Documents required at US Border patrol checkpoint?

Question

Someone I know (Finnish national) was robbed of her passport in San Diego this evening and needs to go by bus to Los Angeles tomorrow (i.e. today in Europe).

She is in WT status, and holds an original national ID card (with exactly the same info as in a passport, except the document number is different) and a laptop with a PDF copy of her passport and internet access to look up her admission record on the I-94 website.

If the Border Patrol boards the bus at the San Clemente checkpoint, how much hassle is she likely to face with the above mentioned combination of documents? Although she has reported the passport theft, she's not been able to get a written confirmation of it yet.

Logically, her ID card should establish identity+nationality, and the I-94 status, but one concern I have is the fact that her ID card has a different document number from the one tied to the I-94 (i.e. the passport)

The US doesn't recognize European ID cards. The officers might decide to examine the ID card informally, but it's more likely that they will be dismissive of it. On the other hand, it's quite possible that unless she looks African, Asian, or especially Latin American, they won't pay much attention to her. — phoog, Oct 31 '16 at 12:19
@phoog So what would happen if they do check her and dismiss her ID? Would they check her admission number (as stated on the I-94 Website) against their databases, or throw her off the bus for further questioning, or what? Would the PDF passport copy be of any use? — Crazydre, Oct 31 '16 at 12:29
I am a little lost here where does Border Patrol come in? San Diego hasn't seceded from the US as far as I know. — Karlson, Oct 31 '16 at 12:37
@Karlson Internal checkpoints https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Border_Patrol_interior_checkpoints — Crazydre, Oct 31 '16 at 12:38
"Border Control Interior Checkpoints" I beg your pardon, I had never heard of this in my life. How bizarre. It's hard to believe there's one "between San Diego and LA" (ie "in the suburbs") but - whatever! Damn. — Fattie, Oct 31 '16 at 13:58
Since she's in the US and isn't required to carry a passport and has ID, she should be fine. The San Clemente checkpoint is mainly looking at vehicles, not individuals, so it would be unusual for her to be challenged (unless that bus is loaded with illegals or narcotics). — Giorgio, Oct 31 '16 at 13:59
@Dorothy: "isn't required to carry a passport": the Border Patrol (incorrectly, in my view) asserts that all aliens must carry proof of ID and status under 8 USC 1304(e); the only document that most nonimmigrants will have to satisfy this (if indeed they are covered by the requirement) is the passport stamp. "Has ID": as I mentioned in an earlier comment, national ID cards are not acceptable for federal ID purposes; for most nonimmigrants, the passport will be the only acceptable document available. — phoog, Oct 31 '16 at 14:11
@JoeBlow WT status denotes a non-business traveler under the visa waiver program (I think it's for "Waiver-Tourist"). — phoog, Oct 31 '16 at 14:12
@phoog she's not crossing the border and she has id; she's going from San Diego to LA on the bus, correct? Hopefully, she has a police report on the theft and there's a Finnish Consulate in LA. — Giorgio, Oct 31 '16 at 14:12
@Dorothy 8 USC 1304 does not apply to border crossings. It applies to aliens who are already in the country. What ID does she have? The national ID is not acceptable. The US Border Patrol will assert that she needs her passport. I believe that is official agency policy. — phoog, Oct 31 '16 at 14:13
The San Clemente checkpoint is 50 miles north of San Diego on the heavily traveled 5 and it is very unlikely that her bus would be pulled off the interstate for inspection. — Giorgio, Oct 31 '16 at 14:17
@Dorothy that may be true, but the context of the question is the assumption that the border patrol has boarded the bus. What would happen in that case? — phoog, Oct 31 '16 at 14:18
With a police report on the theft, a pdf of her passport, the CBP ability to verify the I-94 in the dBase and that she's headed to the LA consulate, very likely that they'd commiserate and wish her hyvästi ja onnea. — Giorgio, Oct 31 '16 at 14:22
@Dorothy she doesn't yet have the police report, but still you're probably right, especially if she looks European. — phoog, Oct 31 '16 at 14:42
@JoeBlow Yeah, well north of San Diego, and it's been a pretty permanent fixture. They seem to be mostly interested in vans and such like, I've been waved through every time. Signage here — Spehro Pefhany, Oct 31 '16 at 16:11
It wouldn't hurt to file a police report for the lost passport, just to have it officially "on record" that it's lost and she's taken care of it. — Zach Lipton, Oct 31 '16 at 16:24
The San Clemente checkpoint may preferentially pull over buses because they are the cheapest way to get from San Diego to Los Angeles. — Patricia Shanahan, Nov 01 '16 at 13:57
@JoeBlow San Diego didn't secede, but Key West did, over a similar internal checkpoint. — Michael Hampton, Nov 02 '16 at 02:44
@JoeBlow Likely "contsch" considering "concha" is the Spanish equivalent — Crazydre, Nov 02 '16 at 10:31
huh. down the road in the carib (well, some islands) it's more "conk" — Fattie, Nov 02 '16 at 10:33

Crazydre · Accepted Answer · 2016-11-02T02:42:15.763

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So in the end:

The bus was stopped by the Border Patrol, maybe because it was a Mexican bus originating in Tijuana. The agents collected all non-US documents (mostly Mexican passports) and took them out for scanning.

When they got to the person in question, they were stunned at her ID; she said it was Finland's equivalent of the US passport card, that her passport book had been stolen, and that she could show them her passport copy and admission record (I-94). They said they could look up the I-94 "but needed the passport", so she simply wrote down on a piece of paper her passport number and admission number (both of which she knew by heart).

They then asked what status she was on, to which she said "VWP", and finally they suspiciously said "and...how are you going to get home like this?" whereby she said her ID was good enough for that. They then took it and the info paper with the other documents, and returned after 15-20 minutes with no further issues.

The person told me that about 5 people were thrown off the vehicle and didn't get back on.

Moral of the story: you can probably get by without an original passport, but it's not recommended to try except in situations like this

edited Nov 02 '16 at 02:42

answered Nov 01 '16 at 11:56

Crazydre

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How is she planning to get on the plane with just her ID? She needs to get past both the airline checkin and the TSA; as your other question notes, TIMATIC says she needs a passport or emergency travel document. – phoog Nov 01 '16 at 14:54
@phoog She made it home, though not without a lot of luck I reckon http://travel.stackexchange.com/questions/81709/who-enforces-passport-requirements-for-passengers-departing-the-us-by-air/81817#81817 – Crazydre Nov 01 '16 at 15:32
@phoog Timatic even says that a Finnish national ID card is sufficient. – Michael Hampton Nov 02 '16 at 02:51
@MichaelHampton For entering Europe yes, but not for exiting the US. Strangely, the departure requirement doesn't always pop up depending on the selected destination, but it does say what I wrote in the other question – Crazydre Nov 02 '16 at 02:53
As for the internal checkpoints, they stop all buses and check everyone on them. They stop all cars and lorries, too. They check everyone and everything. Though, not being at the border, the rules they operate under are a little different. – Michael Hampton Nov 02 '16 at 02:53
The TSA's ID requirements are just to pass through security, and they're the same regardless of destination, domestic or international or gate pass. I don't know how you got the Timatic information you posted in the other question; it does not show up for me when given the nationality FI and embarkation US. – Michael Hampton Nov 02 '16 at 02:56
@MichaelHampton Not the same Thing. The TSA list includes US passport Cards and driving licences, but not the Timatic ones. The requirement doesn't pop up when selecting Finland as teh destination though. Notice "Warning: if departing from the USA..." https://www.timaticweb.com/cgi-bin/tim_website_client.cgi?SpecData=1&VISA=&page=visa&NA=FI&EM=US&PASSTYPES=PASS&DE=CA&user=KLMB2C&subuser=KLMB2C – Crazydre Nov 02 '16 at 03:00
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You selected Canada as the destination there, not Finland. That's why that warning appears. – Michael Hampton Nov 02 '16 at 03:04
@MichaelHampton "regardless of any destination passport exemptions", and in the detailed section "All nationals departing the USA". Must be a bug, though I should probably ask Timatic – Crazydre Nov 02 '16 at 03:04
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I know those rules fairly well. They're exactly the document rules for air travel from the US to Canada. You won't see them, and they won't apply, when traveling to any other country. It's very important when using Timatic that you put in the correct information for nationality, transit and destination, as irrelevant information may be displayed otherwise. – Michael Hampton Nov 02 '16 at 03:06
@MichaelHampton Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean except the French West Indies are the destinations for which it shows – Crazydre Nov 02 '16 at 03:19
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Right, it's the whole WHTI and US "90 day clock" thing. – Michael Hampton Nov 02 '16 at 03:21
@MichaelHampton have you been through the San Clemente checkpoint? I haven't, but my research suggests that they do not stop all vehicles there. Have a look at the satellite view on Google maps, for example. There's no traffic backup. I also found an article describing how the checkpoint has been a lower priority because it's so far from the border and BP has been concentrating their efforts on the border area, using modern surveillance technology. Whatever the reason, it seems you stand a good chance of passing through without being checked if you're in a car. – phoog Nov 02 '16 at 06:34
@MichaelHampton what does the 90-day clock have to do with the WHTI? – phoog Nov 02 '16 at 07:27
@phoog Trips within the WHTI does not restore the 90-day clock – Crazydre Nov 02 '16 at 07:37
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@Crazydre the fact that the WHTI and the 90-day clock thing concern a similar geographic region doesn't mean that they have anything to do with one another. For one thing, the WHTI primarily concerns citizens of the US, Canada, and Bermuda, who are not eligible for the VWP and who therefore have no need to be concerned about 90-day clocks. – phoog Nov 02 '16 at 07:50

Documents required at US Border patrol checkpoint?

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