Originally Posted by prestonh (Post 34671740)

Sorry for your travel issues, that would be a nightmare. Did you verify the visa with Japan immigration before your trip? All of the visas/etas I have had either were stamped in my passport ahead of time by the consulate or I applied directly from the immigration website with a confirmation/verification.

Originally Posted by donjo (Post 34671762)

I had contacted the Japanese consulate in Houston and they replied a couple of months ago that all tourist visas needed to be done through a tour group. The tour guide I hired agreed to obtain the visa on my behalf. About a week after supplying her with all the necessary demographic information she emailed me my "visa," as a .pdf form. I could not have applied for a tourist visa on my own even if I had wanted to based on their restrictions.

Originally Posted by donjo (Post 34671762)

I had contacted the Japanese consulate in Houston and they replied a couple of months ago that all tourist visas needed to be done through a tour group. The tour guide I hired agreed to obtain the visa on my behalf. About a week after supplying her with all the necessary demographic information she emailed me my "visa," as a .pdf form. I could not have applied for a tourist visa on my own even if I had wanted to based on their restrictions.

Originally Posted by Ghoulish (Post 34671708)

that wouldn't have been the case in less than 2 days

Originally Posted by prestonh (Post 34671769)

It still seems like the visa was not authentic, which is why I asked if you verified it before travel. The immigration officer said as much on your arrival.

Originally Posted by donjo (Post 34671692)

I have asked her to look into it, and she replied that the visa was appropriately filled out but she had not filed it with the correct authorities.

Originally Posted by Lux Flyer (Post 34671802)

I've tried really hard to avoid replying in this thread as I have some further thoughts on the matter, but I'm going to keep it limited.



But unfortunately "what would have been the case in less than 2 days" doesn't matter. Its the regulations that are in effect on the specified date/time, not what it's going to be. Do we also say to the airlines "well this fare in less than 2 days after I want to fly is $500 cheaper, so just give it to me on the day I want?" or "in less than 2 days I don't need a VISA, so just let me fly today without showing I've obtained a VISA" :rolleyes:



And the OP already told us where they have already identified where fault lies for this situation


So that being said, I'm really confused why this is related to United at all, continues to be discussed in the UA forum and whether they were right or wrong in the situation, beyond the fact that they were the carrier who was transporting the passenger. This is ultimately a VISA/immigration issue and the situation would have been the same regardless if it was UA, AA, DL or even ANA who transported the passenger. Except they might have actually charged the passenger the cost of the airfare for the return. If anything OP should be grateful they didn't have any more out of pocket expenses for what was a massive mistake, as they have indicated, by their tour agency.

Originally Posted by donjo (Post 34671714)

....having some bonding time for my son and I

Originally Posted by donjo (Post 34671842)

Thanks for your reply. The only reason I posted this in the United forum was to determine how reliably the international gate agent is at catching errors on these types of documents before allowing a passenger on an international flight. Apparently they are not reliable to any extent. I understand the responsibility ultimately lies with me and I fully accept that. However, like many people who are confused by a dynamic process involving immigration, I chose to hire someone who does this for a living. And that person did not do their job correctly. Lesson learned. My concern going forward as was mentioned above, is how long will I be banned from re-entry now that I have been deported.

Originally Posted by Lux Flyer (Post 34671802)

I've tried really hard to avoid replying in this thread as I have some further thoughts on the matter, but I'm going to keep it limited.



But unfortunately "what would have been the case in less than 2 days" doesn't matter. Its the regulations that are in effect on the specified date/time, not what it's going to be. Do we also say to the airlines "well this fare in less than 2 days after I want to fly is $500 cheaper, so just give it to me on the day I want?" or "in less than 2 days I don't need a VISA, so just let me fly today without showing I've obtained a VISA" :rolleyes:



And the OP already told us where they have already identified where fault lies for this situation


So that being said, I'm really confused why this is related to United at all, continues to be discussed in the UA forum and whether they were right or wrong in the situation, beyond the fact that they were the carrier who was transporting the passenger. This is ultimately a VISA/immigration issue and the situation would have been the same regardless if it was UA, AA, DL or even ANA who transported the passenger. Except they might have actually charged the passenger the cost of the airfare for the return. If anything OP should be grateful they didn't have any more out of pocket expenses for what was a massive mistake, as they have indicated, by their tour agency.

Originally Posted by mcgahat (Post 34671866)

You definitely got that!

Really sorry for all the trouble and I don't really see how you could have done much better than you did. The Japanese entry program was stupid from the start and unfortunately you got the short end of it.

Originally Posted by findark (Post 34671895)

Given that you had a document that looked like a visa, and so far it sounds like no one in this thread has determined conclusively what the problem was, I'm not surprised that UA let you board.

UA does attempt to check the validity of visas and documents, but it is an obligation to themselves because they face the burden of removing you from Japan and can also be fined by the Japanese government for delivering inadmissible pax. I would absolutely say you had an extremely rare experience - 99% of the time someone without the correct documents for entry will be caught by UA and denied boarding at their origin. In a sense, you could say that UA messed up too, but they don't have a contractual obligation to you here - UA messed up, and they paid for their mistake by having to take you back from Japan, and they may get in trouble with Japan.

Originally Posted by donjo (Post 34671714)

I purchased a rather expensive concert piano for my home. The final construction of the instrument is completed by one master craftsman sort of like an AMG engine in a Mercedes. They only make 3 or 4 of this model for the world each year. The salesman suggested that if I ever went to Japan they could arrange a private factory tour for me as a token of appreciation. They also create a bronze plaque with the name of people who buy this model and place on a wall in the factory. It took several months to arrange all this since the factory was still recovering from their COVID lockdowns. My son has no interest in pianos, so I promised him a day at Tokyo Disney if he would accompany me to the tour. I work as an ER doctor and my schedule has yet to return to anything sane, so besides having some bonding time for my son and I, it was going to be a nice respite from the 60-80 hrs work weeks. I'm sad to hear that it will be more difficult to re-enter Japan going forward, because it was something of great interest to us.

Originally Posted by bocastephen (Post 34672024)

If the topic of the piano tour did not come up in your interaction, then I really have no idea what happened here, except an error by the tour company in your visa application or by the agency that issued the visa. I would suggest pushing the tour company to get to the bottom of this and involving your local consulate as needed to make sure your next entry goes smoothly.

Originally Posted by bocastephen (Post 34672024)

Just to add some commentary regarding another poster’s claim that the factory tour was a form of tourism, many immigration departments, including the USA, would consider visiting a factory to be a form of business intent even if we know that it’s really not. It’s just a risk when dealing with very difficult immigration departments who have wide latitude in interpreting a visitor’s intent, so asking the right questions beforehand is essential. I just wanted to make sure this topic did not come up in the OP’s interaction with this particular immigration inspector.