Going to the USA this year? READ THIS!!

Blue in Munich

Blue in Munich

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I thought u needed 12 months before it expired anyway and this only effects 2006 issued passports.. Need updating anyway!
 
Rooter said:
I thought u needed 12 months before it expired anyway and this only effects 2006 issued passports.. Need updating anyway!
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No. https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/usa/entry-requirements

[h=3]Passport validity[/h]Your passport should be valid for the proposed duration of your stay. You don’t need any additional period of validity on your passport beyond this

So there are a large number of people out there potentially affected.
 
Blue in Munich said:
So there are a large number of people out there potentially affected.
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Well no, not large. only those that their passport expires this year anyway, so i would wager about 8% of the passport holders of the UK. Anyway, irrelevant of that, its useful to check if you are off there soon!
 
It really affects only a small minority but the long and short of it, if you are going to the US ensure you passport has this on it

passport_960x640.jpeg
 
I've just got back from the states this week, and it was plastered all over the airports there. There were a few people without the biometric part being pulled into separate queues and interviewed!

Plus they were taking all 10 fingerprints and eye scans of every passenger entering, so the security queues off the planes was horrific - took us 2.5 hours to get from the plane to the baggage reclaim at JFK and some friends had the same at LA the week before
 
Perhaps not but they are better than the previous versions. I went to the US a couple of years ago and everyone had the retina scan. We may also have had the fingers done but I can't remember. It is something you know happens when you go to the US. You just have to accept it if you want to go there. I think it took us around 1.5 hrs after landing to actually be cleared but we knew we had to go through it so we were psycholgically prepared.
 
I went 4 weeks ago and I got through immigration at JFK quicker than I have had to wait at Birmingham airport to get back into the UK. Just peg it once you are off the plane to try and ensure you get there before the rest of the plane does.
 
kerber0s1983 said:
I've just got back from the states this week, and it was plastered all over the airports there. There were a few people without the biometric part being pulled into separate queues and interviewed!

Plus they were taking all 10 fingerprints and eye scans of every passenger entering, so the security queues off the planes was horrific - took us 2.5 hours to get from the plane to the baggage reclaim at JFK and some friends had the same at LA the week before
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Well that's cheered me up no end; going into JFK shortly and only 2.5 hours between landing & the connecting flight's departure time. Anyone know if you have to do immigration at JFK or could it be done at final destination?
 
Its been on the cards for almost a year so shouldn't really come as a surprise.

The UK should do the same.
 
Blue in Munich said:
Well that's cheered me up no end; going into JFK shortly and only 2.5 hours between landing & the connecting flight's departure time. Anyone know if you have to do immigration at JFK or could it be done at final destination?
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You must do it at point of entry, chances are 2.5 hours will be more than fine
 
Heard this today, apparently there are 3 million UK passport holders that don't have the chip.

Pretty poor that changes like this can be made and not widely publicised.

Would make sense for airlines and travel agents to communicate when/before airline tickets to the US are booked, although Ts and Cs will undoubtedly state that the customer is solely responsible for ensuring that they have the correct documentation, which would include passport type.

Feel for people that booked airline tickets before that changes were made and who haven't discovered the policy changes have been made. Have read about people being refused boarding at UK point of exit, as well as people being refused entry at US point of entry.
 
Val said:
You must do it at point of entry, chances are 2.5 hours will be more than fine
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Agree with this. The good news of course is that when you arrive at the final destination you just walk straight through. The big thing to do, it helped us, was to quickly accept the wait will happen, accept it is part of the trip and smile and be friendly to the person in US customs no matter how hacked off you feel. Get your head around it and it stops being a problem.
 
Blue in Munich said:
Well that's cheered me up no end; going into JFK shortly and only 2.5 hours between landing & the connecting flight's departure time. Anyone know if you have to do immigration at JFK or could it be done at final destination?
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We had exactly the same the other week. We were a bit late getting in due to the strong jet stream, but they were very good when we landed as they gave us express passes to get through security once we had collected our bags and rechecked it in. I believe you can clear US immigration at some Irish airports but mostly you have to do it at your first port of entry to the US.
 
Break90 said:
Have read about people being refused boarding at UK point of exit, as well as people being refused entry at US point of entry.
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I think it is the airlines responsibility to only transfer people that are allowed to enter. If BA flies someone there who can't enter they have to fly them back.
 
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