# Flying into US without a passport tomorrow **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [December 24, 2011, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flying-into-us-without-a-passport-tomorrow/607316 "2011-12-24T23:32:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2011, 6:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flying-into-us-without-a-passport-tomorrow/607316/61 "2011-12-26T06:38:13Z")
> [@ladyfoxfyre](#): > > Yeah, she had to go to the State Department, present a photocopy of her passport, arrange for them to get her either a new one or a temporary one. She wasn’t allowed on the plane without a passport. Just like everyone here said she wouldn’t be. What exactly was incorrect? Aside from the part where none of that happened? ---
**Author:** ![Svejk\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ea666f/32.png) [@Svejk\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Svejk_1)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2011, 6:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flying-into-us-without-a-passport-tomorrow/607316/62 "2011-12-26T06:49:29Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > And also acknowledge that some of us indulge in a bit of hyperbole. > > For my “without it you are a non-person” please read “without it you are a non-person _until such time as you’ve jumped through the bureaucratic hoops in order to get a replacement_”. :rolleyes: shit, I should really take classes from you on how you can come into a thread, say one thing, be proven wrong, and come back saying that you meant that other thing all along. That was impressive! ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2011, 12:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flying-into-us-without-a-passport-tomorrow/607316/63 "2011-12-26T12:09:37Z")
I admitted I was wrong, Mr Rolleyes, with the words “I’m glad I was wrong about them not letting her on the plane.” I know it’s subtle, but hope you can read between the lines. The rest of my post stands in its hyperbole. Or do you think I _literally_ meant you become a non-person? What does “non-person” even mean? I’ve been travelling all over the world for twenty years and have seen all sorts of major inconveniences caused by loss of crucial paperwork, the most crucial of which, when one is travelling, is the passport. In the majority of cases, if you lose your passport you’re fucked\* - you have a lot of work to do to get back to where you were before, which can involve missing flights, buying new tickets, and hanging around dealing with bureaucrats for days or weeks. You’re welcome to be cavalier with your passport; personally I’ll be keeping mine hidden on my person or locked in the hotel safe. \*I don’t mean you literally have sex with someone. ---
**Author:** ![pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2011, 12:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flying-into-us-without-a-passport-tomorrow/607316/64 "2011-12-26T12:47:13Z")
Gentlemen, gentlemen, please–can we simply reconcile to the simple truth that it is far more nerve-wracking to travel with a photocopy of one’s passport than the thing itself? I have spent the past 16 hours enjoying my daughter’s company, marred only by the resultant squabbling that your attempts at advice and assistance have caused. If I’m to celebrate this as a minor miracle, the squabbling will not help. Good will on earth, and all that rubbish… ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2011, 12:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flying-into-us-without-a-passport-tomorrow/607316/65 "2011-12-26T12:55:12Z")
> [@Koxinga](#): > > The Dope’s collective ignorance fought. This thread should be “Exhibit A” for why you should never rely on message board advice for even the simplest immigration matters. This should be remembered for even boards devoted to immigration, even when some posters claim to be immigration lawyers. Granted they mostly deal with problem cases in their work but they make everything seem so dire and impossible, at least for citizens yes explaining your predicament and being polite will work wonders. ---
**Author:** ![AK84](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/85e7bf/32.png) [@AK84](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AK84)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2011, 1:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flying-into-us-without-a-passport-tomorrow/607316/66 "2011-12-26T13:24:16Z")
> [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](#): > > Gentlemen, gentlemen, please–can we simply reconcile to the simple truth that it is far more nerve-wracking to travel with a photocopy of one’s passport than the thing itself? I have spent the past 16 hours enjoying my daughter’s company, marred only by the resultant squabbling that your attempts at advice and assistance have caused. If I’m to celebrate this as a minor miracle, the squabbling will not help. Good will on earth, and all that rubbish… Pray do tell the dear lasses entire story. What happened, was there questioning, handcuffing, detention, escape in a cargo hold and bribery of an official?;)😃 ---
**Author:** ![pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2011, 2:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flying-into-us-without-a-passport-tomorrow/607316/67 "2011-12-26T14:11:20Z")
Nothing of the kind. Apparently, the two keys were her photocopy of her passport (retrieved from the trashcan, mind you) and her conversation with a gentlemen from the US Consulate, who listened to her tale of woe and phoned ahead, explaining to TPTB at the airport that she was ok and should be allowed to board. When she got off the plane, she was subjected to a brief inquiry as to her identity and then released. She actually got off the plane ahead of most of those who’d brought their passports and were stuck on line. And I even got a can of haggis out of the deal. ---
**Author:** ![billfish678](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7bcc69/32.png) [@billfish678](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/billfish678)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2011, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flying-into-us-without-a-passport-tomorrow/607316/68 "2011-12-26T14:30:07Z")
> [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](#): > > And I even got a can of haggis out of the deal. Geez man. When a story has such a tragic and gruesome ending like that you really should warn people and put it a spoiler box 🙂 Glad things worked out. But it certainly could have ended up being more of a PITA than it was. ---
**Author:** ![PunditLisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/4af34b/32.png) [@PunditLisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PunditLisa)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2011, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flying-into-us-without-a-passport-tomorrow/607316/69 "2011-12-26T14:30:51Z")
Glad to hear she was able to board the plane and get through Customs. My friend, who is Canadian, flew to Mexico on business in November. Unbeknownst to her, her passport expired after 5 years (formerly it had been good for 10 years). The airline (United) didn’t catch it and let her board. Mexican Customs caught the error. They pulled her aside without explanation, confiscated all her personal belongings, including her cell phone and laptop, and put her in a holding cell (an actual jail cell) while they investigated. After 10 hours of water boarding (well, okay, I may have exaggerated that part), they had her escorted to a new plane bound for the United States, where she now lives. Other than the water boarding, the worst part was not being able to communicate. The person who was hired to pick her up at the airport eventually called her husband back in the U.S., and they imagined all sorts of horrible scenarios in the 10 hour gap. ---
**Author:** ![Ravenman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ravenman/32/2929_2.png) [@Ravenman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ravenman)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2011, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flying-into-us-without-a-passport-tomorrow/607316/70 "2011-12-26T14:58:44Z")
> [@jjimm](#): > > For my “without it you are a non-person” please read “without it you are a non-person _until such time as you’ve jumped through the bureaucratic hoops in order to get a replacement_”. If the shit hits the fan (e.g. you were on vacation in Egypt last year when they evacuated the tourists) without your passport you would be in a world of pain. Without the copy of the passport, **PRR** ’s daughter would almost certainly have been up shit creek. So, you are saying that if an American had been in Egypt early this year, and had his/her passport lost or stolen, that the US Embassy would refuse to assist that person? Your use of euphemisms makes you claims extremely vague and hard to assess. But the idea that the consular section would leave someone to fend for themselves in an emergency if they had lost their passport in the midst of a country being in upheaval is an extraordinary and totally unbelievable claim. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2011, 3:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flying-into-us-without-a-passport-tomorrow/607316/71 "2011-12-26T15:55:01Z")
> [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](#): > > … grilled her a bit on … who the secondbaseman on the 1962 Yankees was … This is why I try not to lose my U.S. passport. I couldn’t even say who was in the World Series this year. :smack: BTW, in 1999 I got a renewal passport in 24 hours at an overseas consulate! 🆒 I might have mentioned I was in a hurry, but don’t recall paying any extra fee or such. (I guess this story’s a thing of the past.) ---
**Author:** ![LSLGuy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lslguy/32/5813_2.png) [@LSLGuy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LSLGuy)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2011, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flying-into-us-without-a-passport-tomorrow/607316/72 "2011-12-26T16:22:03Z")
Sounds like the bureacracy used a bit more Christmas spirit than usual. Good to hear it all worked out. ---
**Author:** ![Rhythmdvl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/85f322/32.png) [@Rhythmdvl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhythmdvl)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2011, 6:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flying-into-us-without-a-passport-tomorrow/607316/73 "2011-12-26T18:52:31Z")
> [@hajario](#): > > Losing your passport is careless, not stupid. **Mediocre Moments in One-Liners** Mrs. Devil immigrated from the USSR. Skipping over mundane details, a while back she lost some ID and needed replacements. Part of the process required information about her original country. Given that the Soviet Union no longer existed, she wasn’t sure what to put on the forms. I got to say: “To lose one’s green card, Mrs. Devil, may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose one’s _country_ looks like carelessness” ---
**Author:** ![even\_sven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/dfb087/32.png) [@even\_sven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/even_sven)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2011, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flying-into-us-without-a-passport-tomorrow/607316/74 "2011-12-26T19:24:02Z")
Another tip for all of you. Always make a photocopy of your passport and carry it separately. Also, email yourself a photo of your passport so you can print one out on the go if need be. ---
**Author:** ![ladyfoxfyre](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ad7895/32.png) [@ladyfoxfyre](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ladyfoxfyre)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2011, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flying-into-us-without-a-passport-tomorrow/607316/75 "2011-12-26T20:35:12Z")
> [@Koxinga](#): > > Aside from the part where none of that happened? > [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](#): > > Actually, it weren’t that bad. She turned up right on time–she explained how on the UK she described her plight to the people from the State department, from the Airline (Continental), from the embassy, from the consulate, some of them sounding as dire as some of you, some of them a bit more encouraging, and she showed them her documents (including the photocopy of her passport, which was apparently crucial), grilled her a bit on where she was born, where I was born, what her mother’s middle name is, who the secondbaseman on the 1962 Yankees was (just kidding about that last one) and --voila! We just finished our lunch and are heading out for a stroll in the forest. > > Thanks to all. Yes, clearly none of that happened. ---
**Author:** ![China\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/779978/32.png) [@China\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/China_Guy)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2011, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flying-into-us-without-a-passport-tomorrow/607316/76 "2011-12-26T20:41:04Z")
> [@septimus](#): > > This is why I try not to lose my U.S. passport. I couldn’t even say who was in the World Series this year. :smack: > > BTW, in 1999 I got a renewal passport in 24 hours at an overseas consulate! 🆒 I might have mentioned I was in a hurry, but don’t recall paying any extra fee or such. (I guess this story’s a thing of the past.) They don’t do that any more. Or at least, the last time I got a new passport 2 years ago, they explained that ALL passport applications/renewals had to go back to the US, were done in the US, and then sent by diplomatic pouch to the overseas country. It was a real pain to figure out when I could be without my passport for the 2 or 3 weeks it took. When you live abroad and travel a lot you need the passport for foreign countries, and also may need to give your passport to a foreign consulate for days to get a visa. BTW, for the OP’s daughter, that trick probably only works to get back to the US. Chance of being able to go to a different country is very slim. For those playing at home, the OP’s daughter also got the US embassy on her side to grease the wheels or I’d be even more gobsmacked if she would have been allowed on the plane. ---
**Author:** ![Koxinga](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/4af34b/32.png) [@Koxinga](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Koxinga)\ **Post date:** [December 26, 2011, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flying-into-us-without-a-passport-tomorrow/607316/77 "2011-12-26T22:11:14Z")
> [@ladyfoxfyre](#): > > Yes, clearly none of that happened. After reading that passage a second time, you still don’t understand it? Wow. But I’m not going to bicker and take away from the OP’s well founded relief and holiday joy. And FWIW, I was also quite surprised that she made it on the plane. I just would have hesitated to offer any definitive opinion to that effect. So, congratulations,and happy holidays! ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2011, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flying-into-us-without-a-passport-tomorrow/607316/78 "2011-12-27T02:16:55Z")
> [@China\_Guy](#): > > They don’t do that any more. Or at least, the last time I got a new passport 2 years ago, they explained that ALL passport applications/renewals had to go back to the US, were done in the US, and then sent by diplomatic pouch to the overseas country. > > It was a real pain to figure out when I could be without my passport for the 2 or 3 weeks it took. When you live abroad and travel a lot you need the passport for foreign countries, and also may need to give your passport to a foreign consulate for days to get a visa. > > BTW, for the OP’s daughter, that trick probably only works to get back to the US. Chance of being able to go to a different country is very slim. For those playing at home, the OP’s daughter also got the US embassy on her side to grease the wheels or I’d be even more gobsmacked if she would have been allowed on the plane. Yes, it used to take a day or two to be done here in Bangkok. But when I last renewed mine here in 2003, they told me the same thing, that all passport renewals were now handled through the National Passport Center, in New Hampshire I think. Took about three weeks. Many routine forms involved in international travel and living – visas, banking etc – ask where your passport was issued. The embassy told me to put down NPC, and no one’s ever questioned it. Coming up time to renew mine again soon. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2011, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flying-into-us-without-a-passport-tomorrow/607316/79 "2011-12-27T02:35:31Z")
> [@ladyfoxfyre](#): > > Yeah, she had to go to the State Department, present a photocopy of her passport, arrange for them to get her either a new one or a temporary one. She wasn’t allowed on the plane without a passport. Just like everyone here said she wouldn’t be. What exactly was incorrect? State Department Present photocopy [del]Arrange for a new or temporary passport[/del] [del]Not allowed on a plane without a passport[/del] 50% is a failing grade. ---
**Author:** ![elbows](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/b3f665/32.png) [@elbows](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elbows)\ **Post date:** [December 27, 2011, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flying-into-us-without-a-passport-tomorrow/607316/80 "2011-12-27T03:32:38Z")
> [@](#): > > Another tip for all of you. Always make a photocopy of your passport and carry it separately. Also, email yourself a photo of your passport so you can print one out on the go if need be. This is sage advice. And I’m nearly certain it _was_ the difference, in this case, between what posters predicted and what occurred. And while you’re about it, do your airline tickets too! Your best, and possibly _only_ hope, in the event anything untoward happens to your ticket. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flying-into-us-without-a-passport-tomorrow/607316.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/flying-into-us-without-a-passport-tomorrow/607316.md?page=5)