Originally Posted by
Orion
The receipt on my phone contained an attachment: a blank form. I never filled it in. How is the VOA supposed to arrive? Postal mail or email? JAL asked me to search my email but that came up with the original agreement and the receipt which contained the blank form.
JAL at least acknowledged that VOA for Vietnam existed. AA said there is no VOA for Vietnam.
The blank form with the receipt is the visa application (which you submit on arrival) not the VOA. The agent normally emails the receipt when you apply and then later emails the VOA. (Most agents, providing VOA, highlight this is big bold letters in their emails and on their websites.) Either they didn't send it or else you overlooked or misplaced it. I find it strange AA would say it doesn't exist. Every agent in the world just taps the button on their terminal for visa requirements and gets the information from Timatic (IATA DB), which for US travelers to VN says..
"Visa Issuance:
- Holders of a pre-approval letter issued only in Ha Noi, Viet
Nam by the Vietnamese Immigration (Ministry of Public
Security) or the Consular Department (Ministry of Foreign
Affairs), can obtain a visa on arrival for a max. stay of 1
or 3 months at Hanoi (HAN), Ho Chi Minh City (SGN), Da Nang
(DAD) or Nha Trang (CXR). Fee: USD 45.- for a single-entry 1
or 3 months visa; USD 65.- for a multiple-entry 1 month
visa; or USD 95.- for a multiple-entry 3 months visa."
It's a bit hard to imagine that multiple AA "staff" would not see or deliberately ignore this and that "JAL at JFK had never heard of visa on arrival' when the first thing they do is click their terminal to get visa requirements.
Maybe you just had really bad luck.