefits from denying renewal of his passport.
Breaking the law is hard work. Being a criminal shouldn’t be so difficult!
My experience is primarily with my Brazilian friends in Boston; things may be different for Germans.
- Whatever he’s done as an illegal alien in the U.S. shouldn’t get him trouble with his local German consulate. His German passport is sometimes the only real form of valid ID he can get—it’s very important, especially when he generally can’t get U.S. documents.
Even if he were working illegally here in the U.S. and has nothing to show for his employment, he must surely have some utility bills, rent receipts, credit card, bank account, auto registration…I can’t believe he doesn’t have anything to show the consulate that he’s been living here in the U.S.
- Even though he and his fiancee have hired a lawyer, he should still learn about how the entire process works, be aware of all progress in his case, understand all aspects of it, and be aware of whatever his lawyer is doing.
The best site I have found for this is www.visajourney.com.
They’re not making him stateless. Apparently, his country’s government’s going to follow their own laws regarding their own citizens.
Left off something: Where do you see any indication that his country would refuse to take him back?