Originally Posted by
mh3265a
Who gave her the hard time? Was it US CBP agents or Guam customs agents? I assume CBP agents but it's not clear from your post.
CBP agent
Originally Posted by
jsloan
This is entirely consistent with the terms of the visa.
Your friend does not have a valid transit visa, so IATA’s database isn’t at fault. I don’t think border control is making things up, and I doubt it’s a Guam-specific thing; if anything, they’re more lenient there, as they have their own immigration rules with waivers for the CNMI and (I think) some other nearby Micronesian countries. It seems harsh, sure, since an F1 visa has to be more difficult to get than a transit visa, but I understand the officer’s point.
Your friend needs to contact the appropriate US embassy or consulate ASAP and try to get it straightened out. What you’ve suggested is an awful idea, as your friend would be risking the F1 visa and any future admittance into the US. (In addition to risking having UA cancel their itinerary for having two conflicting reservations). It is never a good idea to try to defraud border control.
I understand that full fare GUM-HNL is terrible idea.
The question is here, if I hold a valid visa to enter US, can I enter Guam? if so, then treat this as port of entry, why need onward ticket to mainland?
In this case, it is YAP-GUM-ROR-GUM-HNL-... the final destination is the US. It is like if I fly to SFO-YVR-SFO-DEN for example, I doubt that CBP in SFO will give me a hard time.