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Can this trip be saved? Icelandair’s ESTA snafu strands 18-year-old in UK

August 16, 2010

Note: I’m starting a new series called “Can this trip be saved?” where you get to vote on whether I mediate a case. Here’s the first installment.

Carrie LaMarr is steamed at Icelandair. Because of a misunderstanding over her son’s visa requirements, he was denied boarding on a flight this summer. He had to stay in Europe two extra days and pay another $905 to fly home.

LaMarr says the mix-up is Icelandair’s fault. Icelandair says it isn’t to blame.

Who’s right? I’ll let each side speak for itself and then tell you why I need your help in deciding what to do next.


Let’s begin with LaMarr:

Our 18-year-old son, Alex, arrived at check in at Glasgow airport for his flight to Seattle on July 17th with Icelandair some three hours before departure.

Alex presented his online ticket and British passport to the handling agent. Alex also had his Green Card with him, which was taped inside his passport.

The handling agent asked Alex whether he had completed the ESTA program paperwork, to which Alex replied no he had not. [ESTA is the US Visa waiver program.]

The agent told him that he would not be able to travel unless ESTA paperwork had been completed.

Alex asked whether he could complete the form and she informed him no, that such paperwork needed to be completed 72 hours before departure.

Alex told the agent that he thought that was strange as he lived in the USA and was a Permanent Resident and did not think he would have to do this.

The agent told Alex that only US citizens were not required to complete the ESTA paperwork and did not ask for any other documentation

Alex, not familiar with the new ESTA travel system since he last traveled to the UK (Aug 2008) had no choice but to believe her. His father, also present at the desk, stressed that Alex in fact lived in the USA and was returning for an important surgery on July 22nd and it was vitally important he return home to Seattle. The agent merely told Alex to phone Icelandair to see what could be done and then moved on to the next passenger.

LaMarr says the agent was mistaken, and had she bothered to read the ESTO requirements, would have seen that her son didn’t require a visa waiver, since he was a permanent resident. She complained to Icelandair, asking for a refund. Here’s the response from the agent:

The passenger was travelling on the FI436 then he was travelling on to the United States. When I was going to check the passenger in the computer asked if the passenger had completed an ESTA form online or if the passenger had a visa or any other documentation.

So I then asked the passenger if he had completed an ESTA form or had a visa. Pax Gray replied no to the visa and asked what an esta form was. I then showed him his confirmation as it said on the top of it that he had to complete and ESTA form at least 72 hours before travelling.

Pax Gray stated he never done this, so I advised him that as this was not done he wouldn’t be able to travel and that he would need to contact Icelandair or our ticket desk to see what they would be able to do with his ticket. Pax stated that he was a British citizen and that he held a British passport which he showed to me.

At no point did he show me a green card. Pax Gray never mentioned being a US resident or having possession of a green card. Obviously if he had done so I would have checked him in with no issue. Pax Gray went on his way to the ticket desk, he accepted the information I had given him, and was very pleasant.

LaMarr said both her son and her husband, who was present at check-in, dipute that account. They say they were never asked about his residence status or for a Green Card.

“We believe the handling agent was responsible for our son being denied boarding when he was in receipt of the correct documentation, though she did not ask for it,” she says.

Why I’m on the fence. Proper documentation is the traveler’s responsibility. The requirements are clearly spelled out on the US government’s site. Had he shown the Icelandair representative a Green Card and pointed to the chapter and verse of the ESTA rules that said he could travel, he would have been allowed on a plane. Icelandair is also well within its rights to charge for a seat on the plane two days later.

Still, it isn’t unrealistic to expect an Icelandair agent working in the UK to be aware of the new ESTA requirements. She should have asked Alex a few more questions in an effort to ensure he could get a seat on his original flight, and to make it to his doctor’s appointment.

What do you think? Should I ask Icelandair to refund the money? Or is this an expensive lesson learned for LaMarr?

Here are the results of the poll, which ran from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Aug. 16, 2010.

That’s 74 percent yes, 26 percent no. The poll had 723 responses. I’ve contacted Icelandair on behalf of LaMarr.

Update (Aug. 18): I contacted Icelandair. LaMarr received the following response:

Thank you for our telephone conversation yesterday. I hope this message finds you well. As promised, I went over the issue in more detail. I feel that the issue has been handled well by our Icelandair employees so far. However, as the matter was originally handled by our handling agent, we cannot be assured of all details.

Because of this, you were offered a 50% refund on the airfare and a full refund on the change fee, excluding the fare difference. That is a total refund of 311.15 GBP or approx. 484 USD. As we discussed, that is not a total refund on the amount you paid for the ticket change. Let me stress that your claim finds our full understanding. Therefore I would like to offer you a full refund on both the change fee and fare difference, a total of 905 USD.

I hope you agree with this solution and if you do, please inform me and I will make sure that the amount will be refunded to your creditcard as soon as possible.

(Photo: D eivis/Flickr Creative Commons)

Christopher Elliott is the author of Scammed: How to Save Your Money and Find Better Service in a World of Schemes, Swindles, and Shady Deals. Critics have called it “eye-opening” and “inspiring” — it’ll “grab your attention and won’t let go.” Order your copy now on Amazon, Barnes & Noble or iTunes.

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74 comments

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  • Ed

    Here is why I think the case should be re-mediated.
    Sure, he should have read the documentation, but the agent here is completely at fault and here’s why.
    The agent said “At no point did he show me a green card. Pax Gray never mentioned being a US resident or having possession of a green card. Obviously if he had done so I would have checked him in with no issue.”

    *BUT* if the agent said “do you have a green card, or are a permanent resident of the United States, or have the correct ESTA form filled out?”
    Instead of the minimalistic statement asking Alex whether he had completed the ESTA program paperwork. This would never have been a problem.

    This is *CLEARLY* a case of the agent being bored with his/her job and couldn’t be bothered to ask the right question to get the proper response from the traveling customer.

  • Arizona Road Warrior

    @ Joe Farrell – “US law MANDATES that the green card be ‘permanently affixed’ to the passport – thus – the green card MUST have been attached to the passport – right?”
    - – - – - – - – -
    I taped my wife’s Green Card onto the inside back cover page of her passport twice and both times, the US Customs agent told us not to tape it since they had to swipe the card through a card reader. That has been over five years ago and things could have changed. Since my wife is now a US citizen for over 4 years now as well as I stopped taping it before she became a US citizen, I don’t know what is the current regulation.

    Can you provide the link to a US government webpage that states that US law mandates that the green card to be permanelty affixed to the passport? I couldn’t find anything in my searches.

    On the US Department of Homeland Security’s US Citizenship & Immigration Services website, http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.eb1d4c2a3e5b9ac89243c6a7543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=0c353a4107083210VgnVCM100000082ca60aRCRD&vgnextchannel=0c353a4107083210VgnVCM100000082ca60aRCRD, it states: “If seeking to enter the United States after temporary travel abroad, you will need to present a valid, unexpired “green card” (Form I-551, Permanent Resident Card). When arriving at a port of entry, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection Officer will review your permanent resident card and any other identity documents you present, such as a passport, foreign national I.D. card or U.S. Driver’s License, and determine if you can enter the United States.”

    I couldn’t find anything on the US Customs & Border Protection website.

    By the way, if a Permanent Resident is out of the country for more than 365 years, then they must first apply for a reentry permit on Form I-131 according to the US Department of Homeland Security’s US Citizenship & Immigration Services website.

  • Brian C

    Correct me if I’m wrong, but if a common carrier brings a passenger who is not eligible for admission, isn’t it the financial responsibility of the carrier to return them? (of course they may try to pass this on to the passenger).

    If that’s the case, the agent absolutely must know or have access to the entry requirements. It’s also bad business to be turning away paying passengers, so they ought to have an interest in getting it right.

    The last time I flew from Europe to the US (granted it was a direct flight), I was subjected to more scrutiny than I was at passport control. I find it hard to believe that any airline that flies to the US doesn’t have some sort of script or protocol to follow and catch all the special circumstances.

    At this point, unless someone documented something in writing or made an audio recording, it’s a he said/she said situation. I missed the voting, but I say go for it!

  • Arizona Road Warrior

    Here is the information that I found at the Icelandair’s website, http://www.icelandair.us/information/before-you-go/usa-entry-rules/, about traveling to the US:

    “Immigration and entry rules for the United States
    Passports and other documentary requirements
    It is the responsibility of the passenger to gather information about and obtain the required travel documents and visas that he/she needs for the destination country.

    In general, all passengers, including U.S. citizens, must be in possession of a valid and unexpired passport to travel to the United States.

    All passengers, except U.S. citizens, must also be in possession of a valid and unexpired visa, except:
    1.Lawful Permanent Residents of the U.S. who are in possession of a valid I-551 Permanent Resident Card (Green Card);
    2.Canadian citizens entering the U.S. for business/tourism; and
    3.passengers who are eligible to enter the U.S. under the Visa Waiver Program (VWP) – see information below.”

    As a side note, why fly on Icelandair. There is a direct flight on British Airways from LHR to SEA and the fare was $ 400 lower than Icelandair. I think that BA is a better airline than Icelandair.

    Here is the information that I found at the British Airways’ website,
    http://www.britishairways.com/travel/usawaiver/public/en_gb, about traveling to the US:

    “US Immigration requirements and ESTA
    Travelling to the US

    US Citizens must have:
    • a valid US passport
    and
    •supply us with Advance Passenger Information (API) at least 72 hours before travel.

    Visitors travelling to the US must have:

    •a valid passport
    and
    •have either a valid visa or an Electronic System Travel Authorisation (ESTA) to allow you to travel under the Visa Waiver Programme or a Permanent Resident Card (Green Card)

    and

    •supply us with Advance Passenger Information (API) at least 72 hours before travel.

    Find out everything you need to know here. Please take some time to read through and understand what you need to do to ensure that you can travel.”

  • Cory J.

    @ Ed – I do agree that it probably was a case of an agent being bored about the job, and that they probably could have done a better job… But I don’t think it’s the agent or the airline’s responsibility to play 101 questions until they get the right answer out of the traveller, whether they are 18 or 80 years old.

    It’s the travellers responsibility to understand what the entry requirements are, be in compliance, and have the appropriate documentation and present it, period. Between an 18-year old and his father, one of them should have told the agent that he has a green card and pointed it out. It’s not the agents responsbility to rifle through the passport and see what’s stapled/taped inside. Who is going to hold the poor lads hand when he arrives at US Customs and Immigration, he’s gotta learn and unfortunately this one cost them some money.

  • Andrea

    @ Joe Farrell

    First, a Green Card is not a work visa, they are two entirely different documents. A Green Card indicates that the holder is a permanent resident, and has different rights and responsibilities than a work visa. Green Card holders must register for the Selective Service (Draft Board) if they are of the required age and gender for example, people in the US on a work visa do not have such a requirement.

    @ Arizona Road Warrior (and others who have remarked on this) the USCIS website has no information about ESTA in the International Travel section at all, here’s the link. http://tinyurl.com/yb7j6g4 This is presumably because a Green Card holder does not have to complete this paperwork to enter the country and so has no real need to have this information. I personally had never heard of it, and while I am a US citizen with a US Passport, I can see how one would get confused if they were asked if they had completed paperwork that had nothing to do with them. The ESTA website, does not state that Green Card holders have to fill out their paperwork, but even when searching out “Green Card” it does not specifically state that Green Card holders do not have to file, see the link. http://tinyurl.com/39hwsdk

    Given that, I think it is certainly reasonable that, assuming the passenger did as stated in the letter, and indicate to the agent that he was a permanent resident, the agent should have taken the time to find out if he needed to fill it out. I also think that the passenger should have requested to see a supervisor. I voted yes, because ultimately, if the original customer letter is accurate, they gave the agent all of the required data, and the agent should not have prevented the customer from boarding the plane. As such, he should not have had to pay additional money for a seat several days later because he should not have been denied boarding in the first place.

    I also think that the customer (and I know that the customer is not the person who wrote the complaint) is more likely to have an accurate memory of the transaction, if only because the agent deals with hundreds of people per day, and likely forgot the customer almost as soon as he was gone. Unless the conversation was recorded, I find it unlikely that the agent can remember everything that was said.

  • Jason

    You don’t even need passport to enter the US if you have a green card. In my opinion, the airline should not be charging for the new flight in case of misunderstanding.

  • Ron

    I think Icelandair owes this family both an appology and reimbursement for the funds they removed without authorization. The 18 year old didn’t ask for the flight back, so it shouldn’t be charged to begin with.

  • http://noaddedsalt.blogspot.com Elisa

    Unbelievable. I can’t help thinking that the yes-votes must have been mere sympathy and/or a sense of entitlement. Why are people blaming the agent? It was never their job to ask the passenger questions they can’t know to ask. Keep in mind the US is in the minority when it comes to anything called a “green card” – the rest of the world uses terms like “residency permit” or “work permit”. To expect any gate agent to know the immigration rules of every destination is ridiculous. Every country has limits and exceptions… which depend on the departure country, and get rather complicated.

    I had to do my research to enter Finland as an Aussie. By rights I didn’t need a visa, but since I intended to stay permanently, I needed other paperwork (see how things change depending on the passenger?). When visiting other parts of the EU, I don’t presume they will care about my Finnish residency. Why should they – regardless of where I live, I’m Australian so the rules still apply to me. I have to learn and follow the rules like anyone else.

    The passenger above isn’t a citizen of the country he was flying into. It is NORMAL for an agent to check they have the correct permission to enter. As you stated Chris it was the passenger’s responsibility to ascertain the regulations and what paperwork etc he would need. You can’t simply assume that things will be just the same way it was last time you flew. Rules change all the time and the opportunity was there for the pax to confirm with the embassies concerned.

  • Arizona Road Warrior

    @ Andrea – “Arizona Road Warrior (and others who have remarked on this) the USCIS website has no information about ESTA in the International Travel section at all, here’s the link.”
    - – - – - – - – -
    Please re-read my comments…there is no statement on the USCIS website stating that a Green Card must be physical attached to a Permanent Resident’s passport…my issue is that Joe Farrell states that the United States government mandates that a Green Card must be attached to the Permanent Resident’s passport. I found no such regulation\rule\law\etc. on the USCIS website stating that; therefore, I asked Joe Farrell to post the link to a US government website that listed this requirement\rule\regulation\etc.

    The link, http://tinyurl.com/yb7j6g4, that you posted is the same link that I posted, http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.eb1d4c2a3e5b9ac89243c6a7543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=0c353a4107083210VgnVCM100000082ca60aRCRD&vgnextchannel=0c353a4107083210VgnVCM100000082ca60aRCRD.

    Again, I had no questions or issues about the ESTA. My question or issue is about the attaching of the Green Card to the passport. There have been comments that the Icelandair agent should have seen the Green Card that was allegedly taped to the passport as well as Joe Farrell’s comment that it is US law for the Green Card to be attached to the passport. I have seen some pictures of a British passport and it looks very unlikely that a Green Card could have been taped to the inside cover of it or the first few pages. My point is that it was probably unlikely that Icelandair agent could have seen the Green Card; therefore, do these people expected the Icelandair agent to go through every page of the passport looking for a Green Card.

    Please remember that I voted ‘Yes’ to mediate because I felt that Icelandair was at 25% fault here.

  • John Baker

    I’ll start by saying I initially voted “yes”. However, after thinking about this case for a day, I’m a no.

    Ultimately, its that passenger’s responsibilty to present themselves to the airline with all of the documents required for entry into the US. In this case, the 18 yo didn’t take the time to understand what those requirements were. If he had, I don’t think he would have just walked away from the agent. He would have escalated it onsite and argued his case.

    Honestly, it really doesn’t matter if the agent script for this rare circumstance was incorrect or not. If the 18 yo knew the requirements and escalated the case onsite, they would have eventually ended up on the US Dept of State website.

    Sorry this is a case of personal responsibility to me.

  • http://mytimetotravel.wordpress.com Kathy

    @JoeFarrell “US law MANDATES that the green card be ‘permanently affixed’ to the passport – thus – the green card MUST have been attached to the passport – right? ”

    Since when? Wasn’t true when I had a green card, and I can’t find anything on the US government sites requiring it now. Plus, my green card said I had to have it with me at all times, and I’d hardly carry my passport around as well. I would always show both my passport and my green card, as separate documents (they were issued by separate governments, after all), when checking in for flights to the US.

  • Mike Z

    @Arizona Road Warrior:
    You were able to find the requirements in print on the Iceland air website. There is no reason this information shouldn’t also be available to the check in people at the gates. Anyone who was looking at a screen with this information would have asked “do you have xx or xx or xx for entry” if it was not already presented to them. Since the person had a green card, he would have simply said, “yes, its taped right inside here” and showed his visa with the card inside.

    So while it seems that the traveller should know what they need, the traveler did have what they needed and the agent never bothered to ask for what the airline clearly says in print is needed.

  • Steve

    @Arizona Road Warrior: “I am sure that this agent has heard people saying “I live there” to avoid the ETSA requirements which turned out to be a lie.” Absolutely. The issue is not that the agent should have accepted that explanation and waved him through without any proof; the issue is that at the point at which he said he was a resident, she should have asked him for proof of *that.* It seems instead that she ignored him.

    Also, to everyone saying that he should have brought a printout of the rules that pertained to him: who’s to say that the gate agent who believed she already knew the rules would have paid any attention to that, either? I don’t know any way to prevent something like this from happening short of forcing the airlines to actually train their employees.

  • http://www.roamingtales.com Caitlin @ Roaming Tales

    If Alex’s account is true, then IcelandAir is at fault. He said he was a permanent resident – the agent should have known that this eliminated the need for an ESTA form. (In fact, any visa eliminates this need).

    On the other hand, if the IcelandAir account is correct then Alex is at fault. The IcelandAir agent claims that they asked if he had a visa and that Alex said no. A Green Card IS a form of visa.

    I must say, it doesn’t sound like Alex or his father pushed his case far enough. I wouldn’t just say “I’m a permanent resident”; I would say “I’m a permanent resident and here is my Green Card.” I’m puzzled why he accepted it so easily when the stakes were so high for him. And yes, he’s young – but his father was there too and should have helped to advocate.

    The reason I think it’s worth mediating is not so much because of Alex’s own situation but because I think that the airline should train its employees and change its procedure to make sure they ask more questions and don’t end up with situations like this.

    Also, Chris says it’s the passengers responsibility to have immigration documentation in order. However, if that were 100% true then the airline would just board everyone and then let people be deported at the other end. Given that the airline has taken an active role in denying or approving boarding based on the ESTA, they do bear some responsibility for getting it right.

  • http://www.roamingtales.com Caitlin @ Roaming Tales

    @Elisa said: “Keep in mind the US is in the minority when it comes to anything called a ‘green card’.”

    I’m from Australia and I lived for a number of years in London and I’m pretty sure that everyone knows what a “Green Card” is. But according to Alex’s account, he didn’t use that term but said he was a “permanent resident”.

    Bottom line is that if the agent is deciding whether or not to let people on the plane – as opposed to letting them take their chances with US immigration at the other end – then they should ask all necessary questions to get it right.

  • Ernest

    I think it is the travelers obligation to know which rules he needs to follow. That being said, I have found different airlines do not always have the correct information in their computers.

    If I am an adult traveling and I don’t know the rules, then I diserve to be held up.

    I feel for the guy but like my kids say, ‘Its his bad’ whatever that means.

  • Arizona Road Warrior

    @ Mike Z – “You were able to find the requirements in print on the Iceland air website. There is no reason this information shouldn’t also be available to the check in people at the gates.”
    - – - – - — -
    When I travel outside of the US, I will print out the entry requirements (i.e. visa, shots, etc.) for US citizens to that country (or countries if more than one) and carry it with me in case if I ran into an ‘uninformed’ or ‘lazy’ custom agent, ticket agent, etc.

    Some people are lazy…somce people can’t remember all of the rules. Back in 2003, we went to Europe. We were flying America West from PHX to LAX then flying Virgin Atlantic from LAX to LHR. We were there for 30 days which 21 days were on a tour. We were restricted to one piece of luggage per passenger for this tour. The weight limit on America West was 50 lbs but the weight limit on Virgin Atlantic was 70 lbs…each of our luggage weighed 62 lbs to 64 lbs. I contacted America West and a CSR told me that the policy is if you are connecting with another airline that has a higher weight limit on luggage, your luggage can weigh that without paying for excess weight for the America West flight. The CSR gave me the policy\rule\etc. # as well as made a note in our PNR.

    When checking in at PHX, the agent tried to charge us for excess weight. Did she read the PNR? No. I took out the sheet of paper from my folder with the policy\rule\etc. # and gave her the policy\rule\etc # to her. When we arrived back in the US and checking in for our flight from LAX back to PHX, we had the same problem…the ticket agent wanted to charge us.

    Back in 2005, we were out of the country for three weeks. America West had a policy change during this three weeks. When we arrived back into LAX to check in for our flight back to PHX, the agent tried to charge us. Did the agent looked at our PNR? No. I told the agent that we were out of the country so how could we comply with this new policy…we were not charged.

    The bottom line there are lazy employees, employees that do not know all of the rules, etc. that work for airlines. I take it upon myself to know the rules and etc. so that I can minimize problems when I travel.

  • Arizona Road Warrior

    @ Steve – ““I am sure that this agent has heard people saying “I live there” to avoid the ETSA requirements which turned out to be a lie.” Absolutely. The issue is not that the agent should have accepted that explanation and waved him through without any proof; the issue is that at the point at which he said he was a resident, she should have asked him for proof of *that.*”
    - – - – - – - – -
    We don’t know what Alex said to the agent. Please remember that the information that was printed in the article written by Chris was provided to him by Alex’s mother and she wasn’t there…it is hearsay. Do you really think that Alex and\or Alex’s father is\are going to admit that they screw up? Based upon my several years of managing people, there are at least three sides of the story: 1) Person A’s story; 2) Person B’s story and 3) the truth.

    @ Steve – “Also, to everyone saying that he should have brought a printout of the rules that pertained to him: who’s to say that the gate agent who believed she already knew the rules would have paid any attention to that, either?”
    - – - – - – - – - – - – - – -
    If she didn’t want to pay attention to the print-out, I think that a person who wanted to travel that day would have said “May I speak to your supervisor?” or “Can you call your supervisor?” or etc. I have done that a few times.

    As a Star Alliance Gold Member, I am allowed access to the Star Alliance airline lounges when I travel internationally (there are some restrictions). On the US Airways website, it states which country (Canada is one of them) that qualifies for access to the lounges. There is a club employee at the PHX airport that tells Star Alliance Gold members that Canada isn’t international. and refused access to the US Airways lounge in PHX. On my last trip to YVR, she started to tell me the Canada isn’t international, etc. I took out the print out from the website then she told me that the website is wrong…then I said why don’t we call a manager to see if the website is wrong…she let me in the club.

    Personally, I think that the airlines should videotape and record all interactions at the ticket counter and gate. Also, all gate announcements should be recorded. This will eliminate all of this he said\she said stuff. If the airline can’t produce the video with audio or the audio of a gate announcement, the passenger wins. Over the years, I heard gate agents telling incorrect information, outright lies, etc.

  • Scott

    @ Caitlin @ Roaming Tales:

    I’m sorry, but you are absolutely 100% wrong about the responsibility issue.

    It is the traveler’s responsibility to know and bring all proper documentation for countries both visiting and transiting…..PERIOD.

    Airlines would never “just board anyone and let people be deported.” Besides that being a ludicrous policy, airlines are tasked with the responsibility of ONLY boarding customers that are legally allowed to enter. Airlines are fined thousands of dollars each and every time they transport a customer who does not have proper documentation. Airline employees are trained to always check documentation requirements and verify that people have proper documentation, and if any of you are familiar with the documentation service for this purpose, it reads like legal documents (read: not very simple or straightforward). Because of the fines and the typical airline attitudes of being punitive with their employees that make any kind of error, employees will generally err on the side of being more cautious. Furthermore, airlines are then forced to use seats to transport deportees back where they came from….whether or not they have tickets.

    In this case, the two sides are contradictory and the truth lies somewhere in the middle. Agents check people to countries all over the world and it is pretty ridiculous to expect them to ask several questions to lead someone along. Could this agent have been a little more thorough? Possibly. But when there was ANY question about admission into the United States, the traveler should have identified the Permanent Resident card (or green card, if you prefer the old term) and said that this is all I need to enter. The traveler should know this. Walking away without doing that was ridiculous….especially for the father.

  • Shari

    This is off-topic, but I have to say that I hope that this new column isn’t because of the previous complaints that you have gotten from people complaining that you decided to help someone. I’m not sure what your impetus here was, but I think you would generally have a better idea than most of us as to if a case should be handled by you.

  • Kari

    Joe, you’re WRONG–a green card is NOT THE SAME as a work visa!!

    The US has two classes of visas–immigrant and non-immigrant. A green card is an immigrant visa, meaning the person is a Lawful Permanent Resident of the US, without any time limitation. With permanent resident status, a person has all the rights of a US citizen except for voting. If a person has a green card conferring permanent residency, they are legal to work in the US, but that’s because, again, they have all the rights as a citizen except for voting. (That said, they can be deported.)

    A “non-immigrant” visa is a temporary visa for work, study, or tourism, or business. A work visa is an H1b visa, and hinges on a person’s employment in the country. No employment=no right to live here legally.

  • Meredith Putvin

    I’m on the fence on this one.

    On one hand, the passenger (Or the passenger’s legal guardian) should have been aware of their international travel requirements and been prepared ahead of time.

    On the other hand, the gate agent failed to ask for the proper paperwork.

    Both sides should have done their *due diligence* in this manner. I’m sorry, but when ever my daughter travels, we make sure we have all the paperwork needed on both ends of the itinerary.

    Saves headaches in the long run. A few extra minutes on the front side = Smooth sailing on the trip.

    If you don’t have time to do it right, when are you going to have time to do it over?

  • David Z

    Chris E, good to see there’s some positive results from your mediating. I’m sure some will disagree, but I especially like the wording from IcelandAir’s response and will note that.

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