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If you had a round-trip ticket now it's completely used. Not sure of your dates, but had you flown into NRT I guess it may have been cheaper if you bought/redeem a GUM flight on the spot and sit out until the 11th.
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Originally Posted by Ghoulish
(Post 34671135)
Most countries have a process to assess an individual case and if no intentional misrepresentation was found, along with the traveller presenting no risk, they will often grant permission to enter, perhaps with some additional restriction like reporting to officials on the day of departure.
If this is as described, Japan acted in their all too typical, bordering on xenophobic, manner regarding foreigners by acting this way. After all, in a few short days NO visa would be required. Most immigration authorities, even in the notoriously strict United States, would have exercised some discretion in this set of circumstances and almost certainly allowed short term entry. Perhaps the MOD'S can create a thread for FT'ers to report their Japanese Immigration interactions from this day forward. It would prove a valuable resource should any unforeseen problems arise. |
Originally Posted by donjo
(Post 34671009)
I wouldn't say they have "no responsibility" as by law they are responsible for removing me from Japan when immigration stated I didn't meet the entry qualifications. I'm not expecting United to be proficient in visas from multiple countries but if they can't reliably identify a good one from a bad one, what is the point of showing them this document. They vouch for the credibility of many other documents such as the passport being valid, the COVID vaccine card being legitimate, etc.
They don't have any responsibility to you, this has been subject of many threads and arguments but always in the end its clear, only you are responsible, or your TA or other agent if you used one. The airlines check for THEIR protection as they are responsible to the arrival country to export you if you are refused entry, I would consider myself extremely lucky to be repatriated in buisiness class and I would be talking to whoever arranged the visa, this is on them You should be sending United a letter of thanks ! |
This was a rare, freak accident situation, and your visa preparer is to blame.
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Originally Posted by nk15
(Post 34671261)
This was a rare, freak accident situation, and your visa preparer is to blame.
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I’m going to take a swing at this because it’s germane to your next attempted entry into Japan.
You bought a tour package as required at the time, and I’ll guess the tour operator applied for you to receive a tourist visa, very specific to entry for tourism and only tourism. When you presented at immigration, did the topic of your visit to a piano factory come up in either casual mention or as an answer to a direct question? If so, the immigration inspector determined you were visiting for business purposes and therefore your visa type was incongruent to the purpose of your visit. Many countries are extremely strict about this, the USA included. So, now you have a deportation record in Japan, and IIRC, that is one of the questions on the entry form, so you want to get ahead of this problem before attempting to travel to Japan again by asking your local consulate if the purpose of your visit includes meeting a piano factory, does that mean your entire visit is for business purposes (the answer is likely yes), and do you need a business visa for entry even if tourism entries are exempt from a visa. I would certainly reach out to the consulate to see if this situation can be mitigated before you present at immigration inside Japan again and risk another removal. If you didn’t tell the tour operator that you planned on visiting the factory, it’s not their fault for failing to apply for a business visa. It’s also not United’s fault as they are not going to ask you immigration questions outside the scope of their usual check in procedures. |
It sounds more like the piano factory tour was a tourist activity like visiting the Mazda factories, and perhaps not about doing business.
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Originally Posted by donjo
(Post 34670991)
Curious to know if this has happened to anyone else and how you or United handled it...had plans to visit the Shigeru Kawai piano factory (Hamamatsu Japan) arranged months in advance. Hired a Japanese "government licensed tour guide" as it was required at the time of booking to obtain a visa. Booked round trip business class for a five day trip. Filled out all info on the United "travel ready" site. Tour guide requested all usual info "in order to get you your visa," such as passport number, flight info, hotel address, etc. A few days later she emailed a copy of my "visa." Arrived at Haneda two days ago and was told the visa was not done correctly. We were immediately escorted back to a United departure gate for deportation. They initially assigned me and my son coach seats which seemed like the worst part of it. Eventually moved to business when they realized business seats were going out empty. United planned on leaving me in Chicago to find my way home, though that was not my departing airport. I had to argue for them to get me back to my final US destination.
As of October 11 this is a non-issue as the visa requirement is gone for US citizens. It seems that this is something that should have been caught by the tour guide I paid to handle this matter or perhaps the United agent who confirmed to me that it was a valid visa when I checked in for the flight. Short of going to a Japanese embassy to have them review it, I'm not sure how I would know whether it was sufficient. Besides being out thousands in air fare, the discomfort of prolonged travel, we missed the piano tour which was arranged for my family. When I asked the United agent upon re-entering the US they say they bear no responsibility for checking documents. I asked them why they bother checking them then, and they had no answer. The tour guide apologized and had no answer as to why this happened. Hoping to avoid such unpleasantries in the future if anyone has been through something similar. I am wondering still about how this went. If you don't mind, could you share some more details about what happened on arriving? |
Originally Posted by bocastephen
(Post 34671271)
So, now you have a deportation record in Japan, and IIRC, that is one of the questions on the entry form, so you want to get ahead of this problem before attempting to travel to Japan again by asking your local consulate if the purpose of your visit includes meeting a piano factory, does that mean your entire visit is for business purposes (the answer is likely yes), and do you need a business visa for entry even if tourism entries are exempt from a visa. I would certainly reach out to the consulate to see if this situation can be mitigated before you present at immigration inside Japan again and risk another removal.
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My best guess would be on doing the eVisa process wrong. Like OP not being able to login and show his eVisa with a countdown on the phone, because he only got the PDF printout. That this is somehow related to a factory visit seems like a really wild guess to me. He was travelling with his family and they have some sort of interest in piano related activities, that's just tourism.
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Originally Posted by HkCaGu
(Post 34671148)
If you had a round-trip ticket now it's completely used. Not sure of your dates, but had you flown into NRT I guess it may have been cheaper if you bought/redeem a GUM flight on the spot and sit out until the 11th.
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Originally Posted by fumje
(Post 34671470)
I think most of the relevant issues have been addressed by posters above.
I am wondering still about how this went. If you don't mind, could you share some more details about what happened on arriving? |
Unfortunately you seem to have been a victim of what's been just under the surface but come to the fore during covid.
https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/20...n-immigration/ As for those saying a business visa would've been required, that wouldn't have been the case in less than 2 days, as short trips for business purposes do not, with Japan being a participant of the Visa Waiver Program. |
Originally Posted by bocastephen
(Post 34671271)
I’m going to take a swing at this because it’s germane to your next attempted entry into Japan.
You bought a tour package as required at the time, and I’ll guess the tour operator applied for you to receive a tourist visa, very specific to entry for tourism and only tourism. When you presented at immigration, did the topic of your visit to a piano factory come up in either casual mention or as an answer to a direct question? If so, the immigration inspector determined you were visiting for business purposes and therefore your visa type was incongruent to the purpose of your visit. Many countries are extremely strict about this, the USA included. So, now you have a deportation record in Japan, and IIRC, that is one of the questions on the entry form, so you want to get ahead of this problem before attempting to travel to Japan again by asking your local consulate if the purpose of your visit includes meeting a piano factory, does that mean your entire visit is for business purposes (the answer is likely yes), and do you need a business visa for entry even if tourism entries are exempt from a visa. I would certainly reach out to the consulate to see if this situation can be mitigated before you present at immigration inside Japan again and risk another removal. If you didn’t tell the tour operator that you planned on visiting the factory, it’s not their fault for failing to apply for a business visa. It’s also not United’s fault as they are not going to ask you immigration questions outside the scope of their usual check in procedures. |
Originally Posted by Stephan54
(Post 34671422)
It sounds more like the piano factory tour was a tourist activity like visiting the Mazda factories, and perhaps not about doing business.
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