Bringing friends drivers licenses

ggmad

Just wondering if anyone has experience of bringing through your friends drivers licenses when going to the US? I'll be bringing them for two of my friends who forget to bring them when they traveled over earlier in the summer. Is this ok to do?

spideog7

ggmad wrote: »

Just wondering if anyone has experience of bringing through your friends drivers licenses when going to the US? I'll be bringing them for two of my friends who forget to bring them when they traveled over earlier in the summer. Is this ok to do?

I'm not even sure why you would think there is an issue doing that.

ggmad

spideog7 wrote: »

I'm not even sure why you would think there is an issue doing that.

I just thought that US security might think it's a bit dodgy, I've never traveled to the US before. Have you done this before?

coylemj

To my knowledge there is no electronic tag such an RFID chip in the Irish driving licence which means they won't show up in a scan so unless they search your bags with a fine tooth comb, how are they going to discover that you are carrying the licences? I agree with the first responder above, can't see why you think there may be an issue.

What do you have in mind when you refer to 'US Security'?

lulu1

Why risk it. If by chance they find you are carrying someone else's driving licence they might start asking all sorts of Questions Can your friends not have then posted over??

DM addict

I wouldn't worry about bringing them. But I would have contact details for the friends in question - if there are issues at any stage you can get them to corroborate that you're bringing them over because they forgot them.

And if security do find them - which I doubt, as has been said I don't believe they're chipped - then don't lie, be upfront and cooperative.

martingriff

lulu1 wrote: »

Why risk it. If by chance they find you are carrying someone else's driving licence they might start asking all sorts of Questions Can your friends not have then posted over??

Since he is going over I am guessing it is the cheapest way. When my brother lived in the S we had to post his licence to him. Sent it air mail and it took so long and got lost had to get a new one.

whitey1

I heard of people getting hauled in for questioning at Shannon and Immigration went thru ALL their belongings. Hypothetically, if your buddies have overstayed their visas, and you were bringing I'd over for them, the immigration officer would take a very dim view of that and would probably turn you back.

Personally, I wouldn't do it if I were you

iusedtoknow

Oh jeez...there will be no issues at all - i've travelled into the US with 2 peoples passports and a persons national ID (spain) with no questions asked. I made sure to have their details so they could be contacted on the day of travel, but that was it. I wasn.'t even asked even though I'm sure they showed up on the x-ray

American security and immigration can be a nightmare, but they can (in their own specific way) be pretty lenient or uncaring when they need to be

coylemj

whitey1 wrote: »

I heard of people getting hauled in for questioning at Shannon and Immigration went thru ALL their belongings

You 'heard of', like you personally know the people this happened to - how long ago?

If it happened, they were probably looking for clothes with US labels which would prove that the person was illegally living in the US. If the OP shoves the driving licences in his wallet, nobody is gong to find them.

lulu1

Our family was travelling from Dublin to London last year and against my advice my husband decided he would put all 5 phones in his bag. Going through security he took all the phones out and put them in the tray. A security man appeared and asked, are these your phones sir he said yes. And why would you need 5 phones? and started examining the phones. My husband then realised what he meant and says oh no they are not mine they belong to members of my family. To which the security man replied "the next time I ask a question I will expect an honest answer.
Op Why cause yourself worry on your journey let your friends sort out their own licences, because when it comes down to it it will be you who is in bother

whitey1

iusedtoknow wrote: »

Oh jeez...there will be no issues at all - i've travelled into the US with 2 peoples passports and a persons national ID (spain) with no questions asked. I made sure to have their details so they could be contacted on the day of travel, but that was it. I wasn.'t even asked even though I'm sure they showed up on the x-ray

American security and immigration can be a nightmare, but they can (in their own specific way) be pretty lenient or uncaring when they need to be

Are you TRYING to get on the "terror watch list"? If you got pulled in with that amount of ID that wasn't yours, they'd lock you up and throw away the key

bearhugs

Two years ago I had a relative bring me a new passport to the USA. I had sent the old one in for renewal and the new one wasn't ready in time. I went into the office and got the old one to travel on, after they made a copy, and a relative brought the new one a few weeks later. Absolutely no problem.

endofrainbow

lots of hyberbole in some of the above replies. My advice would be to put the licenses in a sealed envelope with your mates names and phone numbers on them and put in your checked luggage.

Wompa1

I'll take a stab at this one. If you have the drivers licenses in your luggage and you have multiple licenses than that is suspicious. Be prepared to answer questions. If you are under 21 and the licenses are for people over 21, I would suspect this will be an issue. But just my guess. I was in Boston last week for work...hadn't seen so many Irish people in a foreign city since I went to Sydney for 2 weeks. I would bet, just like with Australia, they are on a little on alert when it comes to the Irish due to some bad apples

iusedtoknow

well i flew into San Francisco yesterday with my wife's latest DNI (Spanish ID card) and a new print of her passport that I picked up for her when in Spain. All I got at the border was "welcome back...Mr iusedtoknow".

Granted, I look nothing like the photographs in the ID (she a dark catalan and obviously female, me a light skinned half anglosaxon/half celt) but still...there was nothing - it was in my bag, and got through 2 security points without it even being mentioned or looked at.

Wompa1

iusedtoknow wrote: »

well i flew into San Francisco yesterday with my wife's latest DNI (Spanish ID card) and a new print of her passport that I picked up for her when in Spain. All I got at the border was "welcome back...Mr iusedtoknow".

Granted, I look nothing like the photographs in the ID (she a dark catalan and obviously female, me a light skinned half anglosaxon/half celt) but still...there was nothing - it was in my bag, and got through 2 security points without it even being mentioned or looked at.

I assume both of yee are over 21 too

Thoie

endofrainbow wrote: »

lots of hyberbole in some of the above replies. My advice would be to put the licenses in a sealed envelope with your mates names and phone numbers on them and put in your checked luggage.

So close... the only change I'd make is that I'd keep them in hand luggage - last thing you want to explain to your friends is how their licenses got lost because someone went through your suitcase, or the baggage handlers split the bag open carelessly or whatever. As long as you don't leave your handluggage somewhere careless. If they're on you it's much easier to just explain the situation if asked.

whitey1

Im reading between the lines here....your friends overstayed their 90 day tourist visas and need their licenses to stay on illegally.....if they were here legally they would already have gotten their US licenses

So IF ( and it may not happen) you get pulled in for extra scrutiny by Immigration, and they find you are bringing ID out to 2 illegals, your chances of getting in are zero.

Again, Im going on the assumption that IF you get pulled over and IF they go through all your belongings and IF they find the licenses.

spideog7

There's nothing illegal about it and if you're not doing anything illegal that you've failed to mention and there are no outstanding warrants for your friends then you're safe enough.

The only suspicious thing here is the fact that you had to ask, which implies there's more to it than you're letting on.

ProudDUB

Jesus, some fair amount of hyperbole on here.

OP, if everything is above board on your trip & you are not doing anything that should invite further scrutiny of you or your possessions, bring the licenses with you. (By above board, I mean you are not planning on doing anything shady, or you have not done anything shady in the past, such as over stay a holiday visa, or try to sneak in again after over staying previous visas.) If you are just going over for a bog standard holiday and are coming back again, bring them with you. There is no reason why the contents of your hand luggage will be gone over with a fine tooth comb. There is also nothing in them that will set off any security detectors or anything like that.

What I would do is have both of your friends send you a letter or an email giving you permission to carry their items of photo ID on your person while you are transporting them for them. Bring those letters or email print out with you. Identity theft is a very big problem in the US. Law enforcement there take a very dim view of people having other peoples identity on their person, as they will presume that you are up to no good with it. On the off chance that your personal effects are inspected, it can't hurt to have something with you that verifies why you have it on you in the first place.

If your friends are in the US illegally, or are planning on over staying a visa, don't go near any of this with a ten foot barge pole.

martingriff

spideog7 wrote: »

There's nothing illegal about it and if you're not doing anything illegal that you've failed to mention and there are no outstanding warrants for your friends then you're safe enough.

The only suspicious thing here is the fact that you had to ask, which implies there's more to it than you're letting on.

Or he just does not know. It does happen