WineCountryUA

If the question is, having a passport while traveling a useful backup idea, I doubt many would disagree.

I always carry a passport just in case I lose my other ID (such as when it was stolen in BUD) or I have a change in travel plans that would require a passport (this occurred once and I was prepared).

However, carrying it just for diversions is perhaps a bit overkill. I doubt most road warriors on FT with many hundreds / even thousands of flights, even with a few diversions, has ever once needed a passport for such as reason. While a small number may have had such a needed, suspect this is very rare, I have not in 50+ years of flying with some 1,400 flights has that need arisen for my travels.

joe_miami

We're literally talking about the difference between slipping one's passport into a carry-on or not doing so. I don't see how "overkill" could ever enter the discussion.

We're talking about the very specific example of flying to a U.S. territory in the far east of the Caribbean. Obviously, this scenario doesn't apply to probably 98% of the average traveler's flights, just like flight cancellations don't apply to 98% of a traveler's flights. But as with flight cancellations, a very small amount of foresight can save a lot of time and hassle. If I unexpectedly found myself with 4 or 8 hours in Punta Cana or Puerto Plata, I'd rather go for a nice seaside lunch or dinner than sit at PUJ or POP.

txaggiemiles

tht

Kacee

Perhaps referring to the passenger with the medical emergency, who may have held a UK visa but not a Schengen visa. Otherwise, I find it doubtful they would choose the UK based on lax visa rules compared to the Schengen zone

StuckinITH

I wonder if the passenger in the OP's question is a foreigner and has a foreign passport in the profile. Many many years ago, the INS in Buffalo said to somebody I know that to go to Puerto Rico you need your passport. Naturally, when that person travelled to Puerto Rico, at no point a passport had to be shown there or coming back.

Aussienarelle

Is there immigration in Puerto Rico for flights from the USA?

I am not a US citizen so would I need to show my green card?

I use a CA DL for domestic travel and use my Green Card (via GE) for getting back into the USA. US immigration does not care abut my passport.

Rest of world I use my passport (and immigration folks spend an age looking at it due to all the foreign stamps and visas).

Would not have occurred to me to take my passport with me to a US territory.

joe_miami

Strictly speaking, as a matter of law, foreigners are required to carry proof of legal presence at all times:

https://www.uscis.gov/ilink/docView/...-0-0-8289.html

I haven't flown to/from P.R. in a long time, but I'm guessing ICE pays closer attention to those flights, since it's not uncommon for people to enter P.R. illegally.

nomad420

Having worked in PR for 6 months several years back I can say I was at that time NOT asked to show my passport. Now I always did carry it as I was often traveling to adjacent non US territories such as BVI. I suspect IF this is indeed the case it has something to do with the now recognized porous entry process into PR from adjacent islands and countries. I could tell many an interesting story about traveling in and out of PR but not on this forum :-).

Aussienarelle

You are correct. I am somewhat nervous about carrying my GC with me at all times in case my purse/wallet gets stolen. Getting a replacement GC is not an adventure for the feint hearted. They expire every ten years (the card not the visa) and you cannot apply prior to three months before expiration but it takes six months for the replacement card - For six months I was traveling on an "expired" GC that had a manual sticker to show it had been extended until the replacement card arrived and the GE system, strangely enough, does not recognize manual stickers - so for six months my GE did not work.

Fortunately I am white and do not get stopped on the I5 border patrol reviews between San Diego and Orange counties. Unless I speak no one would know I am not an American citizen as currently US citizens are not required to show proof of citizenship (although I do not think 1984 - George Orwell reference - is far off as people currently put RFID chips in themselves and their kids voluntarily).

Anyway, not that PR was in my future plans but one more reason to avoid the place for now - too many other places to go and see.

Often1

Yet another silly thread where the correct answer is self-evident, it likely that OP simply misread the advice he was given, and has not returned to provide the information he actually received. Particularly because if someone told him that a passport is required for a USN to enter Puerto Rico from the mainland US, that someone would be wrong.

The thread has then devolved into a question of whether one ought to obtain a visa for countries one may overfly. The answer to that is the same as to OP's question: No.

joe_miami

There are plenty of reasons to avoid P.R., but carrying a photocopy of your green card would probably be a fairly safe middle ground, if you're worried about any type of ID check.

At minimum, I hope the OP returns to tell us if the friend referenced in the OP is a U.S. citizen or not.

Aussienarelle

Yes, have a photo of the GC and passport on my phone. Agree on the many reasons to not travel to PR (currently)

Agree, would be nice to know if the OP's friend is a US citizen as would make us non-US citizens rethink potential plans to US territories.

HeadInTheClouds

StuckinITH

I know someone who had the Green Card stolen at DEN airport. The INS office where that person went for the replacement said that it's an obligation to carry the GC at all times. According to them, it was better to risk having the GC stolen than not have it at all times.