In a video shared on Instagram on Saturday, February 28, musician and actor Chet Hanks explained that he had taken a detour to Medellín, Colombia, after travelling to Puerto Rico for a friend's birthday.
He claimed that when he attempted to use his Greek passport to board an international flight back to the United States, trouble started.
“I’m travelling with my Greek passport because I’m a dual citizen,” stated Chet Hanks. He further explained in the video that his U.S. passport was about to expire, so he left it at home. “Sometimes they don’t let you in the country, even if it hasn’t expired, but it’s about to expire.”
He claimed that airline employees informed him at the airport that he would want a green card in order to re-enter the country if he was flying on a foreign passport.
“I don’t have a green card, because I’m an American citizen,” said Hanks, who was born in Los Angeles. “I don’t have my American passport here. I’m literally stuck in Colombia, I’m literally stuck in Medellin.”
According to the State Department, U.S. citizens must typically have a valid U.S. passport in order to enter the country by plane. On the other hand, green cards are used by lawful permanent residents to re-enter the country.
"The only embassy to get this s–t settled is in Bogota," Chet continued, alluding to the U.S. Embassy in the capital of Colombia, which is around an hour's flight from Medellín.
Netizens had a lot to say in the comments section. One person wrote, "You should call someone in your family to have them FedEx your passport to you ASAP." Another person replied, "Tom Hanks doesn't have the best of luck with FedEx," alluding to the Oscar winner's famous scene in "Cast Away," where his character crashes on a FedEx plane on a deserted island.
"Time to start a family out there," said a third, and "The one time you should've played the 'my dad is...' card," said a fourth.
Others, however, found Chet's admission that he lacks a green card amusing. One Instagram user commented, "Crying at I don't have a green card cuz I'm an American citizen."