what is a FOREIGN NATIONAL ?

Question

i heard that some illegal mexican immigrants claim to be "foreign nationals" if they are arrested. there is a potential issue in that this might require that police transport them to and from embassy ? i also saw MSNBC dateline , the child molester show and there was an indian man, who said to the police that he was a foreign national / wanted an atty. does being a foreign national make any difference ? does this status make people more difficult to prosecute ? exempt from law ?

Answer 1

A "Foreign National" is simply a person who is a citizen of any country other than the one that he is currently in. Doesn't matter whether he's there legally or not - every non-citizen is a foreign national.

The only difference it makes in law is access to your Embassy / Consular staff.

The US has signed the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations. One of the terms of this treaty is that if a person is arrested in a foreign country, the arresting officer is required to tell him that he has the legal right to let his Embassy or Consulate know that he's been arrested, and that Consular staff then have the right to come to the jail and meet with him.

So if you, as an American, are arrested in another country, the cop is supposed to tell you that, and then the American consulate is allowed to come and visit you. If a foreigner is arrested in America, the same rules are supposed to apply.

BUT..... it no longer applies to Americans in many countries. The US Supreme Court ruled in "Bustillo v Johnson" that even though the VCCR is valid law in the US, there are no consequences to breaking it, and that if a cop does not tell a foreigner he has the right to contact his Consulate, or if they refuse to allow Consular staff to see him, nothing happens.

As a result, several other countries around the world have had court rulings that they no longer consider the US to be a full member of the VCCR, which means that Americans in those countries have, like foreigners in this country, lost the right to get help from the Embassy or Consulate if they are arrested.

Since Bustillo was a Mexican, and he was not allowed to contact the Mexican Consul, Mexico was the first country to do this, so if you ever get arrested in Mexico, don't bother asking to call your Embassy or Consulate, because you no longer have that right in Mexico, or in many other countries.

Richard

Answer 2

Turn it around; what would you do if you got arrested in a foreign country -- probably try to contact the American Embassy, right?

This is no different -- doesn't mean much usually, except in the case of capital crimes (since many countries don't allow the death penalty and might contact the State Dept.) or actual diplomats.

Answer 3

A foreign national can be defined as "a person who has no legal justification to be in a country".

This is opposite to a person who has "papers" or some type of legal status which gives him/her temporary or permanent rights to live in that country... Like tourism, student, work, etc.

The common public usage of the term "alien" and the legal usage of "alien" confuses the issue. "Foreign national" perhaps should be used to clarify the issue - until that term becomes abused and maligned so much that people again, don't know what they're saying.

Answer 4

i would not like being called non-national besides the undeniable fact that that's technically suitable. remote places national i reckon is greater politically suitable besides the undeniable fact that it style of feels a splash a bizarre term to me. in spite of everything it is high-quality as long because it isn't any longer used in a racist way... foreigner seems greater valuable altogether.