craz

OP, what did they tell you when you called a CR Consulate or Embassy, to verify everything.If you didnt call or stop by in person, need I say anything more

Personally I read what I need to have yet I Usually will call to reconfirm to be safe eg It used to be for Americans heading to EZE there was a $160 fee we had to pay and could do so at the Airport once there, no more either you did it before flying or else you will be sent back, alot of folks still dont know that or that now no matter how/where you Enter the Country you must pay that Fee, which till now was assessed only when you arrived by air at the Intl airport.

dreamfool

Wow, FT is obviously not a place where I should come when something went wrong in my travel. I was only kindly asking people for their thoughts, not attacks. I had no intention on blaming anyone for this to have happened and I appreciate the ones that stood out and gave their stories or pointed useful information out.

Yes, I should found the Costa Rica embassy website in English that spelled out the document requirements, but I only have encountered the Spanish website and decided to refer to some other Costa Rica's travel websites. Yes, I should have called the consulate or embassy to verify the requirements, but I didn't because I didn't think it was necessary as the various information I gathered was telling me the same story.

For us permanent residents, the word "green card holders" and "permanent residents" are interchangeable. They meant the same thing, at least 99.9% of the time except very few instances like this one. The card itself is a document that is providing the proof, but you can still have a valid status without the card under special circumstances like me. It is confusing even for us because I bet most of the PRs didn't even give too much thought into this, until you encountered the 0.1% time that it made a difference. So, if you do not know someone who has green card or has one, it might be a very hard concept to understand until you heard my story.

Plus, you have no idea what I am going through as a human being, what state of mind I was in before and after this trip, and what this trip meant for me etc. While it was very difficult to see a very much needed vacation disappeared in front of me, watching people happily coming home after they have enjoyed good times in CR, I do not blame anyone, including myself. I did the best I could.

LHR/MEL/Europe FF

dreamfool - I feel for you in this obviously difficult time. Hopefully you can take another break somewhere. I agree it would make things a whole lot worse to be sent home and it was an unfortunate chain of events. All the best, hope things get better.

GUWonder

More scaremongering above, for no good reason of importance to the OP.

UA's "ability" to lawfully collect from passengers in such situations is substantially restricted and regulated regardless of what an airline, its hired guns, apologists or contracts may sometimes claim.

TheRoadie

Indeed. Surely there are some vacation-worthy spots in the USA you haven't seen yet.

sonofzeus

Pollyanna called. She wants her unjustified optimism back.

nrr

In today's, Ethicist column in the New York Times (Apr. 7), dealt with a passenger departing Cambodia, being asked for a "tip" (gratuity) by the immigration officer. [In some places in the world a tip (=bribe) is the norm. Is Costa Rica such a place? If you try in most places it may also get you a prison cell...]

Finkface

dreamfool, I do feel for you and can imagine how shocked and disappoined you were to have your obviously much-needed vacation cut short. And I do wish you the best in realizing that vacation.

However, you did come on here looking to blame someone else (bolding mine) if you look at a quote from your initial post:

I think that is why you got some of the responses that you did. You were looking to see who else was responsible for the unfortunate situation you found yourself in. I think people are just generally a bit tired of those who are always looking to blame others for things they should check and double check themselves, especially when it involves something as important as entry requirements to a foreign country.

And again, I am sorry this happened to you and hope you get your vacation.

InkUnderNails

In almost 25 years as a self-employed consultant, I have been sent back home twice, put under house arrest once, sent a bill for over $10K in duties, and threatened with expulsion on a couple more occasions. In some of these instances I was assured by the people that had issued my contract that my paperwork was correct and in others the "interpretation" of the regulations changed between trips.

This is all in my record and every time my passport gets scanned, they look like they are reading a novel. I still was approved for Nexus. Interesting, since everything mentioned above happened when entering Canada. Go figure.

I consider it a risk of international travel and a cost of doing business. Some were my fault and some I just got caught in a state of ignorance. Also, traveling to work in other countries carries much greater immigration risk than traveling for pleasure.

I sympathize with the OP. I have paid my "stupid tax" on multiple occasions. I probably will again as I am seeking more international work.

Sometimes it just boils down to "stuff" happens.

cbn42

This is unfortunate, but to me it's part of the adventures of traveling. If nothing else, you have a story to tell. By posting here, you are helping others avoid similar problems.

If your travel insurance doesn't come through, I would suggest you contact hotels and tour operators in Costa Rica and ask them to defer your booking until you get a visa or actual green card. They probably won't refund your money, but they might be willing to let you change the dates.

SeriouslyLost

Yes, but it's slightly embarrassing given what I do for a living. Granted, we don't send anyone to those countries that allow entry with PR cards, but I still really should have know.

SeriouslyLost

Assuming the regulations whenever the events you relate were are the same as now (or as they've been since at least 2004) then it was the USCIS clerk that gave you the wrong info.

In fact, they should have given the person documents at the Bio interview that specifically tells them that they can't travel outside the US until the new card arrives unless they have an advance parole stamp in the passport. Anything else is considered abandoning the application.

That said, the cards usually only take ~10 days to arrive from interview & approval for CoS, even now.

Jaimito Cartero

I can't say I've ever been asked asked for a tip or bribe when entering Costa Rica. I have had some items I was importing, that they would only allow in if very high duties were paid, lose some weight while they held them for me to exit the country.

GUWonder

Same for me.

Costa Rican officials higher up in the government seem to be far less corrupt on average than what is the case in S/SE Asia and arguably even perhaps in the US in some ways.

nrr

My note was not so much as their asking for a bribe, but their accepting one; would OP have been cleared if he slipped the agent a $20 bill?