FlyerTalk Forums - View Single Post - AA said visa needed for EU passport holders to lay-over in US soil. Really?
Old Jul 19, 2021 | 12:47 pm
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garykung
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Originally Posted by Jane Sna
My daughter and 2 friends hold EU passports that only need ESTA document to land on US soil.
For the record, this is not absolute. While most EU member states are within VWP, the citizens of the following EU member states are not U.S. visa exempted - Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Romania, Slovenia.

Originally Posted by Jane Sna
American told them they need a visa as per new rule in July.
Originally Posted by Jane Sna
The US Embassy in The Hague confirmed that Dutch passport holders only need ESTA and are not aware of a visa to transit on a US soil to go to another country as Mexico, outside the USA.
Originally Posted by Jane Sna
Can someone verify the visa issue before we make a formal complain to American Airline?
AA is not exactly wrong. And the Embassy is not exactly correct. In short - it is a complicated issue.

The problem is the President Proclamation 10143, which specifically imposes a travel ban to anyone from the Schengen area. Unless you are exempted (including NIE), anyone who are within the Schengen area 14 days before going to the U.S. are inadmissible. In other word, ESTA or visa is meaningless.

Can you complain to AA for the wrong information? Absolutely. Still, this does not negate the fact that they are inadmissible. Hence, denied boarding, if occurred, was legitimate.

Originally Posted by Jane Sna
If that was the case, AA should have contacted them before the 12th of July so they could have applied for a visa.
Not only AA, but each airline is under no obligation to do so. It is the responsibility of each passenger to obtain necessary papers for admission.
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