GUWonder

The passengers’ passport info in the PNRs would have already been sent to CBP to check and process for board/DNB decisions prior to the flight departing MAD to the US. While that information isn’t always accurate, it’s checked electronically on this side. And even with on-arrival inspections at IAD, there have been times when CBP has admitted visitors into the US using someone else’s passport with an affiliated ESTA.

Maxwell Smart

I'm surprised there hasn't been a media story on this yet.

ords

This is going to cost Iberia in massive fines as CBP has taken a very hardline approach to breaches, regardless of who let them into the terminal. CBP will now require manpower to hunt each arriving passenger down and formally process them into the US.

razzaba

Exactly. Any criminal or terrorist worth his salt is going to cross the swiss-cheese southern border completely unchecked, rather than board a flight in MAD where one would fully expect to have to properly clear CBP.

awayIgo

Didnt anyone at the airport realize,where passengers were being directed 🤷🏻‍♀️ But just crossing is a daily occurrence at the Southern US border!

MojaveFlyer

I am dubious about the APIS manifest. A few years ago on a trip on LH BOS-FRA-BOS, I had booked in coach via UA web site, and got UA ticket stock (mistake, maybe, but I was in it for the miles), and then activated a paid upgrade on the LH site. It all looked good, except the morning of my flight when I went to OLCI, I couldn't, and it didn't even show my res. I did get on the plane, but no upgrade (and it took a month to get the charge reimbursed from LH, but different story). All seemed good except when I returned to the US, and they asked "Do you have two passports?" Uh oh. I got taken to the "back room" where they deport people, and wasted 45 mins until I finally got some response. "You're a US citizen, why are you here?" I have no idea what really happened, but I'd bet I was somehow double booked in APIS by LH.

tarheelnj

I usually try to get a seat near 2L (the likely deplaning door) and have often been the first to deplane. I’d like to imagine if I was heading up the jetway and saw that the domestic door was open and the door to customs was closed that I would say something. In most cases, the gate agent has been about 10 steps ahead of me anyway and could quickly correct their error.

whitewave

I take everyone’s points as good ones about the southern border… but still…. Can we be 100% that everyone on board was legit? 🤷🏼‍♀️

Kuchingite

OP -- you can check your most recent I-94 to see if you were actually cleared into the US: https://i94.cbp.dhs.gov/I94/#/home. If your most recent entry doesn't show up, then you weren't inspected.

For naturalizing, your physical presence requirement (30month/5yr or 18month/3yr) must be met when you file for naturalization.
If you're pending adjudication or interview, then the main concern is absences of 180+ days -- which you can prove you were in the US if you have boarding passes, itineraries, or passport stamps.

dinoscool3

You can't even be 100% that everyone on board is legit with the CBP checking them. They aren't exactly the best at their jobs.

GUWonder

The “APIS manifest” can indeed have some inaccurate/wrong or missing passenger passport biodata info on it. And beside that, CBP’s electronic processing of such info has sometimes come with mistakes.

For example, CBP had sometimes thought I had just flown in from countries that I hadn’t been to in years or even ever. This kind of thing was taking place enough that the programming for some kiosks’ software was updated to let passengers help to try to identify their flight for CBP on arrival.

Are US LPRs even supposed to have e-I-94s on file for when entering the US as an LPR?

seawolf

That would be on the airline not providing a accurate information.

What would be your recommendation on doing a better job?

drgitlin

Didn’t even get as far as the moon buggy: they unlocked the wrong door so instead of going down that corridor we went straight into the concourse as if it was a domestic flight.

i did indeed go back to Dulles the next day to get it taken care of. Back in the country legally now!

NotSoFrequentColorado

A couple of unrelated experiences about the security of border control anywhere.

1. Very long story abbreviated. En route to US from a Greek cruise, connecting through Munich. My travel partner ended up with a boarding pass that had a completely bogus name on it. Went through 2 different security points en route to our plane, agent carefully examined her boarding pass and passport, where the name was completely different and just passed her along.
2. En route to US from a tour of Spain, connecting through Lisbon airport. We were conducted hither and yon and ended up at the main checkin desk from landside. Could see the exit doors from where we were, with no obstruction to outside. We could have entered Portugal without going through immigration/customs.

gabrielbf

#2 is completely normal: Your Spain to Portugal flight is within the Schengen area so there are no immigration/customs controls. Indeed you could've walked out the door into Lisbon legally since you were still within European borders.