5

Let's say I am a foreign student in the United States and I applied for another country's visa at their consulate in Washington DC. They are holding my passport for visa stamp and it takes 6-8 weeks to get back my passport.

I have an emergency at my home country and want to depart the US to go to my home country in Africa. Let's assume it's possible to have my passport from that foreign country's embassy in the US shipped internationally to my home country.

My question is will I be able to legally pass the TSA security checkpoint in order to be allowed to board the outbound flight to my home country?

We can assume I have a copy of my valid passport, copy of the visa that allowed me in to the US, current I-20 and valid SEVIS record, a US Driver's License (not REAL ID) and workplace/university ID badge.

Also, would the answer change for an F-1 student that is in school vs F-1 student in STEM OPT?

elegantcomplexity
  • 133
  • 1
  • 7
  • 8
    You haven't mentioned holding any kind of travel document. TSA isn't going to be the issue here, no airline will allow you to board an international flight without some kind of travel document. – MJeffryes Sep 20 '22 at 13:13
  • We can assume I have a boarding pass/airline ticket. Is the problem at my own country's immigration check in and not with TSA or boarding the outbound ticket? What am I missing here? – elegantcomplexity Sep 20 '22 at 13:59
  • 7
    You are missing that all airlines will do a documentation check before allowing you to board an international flight. In fact, you won't even be issued a boarding pass without presenting a passport or other travel document to the airline. – MJeffryes Sep 20 '22 at 14:07
  • 2
    @MJeffryes: It is possible for a country to allow an airline to board someone for travel to the country without a valid passport (e.g. some allow expired passports). I don't know if any countries allow it with a copy of the passport, and even if the country allows it, the airline can still refuse. Without knowing the country, this is all too theoretical. – user102008 Sep 20 '22 at 15:19
  • 5
    @elegantcomplexity: Is it not possible to get an emergency passport of some sort from your home country's consulate in the US? – user102008 Sep 20 '22 at 15:20
  • Somewhat related: https://travel.stackexchange.com/questions/81709/who-enforces-passport-requirements-for-passengers-departing-the-us-by-air?rq=1 – JonathanReez Sep 20 '22 at 17:52
  • @user102008 Yes, which is why I said 'travel document' which is a pretty broad category. It can even just be a paper document, but the airline needs something that proves to them that you'll be allowed to enter the receiving country. – MJeffryes Sep 20 '22 at 18:07
  • 2
    @MJeffryes "No airline" is a strong statement. Pre-COVID it was pretty standard to travel in the Schengen area with a mobile boarding pass and never getting checked for any ID (I know because I forgot my passport at home on more than one ocassion, and it was never an issue). That said this only works because there is (usually) zero immigration checks on such flights. – xLeitix Sep 21 '22 at 03:37
  • 1
    @xLeitix Schengen area is an obvious exception, and does not really count as an 'international flight'. Obviously, there are not routine immigration checks on intra Schengen flights. There are other exceptions too, like Ireland to UK flights, but completely irrelevant in this case. – MJeffryes Sep 21 '22 at 08:44
  • What ‘home country’ specifically? – Traveller Sep 21 '22 at 09:49
  • 1
    @elegantcomplexity: Be aware that in most cases the airline will be stricter than your own immigration. Many countries impose hefty fines on airlines that transport passengers without proper documentation. So if there is any doubt, the airline will deny boarding to avoid the fine. For example a US citizen cannot be denied entry into the US regardless of whether they have a passport or not. However, the US CBP wants to see a passport, so they use the airlines to enforce this for them, You can enter the US without a US passport but you can't board a US-bound plane without one, – Hilmar Sep 21 '22 at 13:22

1 Answers1

12

TSA will not allow you to pass through security to the airport's departure gates unless you hold (either printed or on your phone) a valid boarding pass and a valid form of identification. ID here is usually a passport.

Because you do not have a passport or other travel document, the airline will not issue you a boarding pass. Even if you have a ticket on the flight and a copy of your passport, the airline will not issue a boarding pass.

Without a boarding pass, you will be stuck landside at the departure airport, unable to access the departure gate.

(It's possible you'd be able to pass TSA Security with an electronic boarding pass (sent to you by email or the airline's app) without a passport, but if so you'd then be stopped by the airline at the departure gate and required to display your passport. Without a passport suitable for the flight, you will be denied boarding.)

DavidRecallsMonica
  • 25,584
  • 3
  • 53
  • 101
  • I believe that if they get the boarding pass on the phone they will be able to bypass the airline agent (I may be wrong here for international flight), but the TSA should still require passport in addition to boarding pass – Midavalo Sep 20 '22 at 15:07
  • And even if TSA lets him through security, the airline will demand the passport at the departure gate, and will refuse boarding if the OP cannot produce it. I'll amend the answer to cover this case. – DavidRecallsMonica Sep 20 '22 at 15:44
  • 1
    if the person made it through security and to the gate and was denied, how will they then return into the US without documentation (i.e. the REAL passport would be needed, wouldn't it?) – CGCampbell Sep 20 '22 at 16:15
  • 8
    @CGCampbell There is no "international" area in general in the U.S.; they would not need to pass U.S. immigration if the passenger is denied boarding. – xngtng Sep 20 '22 at 17:05
  • For most of the airports I've flown through recently (admittedly all domestic flights), TSA has asked to see identification, not a boarding pass. They then link my ID to a flight in their systems. – Jon Custer Sep 20 '22 at 17:52
  • 1
    @JohnCuster the TSA officer at the security checkpoint doesn't do anything with your ID other than check that it's valid and authentic, that it belongs to you, and that the name matches the name on the boarding pass. Any other information TSA has they get from the airline. – phoog Sep 20 '22 at 18:45
  • If you're a US citizen or Green Card holder you can also get CLEAR which lets you enter the secure area with just a retina scan. But you still need a boarding pass. – JonathanReez Sep 20 '22 at 19:36
  • 6
    This. The problem isn't with leaving (the US has no outbound check whatsoever), but no carrier will take you to another country without being confident that you'll be allowed in. – Loren Pechtel Sep 21 '22 at 04:16
  • 1
    @CGCampbell There is no concept of "return into the US". I have twice walked from an international departure gate to locations outside security without encountering any officials, nor any restrictions other than having to pass through one-way doors. I then returned to the gate with no more than normal airport security checks--while I was using my passport I could have done the same thing with my driver's license. (Situation: bird broke, we had to wait 8 hours for a replacement to arrive.) – Loren Pechtel Sep 21 '22 at 04:20
  • The main reason airlines demand proper identification (you are who you say you are) and authorization (your destination agreed to let you enter) is that they are afraid you'll be rejected at immigration abroad. If that happens they get fined and pay for your return trip. See this short Hans Rosling video. The passport/Visa combination is simply the standard shape this dual requirement takes on. Therefore there is a chance that you can travel with some kind of emergency identification document from your embassy. [...] – Peter - Reinstate Monica Sep 21 '22 at 08:48
  • ... But you'll have to check that with the airline beforehand, and ground staff will still be confused and let you wait while they get their overseer's opinion and maybe they'll deny you anyway, even though their central staff said to you on the phone it's OK. (As an example, as a visa holder I was allowed to travel to the U.S. with a temporary passport (the visa was in an expired passport), which would not have been possible on the visa waiver program. But it took some time and the superior on the ground to sort this out because it is so non-standard.) – Peter - Reinstate Monica Sep 21 '22 at 08:51