Tom Hanks’ son Chet Hanks is not being allowed to return home to the U.S., even though he is an American citizen.
The actor and musician — the eldest child of the Oscar-winner and his current wife Rita Wilson — revealed in an Instagram video on Friday, February 27, that he’s stranded in Medellin, Colombia, after running into passport trouble.
“Ya’ll ready for story time?” Chet, 35, began in the video, explaining that he had recently travelled to Puerto Rico for his “homie Max’s birthday party” before deciding to visit another friend in the neighbouring Colombian city “only two, three hours away.”
Things went smoothly at first but quickly took a turn when Chet arrived at the airport to take a flight back to the U.S. — without his U.S. passport.
“I’m travelling with my Greek passport because I’m a dual citizen,” he said, noting that he avoided using his U.S. passport because it’s close to expiring. When he attempted to check in for his international flight home, he was told he’d need additional documentation. “They tell me that if I’m using a foreign passport, I need a green card to get back into America.”
“I don’t have a green card because I’m an American citizen,” stressed Chet, whose full name is Chester Marlon Hanks. “So I’m literally stuck in Colombia. I’m stuck in Medellin.”
Though he admitted, “Granted, there’s worse places to be stuck,” Chet said he has “no f***ing idea what I’m gonna do,” explaining that the nearest U.S. embassy is in the Colombian capital of Bogota. “I don’t want to go to Bogota… so free me,” he pleaded.
