Passport hassle at US immigration? advice anyone?

dimejinky99

I'm going to new York tuesday for a single day but my passposts up march 16th and it's a full 10 years old. It is machine readable (the little arrows and lines and numbers under the photo) but doesn't have the chip with the biometric information on it. The US embassy website says as long as it's machine readable it's fine but nowhere can i find information about the amount of time left on a passport. It says older passports are valid up til the date of expiry.

Should I chance it or should I spend monday tearing around organising a new passport and if so can the passport office do an emergency one in a few hours? I have proof of travel and by tomorrow morning I'll have the photos and forms etc all signed. thing is ive done the visa online clearance bit using my passports number so if i get a new one they wont recognise it..what should i doooo?

keefg

I'm sure I read somewhere that your passport should have at least 6 months left on it at the time of travel.

As you are flying out in a couple of days there's no point worrying about it, just go. If you have a return ticket and are a genuine traveller you shouldn't have any problems.

If they do question it just say you are on a last minute business trip and it takes approx 2 weeks to renew your passport at home.

dimejinky99

Trouble is i'm literally only going for a day, so they might look on that strangely. It's to a gig I'm going to, it was a present my brother got me only yesterday. I kinda think I should go tomorrow and at least try sort out a new passport or call their embassy and ask, but someone said if i can bring documents to prove i have commitments here, like bills, hospital appointments etc and that i have to return that'll help.

It's more the immigration in NYC trying to get in i'm worried about than the ones in Dublin airport.

testicle

Ireland is exempt from the 6 month expiration rule. You will have no problem.

time42play

Know someone who's passport was nearly up going to the US for a week. She rang the embassy and was told it was fine, passport was good for a couple months past return date I think, but she had no trouble at all.

OH goes to NY regularly flies over one day then back the next. Never been an issue.

Do you not clear US Immigration in Dublin?

keefg

dimejinky99 wrote: »

Trouble is i'm literally only going for a day, so they might look on that strangely. It's to a gig I'm going to, it was a present my brother got me only yesterday. I kinda think I should go tomorrow and at least try sort out a new passport or call their embassy and ask, but someone said if i can bring documents to prove i have commitments here, like bills, hospital appointments etc and that i have to return that'll help.

It's more the immigration in NYC trying to get in i'm worried about than the ones in Dublin airport.

S'up to you but if it were me I'd just go and enjoy the gig. You are a genuine traveller with nothing to hide.

They have bigger issues to deal with at boarder control.

alpha2zulu

Where you do immigration will depend which flight your on. Off the top of my head up until recently anyway, the early aer lingus, early continental and the delta flight clears in DUB. The afternoon aer lingus and 10:55 continental were clearing in New York if thats any help.

S'up to you but if it were me I'd just go and enjoy the gig. You are a genuine traveller with nothing to hide.

They have bigger issues to deal with at boarder control.

Exactly, presuming as another poster mentioned that its true that the 6 month rule doesent apply to Ireland, they might ask ya a few quick questions but nothing more. No doubt there are plenty of business people etc who only travel for one day trips to NYC so I really wouldent worry.

dimejinky99

Ok, did a lot of reading on US government websites and discovered that travel is possible. Ireland is on a list of exemptions called the 6 month club which not only means you can travel up to the date, but your passport is good for 6 months after its expiry date. Now none of us would like to try pushing that obviously, but all the signs say I can go. The passport is machine readable therefore it should for all intets and purposes be ok, it's looking like it just comes down to the guy I get at the immigration desk on the day. Hopefully it's here and not NYC, 'cos I hate flying anyways but to do an 8 hour flight then be returned immediately on another one? they'd be landing pretty quickly to get me to an A&E with a cardiac arrest, but it mostly looks ok.

Still chewin me nails wondering should I go get an emergency one ready just in case? Like to have all bases covered..

Enii

Your passport is valid to travel on up to the day it expires.

Have you applied on line for your ESTA visa waiver?

dimejinky99

Yeah did the esta online visa form and it was approved. That mean I'm good to go?

Enii

dimejinky99 wrote: »

Yeah did the esta online visa form and it was approved. That mean I'm good to go?

Reckon it is!

helimachoptor

testicle wrote: »

Ireland is exempt from the 6 month expiration rule. You will have no problem.

Do you have a source for that?

dimejinky99

Yep..this is an unofficial link which has the official link at the top of the blurb..the file on the official site is a pdf and we're on it.
http://immigrationroad.com/resource/uscbp-six-month-club-passport-expiration.php
Foreign travelers visiting the United States are typically required to hold passports that are valid for six months beyond the period of their intended stay in the US. However, citizens of the countries listed below (six month club) are exempt from the six-month rule and need only have a passport valid for their intended period of stay:

Note: U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) updates the six month club list on a regular basis. It is thus important that you check their website (www.cbp.gov) for the latest version before making travel arrangement.

* Algeria
* Andorra
* Angola
* Antigua and Barbuda
* Antilles
* Argentina
* Armenia
* Aruba
* Australia
* Austria
* Bahamas, The
* Barbados
* Belgium
* Belize
* Bermuda
* Bolivia
* Bosnia-Herzegovina
* Brazil
* Bulgaria
* Burma
* Canada
* Chile
* Colombia
* Costa Rica
* Cote D’Ivoire
* Croatia
* Cyprus
* Czech Republic
* Denmark
* Dominica
* Dominican Republic
* Egypt
* El Salvador
* Estonia
* Ethiopia
* Fiji
* Finland
* France
* Gabon
* Georgia
* Germany
* Greece
* Grenada
* Guatemala
* Guinea
* Guyana
* Haiti
* Holy See
* Hong Kong
* Hungary
* Iceland
* India
* Indonesia
* Ireland
* Israel
* Italy
* Jamaica
* Japan
* Latvia
* Lebanon
* Libya
* Liechtenstein
* Lithuania
* Luxembourg



* Macau
* Macedonia
* Madagascar
* Malaysia
* Maldives
* Malta
* Mauritania
* Mauritius
* Mexico
* Monaco
* Mongolia
* Montenegro
* Mozambique
* Nepal
* Netherlands
* New Zealand
* Nicaragua
* Nigeria
* Norway
* Pakistan
* Palau
* Panama
* Papua New Guinea
* Paraguay
* Peru
* Philippines
* Poland
* Portugal
* Qatar
* Romania
* Russia
* San Marino
* Serbia
* Seychelles
* Singapore
* Slovakia
* Slovenia
* South Africa
* South Korea
* Spain
* Sri Lanka
* St. Kitts and Nevis
* St. Lucia
* St. Vincent and The Grenadines
* Suriname
* Sweden
* Switzerland
* Taiwan
* Thailand
* Trinidad and Tobago
* Tunisia
* Turkey
* Tuvalu
* Ukraine
* United Arab Emirates
* United Kingdom
* Uruguay
* Uzbekistan
* Venezuela
* Vietnam
* Zimbabwe

alpha2zulu

dimejinky99 wrote: »

The passport is machine readable therefore it should for all intets and purposes be ok, it's looking like it just comes down to the guy I get at the immigration desk on the day. Hopefully it's here and not NYC, 'cos I hate flying anyways but to do an 8 hour flight then be returned immediately on another one? they'd be landing pretty quickly to get me to an A&E with a cardiac arrest, but it mostly looks ok.

Still chewin me nails wondering should I go get an emergency one ready just in case? Like to have all bases covered..

You will be fine, the immigration guys always seem to look big and burly but providing you never overstayed visas there or whatever you good to go!! Seriously though when your queing up for immigration you see every type of colour and creed get through no problem

If you really want to cover every base, although not a bit necessary but just for your own piece of mind if nothing else, get your place of work to type a very quick letter confirimng you work with them and what day your expected back to work or if your in college just get a quick note saying your currently a student and bring the letter with you when your flying. As I said not at all necessary but might give you piece of mind in the meantime.;) That way if you did get any debate (which you wont) about why your stay is so short you can bring the letter out.

Hopefully it's here and not NYC,

Just compare the flight your on with the ones I mentioned earlier which clear in Dublin.

InTheTrees

I've been going back and forth at least twice a year for almost 20 years now and I've actually never heard of the six month thing for passports.

Manic Moran

Have a copy of your booking reference for your return flight handy for the following day. You'll be fine.

NTM

dimejinky99

Is that the same booking reference as my flight out? cos if so i have it. I also have 2 bills and a hospital operation appointment in me bag just in case..

keefg

dimejinky99 wrote: »

Is that the same booking reference as my flight out? cos if so i have it. I also have 2 bills and a hospital operation appointment in me bag just in case..

Jeez, you will worry yourself into an early grave You'll be fine, just go and enjoy the gig.

InTheTrees

keefg wrote: »

Jeez, you will worry yourself into an early grave You'll be fine, just go and enjoy the gig.

Exactly.

And remember Americans love the Irish.

dimejinky99

from the fryin pan into the fire..went into the passport office today & they wouldnt do me an emergency one cos my birth cert was in bits and then told me its highly unlikely ill be allowed travel as my passports water damaged as well as out of date. They'd never heard of the 6 month exemption for Ireland.
Fingers crossed for tomorrow. Hope i get a good guy at the immigration desk.

InTheTrees

dimejinky99 wrote: »

from the fryin pan into the fire..went into the passport office today & they wouldnt do me an emergency one cos my birth cert was in bits and then told me its highly unlikely ill be allowed travel as my passports water damaged as well as out of date. They'd never heard of the 6 month exemption for Ireland.
Fingers crossed for tomorrow. Hope i get a good guy at the immigration desk.

Hold on a second... Its not out of date as it expires in march right? As far as US immigration is concerned you're up to date.

But more importantly I must have missed where you mentioned "water damage" before. How bad is it? Is it legible? Intact?

Enii

If you get refused due to your water damaged passport you will have to constantly declare that you were refused entry. This may make it difficult to enter under the visa waiver scheme.


I would consider not going until I had got a new passport - nothing to do with the date of expiry purely because of the water damage.

InTheTrees

Enii wrote: »

If you get refused due to your water damaged passport you will have to constantly declare that you were refused entry.

An interesting point. Perhaps you could word your request to the immigration officer something like... "if I were to present this passport to you would it be acceptable?" so that he wouldnt have to officially deny you.

Best of luck anyway. I think the person you talked to in the passport office was just scaring you.

Black Swan

InTheTrees wrote: »

And remember Americans love the Irish.

And they run about with T-shirts that say "Kiss me I'm Irish" on Paddy's Day... In Chicago they dye the river green and parade down the Miracle Mile, and Guinness sales go up nationally.

InTheTrees

Blue_Lagoon wrote: »

And they run about with T-shirts that say "Kiss me I'm Irish" on Paddy's Day... In Chicago they dye the river green and parade down the Miracle Mile, and Guinness sales go up nationally.

Yup. On st.patricks day everyone is Irish.

spideog7

InTheTrees wrote: »

And remember Americans love the Irish.

Not immigration officers! The "Ah sure it'll be grand" attitude doesn't always work with them.

InTheTrees

...i wonder if he made it?

Ruu_Old

spideog7 wrote: »

Not immigration officers! The "Ah sure it'll be grand" attitude doesn't always work with them.

Exactly, throw away any kind of notion that Americans love the Irish until you are actually in the clear.