HELP: forgot my passport
 

Here's the story...

I'm a US citizen, on a layover with final destination of Vancouver, British Columbia (Canada). I left my passport at home. Will I be denied entry? Is there something I can do to save my trip?

You're not even going to be able to board your flight into Canada. You might as well head back home.

Do you have a passport *card* or one of those special drivers licenses that allows you to get across the border with you? You could try to book a flight to SEA and get there that way....

YYZ is now using machines that you insert your passport into and then it takes your picture and performs a face match.

On a layover where? I think the chance of you being permitted to board your flight is close to zero.

US law requires a passport book, not a passport card, in order to board your international flight. You haven't told us where your passport is or where you are headed, but it is highly unlikely that you will be permitted to board.

If you do have a passport card, is there a US airport to which you can fly and then drive to Canada?

Details would help.

That's why I suggested if the OP has a *card* or the fancy DL (although I don't think so being from SLC, which is not a border state) to try and rebook to SEA, which is near Vancouver, but located in the United States.

I'm also a little confused as to how there is a layover SLC-YVR, as that's a direct flight, unless the OP is coming from somewhere else in the US.

I interpreted "layover" as meaning OP is at XXX already, with a ticket from XXX to YVR perhaps tomorrow; passport verification for the international segment wouldn't happen until the day of that flight, so there was no flag at check-in for SLC-XXX earlier in the week

unless OP can route to YVR via SLC and arrange to collect the passport while between flights there (a real "layover" aka "connection"), OP is not going to be able to board the trans-border flight -- and may well have issues with the XXX-SLC segment

Could be a multi-part trip. That's what's missing here.

Could be lots of things. If OP wants accurate answers, he needs to provide full details.

+1

Guess OP has gone home. Sorry OP.

Thanks all for the insight and info. As it turned out, I was denied boarding on my Portland to Vancouver flight. I had left my passport in SLC and there was no feasible way to get it. I did not fly direct from SLC because the flight schedules were at inconvenient times and the flights were much more expensive. Also, since I checked in online and had no checked luggage there was no passport check on my first flight.

In the end, the airline was able to rebook me to Bellingham, WA which is a short drive across the border from Vancouver. I was then able to make a land crossing by explaining my situation to the border control agent and showing pictures of my passport. Of course, I also had a similar conversation with US border patrol on the way back across the border. I certainly don't recommend counting on this working again, but I was able to save my trip!

Nice save! Thanks for summarizing your experience here.