US Citizens CAN Board a Flight to the US Without a Passport at Preclearance Airports
Jun 29, 2018, 2:49 pm
#1
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US Citizens CAN Board a Flight to the US Without a Passport at Preclearance Airports
I've seen discussion of this before, but I don't believe I've ever seen 100% confirmation.
My daughter was travelling with a bunch of family members flying from Shannon to the US a few days ago. One family had lost his passport, but he was cleared by the preclearance ICE and was allowed to board the flight.
My daughter was travelling with a bunch of family members flying from Shannon to the US a few days ago. One family had lost his passport, but he was cleared by the preclearance ICE and was allowed to board the flight.
Jun 29, 2018, 4:05 pm
#2
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That's because once they are cleared to enter the US by CBP officers at the Pre-Clearance airport, the airlines don't have to worry about them being refused entry at their destination.
Jun 29, 2018, 5:23 pm
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I've seen discussion of this before, but I don't believe I've ever seen 100% confirmation.
My daughter was travelling with a bunch of family members flying from Shannon to the US a few days ago. One family had lost his passport, but he was cleared by the preclearance ICE and was allowed to board the flight.
My daughter was travelling with a bunch of family members flying from Shannon to the US a few days ago. One family had lost his passport, but he was cleared by the preclearance ICE and was allowed to board the flight.
Jun 29, 2018, 7:40 pm
#4
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I could see a situation where a passenger did not do OLCI and then the airline would not issue a boarding pass at the airport due to lack of a passport, and then the passenger could not get through security to the preclearance area. I don't know exactly how it unfolded at the airport in this instance, just that he got onto his flight.
Jun 30, 2018, 9:36 am
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While Ireland isn’t covered by WHTI, most US CBP Preclearance airports are in WHTI-covered countries.
A couple of years ago, a proposal was making the rounds to de facto fine US citizens for showing up at US ports of entry — CBP Preclearance or otherwise — without the noted travel documentation. There was a thread here about just that, but the fine amount for that had not yet even been determined at that.
Jul 5, 2018, 9:21 am
#6
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I don't recall if there was a passport check when boarding at DUB, but every time I've flown out of YYZ, I've had to show my passport before boarding despite being pre-cleared, and that's with several airlines so it's not an airline specific policy. Maybe it's a Canada thing?
Jul 5, 2018, 9:41 am
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I don't recall if there was a passport check when boarding at DUB, but every time I've flown out of YYZ, I've had to show my passport before boarding despite being pre-cleared, and that's with several airlines so it's not an airline specific policy. Maybe it's a Canada thing?
Jul 5, 2018, 10:29 am
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I don't recall if there was a passport check when boarding at DUB, but every time I've flown out of YYZ, I've had to show my passport before boarding despite being pre-cleared, and that's with several airlines so it's not an airline specific policy. Maybe it's a Canada thing?
Last edited by GUWonder; Jul 5, 2018 at 10:43 am
Jul 5, 2018, 10:57 am
#9
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Most carriers --- at least sensible carriers --- do a final passport check at the gate whether it is Pre Clearance or not. That way everyone knows that the passport boarded the flight. The number of people who manage to leave their passports in lounges, bars, stores and the like between check-in / CBP (in the case of Pre Clearance) and the gate is phenomenal.
Jul 5, 2018, 12:57 pm
#11
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I suppose it is an ID check to make sure the holder of the boarding pass is the ticketed passenger, rather than an immigration check.
Jul 5, 2018, 1:46 pm
#12
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What if I don’t have the required documents when I travel to or return to the United States?
Travelers without WHTI-compliant documents are likely to be delayed at the border as CBP officers work to verify identity and citizenship.
Travelers without WHTI-compliant documents are likely to be delayed at the border as CBP officers work to verify identity and citizenship.
Jul 5, 2018, 2:23 pm
#13
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From the U.S. Customs and Border Protection website:
In the case of @BigFlyer's family member, the identity was confirmed by the CBP officers at the pre-clearance inspection before he was permitted to board the flight to the US.
In the case of @BigFlyer's family member, the identity was confirmed by the CBP officers at the pre-clearance inspection before he was permitted to board the flight to the US.
I’ve seen CBP af YYZ refuse to tell carriers to transport passengers whose US identity and citizenship was confirmed by CBP just before boarding commenced.
US WHTI covers Canada but not Ireland IIRC.
Jul 5, 2018, 4:30 pm
#14
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I don't recall if there was a passport check when boarding at DUB, but every time I've flown out of YYZ, I've had to show my passport before boarding despite being pre-cleared, and that's with several airlines so it's not an airline specific policy. Maybe it's a Canada thing?
This contrasts with my experience at either YOW or YUL (I cannot remember which one) a few years ago. Then, the agent from AA was requiring everyone to show their ID before boarding the flight after preclearance. I remember asking what would happen if someone had lost his or her passport between the preclearance area and the plane--would the person be able to leave the preclearance area into Canada to go to an embassy to get another passport? The agent did not seem happy that I asked about this.
Jul 5, 2018, 5:19 pm
#15
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[Carriers’ concerns about transporting passengers without passports (or passport-substitutes in some cases) to the US is not limited to just the issue of whether or not passengers are admissible at destination and have already had their US identity and citizenship/nationality confirmed by US CBP.