So worried - visa waiver left in passport

daisiegg

Hi all, thanks in advance for any advice!

I am very excited to be going on holiday to San Francisco tomorrow.

However, in May 2009 I visited the USA and when I left, the little green visa waiver form was not removed from my passport.

I am an absolute idiot but I had no idea this was a problem - until my partner noticed it in my passport this weekend and told me it shouldn't be there. I know, I know, I'm stupid; it was the first time I'd travelled on my own, no one told me it was supposed to be removed on exit, and I just had no idea.

I have googled until I can google no more, and I have found out that you are supposed to send it off to somewhere in Kentucky, along with evidence that you did leave the US.

Obviously as I only noticed it the weekend before I am due to travel to the US (idiot, idiot, idiot!) it is too late to send it off in time for arriving tomorrow.

I am having a HUGE panic. Some websites I find tell me "YOU WILL BE DENIED ENTRY AND RETURNED ON THE FIRST AVAILABLE FLIGHT!" but I've also found people posting that it has happened to them lots of times and never been a problem, etc.

What should I do? All sorts of options are presenting themselves to me....

1) do nothing and hope for the best
2) send the form off now with the evidence even though it's too late, take copies with me to prove I have sent it
3) take the evidence that I have been in the UK with me and hope for the best at immigration
4) tear the form out, throw it away and plead ignorance...

I am so worried. I have done nothing wrong apart from being a huge idiot and I definitely returned to the UK two weeks after entering the US; I have pay slips, university transcipts, bank statements etc to prove this.

Please someone help! Ideally I'd like 50 people to respond to this saying "yeah it happened to me and I didn't send the stuff off and it was fine"....! If that's not possible, some sensible advice would be so welcome....

Thanks very much in advance!

getmore4less

We have done it and the imigration guy was ok said his stern piece with a bit of a grin.

take it out, it is the exit airline that are supposed to do this, if asked, duh.


You do have an in date ESTA

daisiegg

getmore4less wrote: »

We have done it and the imigration guy was ok said his stern piece with a bit of a grin.

take it out, it is the exit airline that are supposed to do this, if asked, duh.


You do have an in date ESTA

Sorry, what did you do and the immigration guy was ok? Did you just rip it out yourself and throw it away?

Zero_Gravitas

Hi Daisiegg,

Just take it out yourself and throw it away. Don't mention it at US immigration.

I have to travel to the US about 6 time a year for work. It's probably happened to me 4-5 times in the last 4 years and it has never been a problem.

However, as getmore4less says, make sure you have an up-to-date ESTA in place.

Hope that helps.

Best Regards,

ZG

Westin

I'd go for Option 3.

I certainly wouldn't rip it out and throw it away. There is a chance they will raise the issue when you arrive into SFO as their systems may not show you having a departure record. I would suggest you take it with you, together with any proof you have of either your original departure (boarding pass and airticket would be great but I know unlikely you would still have) or records like some pay slips from work and maybe a council tax bill or similar. If questioned on arrival then produce these documents. If nothing said then I wouldn't mention it.

Try not to worry too much. I'm sure they have come across this many times before.

Thankfully this system has now ended and the ESTA records are all that are required. No paperwork is now collected by the airline upon departure from the USA.

daisiegg

Thank you!

I have bank statements showing transactions before my US trip when I was in the UK, in the US during my US trip and then again in the UK after I got back from the trip.

I have a stamp in my passport from travelling to Poland a month after my US trip.

I have pay slips proving I worked in the UK as soon as I got back from my trip.

I have university transcripts proving I started a postgraduate course a month after returning to the UK.

I can't believe how stupid I have been and I am SO worried!

alanrowell

The Polish stamp should be proof enough that you left the US

For certainty take some proof that you MUST have been in the UK on a certain date - definitely don't take anything that could be construed as job hunting like university scripts. So if you have a CC bill that shows spending in the UK take that.

daisiegg

alanrowell wrote: »

The Polish stamp should be proof enough that you left the US

For certainty take some proof that you MUST have been in the UK on a certain date - definitely don't take anything that could be construed as job hunting like university scripts. So if you have a CC bill that shows spending in the UK take that.

Oh I see what you mean about university transcript - hadn't thought of that!

Ok so paysplips, bank statements and credit card bills definitely prove I was in the UK.

p-pincher

The happen my other half the first time we went New York in 2007. When he returned in 2010 it was still attached. The person whe cheked or passports when we landed at JFK just ripped it out and put it to one side, not sure if it was kept or threw away but it wasnt even mentioned so please dont worry. As long as you've got your ETSA you'll be fine. Just hand over your passport and and try to be calm. Ive heard that this used to happen all the time so they must be used to it by now x

daisiegg

p-pincher wrote: »

The happen my other half the first time we went New York in 2007. When he returned in 2010 it was still attached. The person whe cheked or passports when we landed at JFK just ripped it out and put it to one side, not sure if it was kept or threw away but it wasnt even mentioned so please dont worry. As long as you've got your ETSA you'll be fine. Just hand over your passport and and try to be calm. Ive heard that this used to happen all the time so they must be used to it by now x

Thank you, that's exactly the sort of thing I was hoping to hear!

I have posted this in another forum too...and so far no one has come along saying "I know someone who was denied entry because of this" so I'm keeping my fingers crossed it will be ok!

headpin

I've had this happen a few times. Just rip it out and throw it away. Remember it is the responsibility of the airline that you exit the US with to remove it and see it gets to wherever it may have to go. I'm not convinced that they are ever reconcilled anyway. I'm sure the airlines lose or mislay many of these and you'd never know. If anyone asks (and I'd wager a fairly large sum that they do not even query it) when you arrive at US immigration, just say that it was removed by the airline rep when you departed in 2009.

All this nonense about exiting the US previously is irrelevant. How are you arriving at SFO? I assume on a plane that departs from outside the US - i.e from the UK. So how the hell have you managed to get on that aircraft in the UK if you never exited the US in 2009? Not even the US Customs and Border Protection Officers are that stupid.

Rip out your old 2009 I94W counterpart and bin it. But, as stated above, make sure you have applied for and have received confirmation of travel by way of the ESTA system. You have not said yet that you have applied for and received the ESTA Authorisation. It cost $14 and lasts for 2 years so long as none of your details change in the interim, so you'd know whether or not you'd applied. In theory if you haven't received it the airline could refuse you boarding in the UK. If you haven't received it (and anyone else you are flying with also needs it assuming they meet the criteria and do not need a full VISA, in which case they are too late if you're off tomorrow) then get online now and apply. The Authorisation is normally instantaneous. BE CAREFUL that if you do need to apply you only go through the official US Site ( https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov/esta/ ) and not one of the rip off agencies that will add a nice “little” service charge for checking what you've already completed. The ESTA site is straight forward and will highlight any errors you make. If you need help post back on here.

Enjoy your trip and stop worrying. There is a lot of tosh and scaremongering written about passing through US Immigration.