Can you travel to the US with a visa in an expired passport if your new passport is a service passport?

Question

I know that valid US visas in expired passports can be used to travel to the US as long as both passports are presented at the border. However, this information seems to be put on different official web sites with different wordings, which leads to this question. According to this website, both passports should be from the same country and of the same type.

No. If your visa is still valid you can travel to the United States with your two passports, as long as the visa is valid, not damaged, and is the appropriate type of visa required for your principal purpose of travel. (Example: tourist visa, when your principal purpose of travel is tourism). Both passports (the valid and the expired one with the visa) should be from the same country and type (Example: both Uruguayan regular passports, both official passports, etc.). When you arrive at the U.S. port-of-entry (POE, generally an airport or land border) the Customs and Border Protection Immigration Officer will check your visa in the old passport and if s/he decides to admit you into the United States they will stamp your new passport with an admission stamp along with the annotation "VIOPP" (visa in other passport). Do not try to remove the visa from your old passport and stick it into the new valid passport. If you do so, your visa will no longer be valid.

However, there is no mention of types of passports in this website websites, and hence I should be able to travel even if I have a different type of passport.

Unless canceled or revoked, a visa is valid until its expiration date. Therefore, if the traveler has a valid U.S. visa in an expired passport, the traveler may present it, along with a new valid passport, at the Port of Entry. Please present the original expired passport, along with a new valid passport, at the Port of Entry. Both of the passports must indicate the same nationality, and the bearer's name must be identical in both passports. Please note: A valid visa is not guarantee of entry into the United States. Final determination of entry is at the sole discretion of the CBP Officer reviewing the documentation.

I have my valid B1/B2 US visa in a regular Turkish passport and will obtain a special Turkish passport, which is offered to public servants in Turkey. (You can find the details of this type of passport on Wikipedia entry "Turkish passport".)

I do have a friend who was in the exact same situation and able to enter the US. Consequently, either the information provided in the first website I linked is not accurate, or that special Turkish passports are still considered regular from the US's perspective. I would like to learn the reason of this apparent conflict.

Answer 1

If the new passport is of same type and same nationality then yes, otherwise No. Turkish Special passport is not an ordinary passport (which your previous passport was) hence the types differ and the visa is no longer valid.

Your experience might not be the same as your friend's in the same situation, and with CBP I would never risk taking a leap of faith. If they say its not allowed its just not allowed for me, regardless of whether they were lenient with my friend and used their discretion to let him in. Published recommendations say that both passports need to be of the same type.

The website you have quoted, usvisa.com, has also by now (15 March 2018) updated its recommendation to match the one given by State Department's website.

6. My passport has expired but my U.S. Visa is still active. What do I need to do?

Unless canceled or revoked, a visa is valid until its expiration date. If your visa is still valid you can travel to the United States with your two passports, as long as the visa is valid, not damaged, and is the appropriate type of visa required for your primary purpose of travel. Both passports (the valid and the expired one with the visa) should be from the same country and type. Please note: A valid visa is not guarantee of entry into the United States. Final determination of entry is at the sole discretion of the CBP Officer reviewing the documentation.

(the emphasis is mine)

Timatic, however, does not say that the passports need to be of same type.

A passenger may enter the USA with a valid visa in an expired passport, if also holding a valid passport of the same nationality. Transfer of a valid visa to a valid passport is highly recommended in all cases.

This answer takes help from another similar answer.