LIAT airlines won't let us buy a one way ticket to Puerto Rico POE--where can we get written proof that its allowed for K-1 holders?

[trublubu2 62]

Good morning,

Long story short (because I've got to get to work) LIAT airlines clearly hasn't heard of the K-1 visa program. We asked at the Barbados LIAT airlines ticketing and the first lady said no, only round trip, we explained how it worked, she's printed a Wikipedia article on k-1. She got her supervisor when we maintained aone way was possible and he came and said,that yes, once you have a valid USA visa of any type, LIAT airlines will be okay with it and let you travel.

As week later at the Dominica LIAT airlines ticket counter, the agent said no, it must be a round trip ticket, and won't listen to what we told him about the K-1 or what the Barbados LIAT airlines supervisor said. However, the Dominica LIAT airlines supervisor is ging to call Puerto Rico to see what she can learn and get back to us.

QUESTION: Is there somewhere to get written proof to show these airlines that a K-1 visa is a valid document for travel to the U.S., the same as a visitor's visa or USA passport would be? Please let me know because my fiancé has to deal with LIAT airlines not only in Dominica, but Antigua also, and then Southwest airlines in Puerto Rico.

Thanks in advance to all who can help--I'll check back once I get to work.

Edited September 30, 2015 by trublubu2

[faithfulblu 3]

Hi last year 2014. I bought one way tickets to barbaos online. Dont let them fool you. My hunny is in Haiti and it was from haiti to Barbodos.

[Boiler 45,965]

I was alwso wondering why you do not just buy on line so you do not have to deal with idiots.

[trublubu2 62]

Hi, I'm at work now, so I can add clarity (and clean up the typos from my phone rush, lol). Sorry, but this is going to be long--so I can give a complete account & show that we've tried different avenues.

We bought online the first time while on vacation in Barbados and just did a 24 hour hold so we could go get clarify on ther policies at the Liat desk at the Barbados airport (= BGI) with the actual Liat ticketing agent. When you buy online going from Dominica (DOM) to San Juan, Puerto Rico (PR). you get a pop-up warning that you must be from one of the Visa Waiver Program (VWP) and a list of participating countries and that you have to have ESTA approval if you are from one of those countries.

"ESTA POLICY

LIAT advises its customers that there are additional requirements to travel visa-free to the United States. Nationals of Visa Waiver Program (VWP) countries need an electronic travel authorisation (ESTA) before travelling to the United States. The application requires basic biographical and travel information to be entered. Passengers will also need to fill out a green I-94W form upon arrival in the U.S.

If you are in possession of a passport of an eligible country and you plan to travel to the United States you must have ESTA approval and present proof of same to LIAT at the time of check-in. Failure to comply will result in check-in being denied. A printed copy of the ESTA approval will meet the LIAT requirement.

Nationals of Visa Waiver Program countries will still be eligible to travel without a visa but will have to obtain an approved ESTA prior to travel to the United States. Following is the list of countries which participate in the Visa Waiver Program:

Visa Waiver Countries

Andorra

Australia

Austria

Belgium

Brunei

Czech Republic

Denmark

Estonia

Finland

France

Germany

Hungary

Iceland

Ireland

Italy

Japan

Latvia

Liechtenstein

Lithuania

Luxembourg

Malta

Monaco

Netherlands

New Zealand

Norway

Portugal

San Marino

Singapore

Slovakia

Slovenia

South Korea

Spain

Sweden

Switzerland

United Kingdom

Applications may be submitted at any time prior to travel however the Department of Homeland Security recommends that travel authorisation applications be submitted at least 72 hours prior to travel. Unless revoked, travel authorisations are valid for two years from the date of authorisation, or until your passport expires, whichever comes first.

The on-line ESTA application can be found at http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/travel/id_visa/esta

Detailed help is outlined at: https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov/esta/WebHelp/ESTA_Screen-Level_Online_Help_1.htm"

So when we went to the BGI airport to ask about the one-way vs round trip thing, one of the ladies took out an unnecessary fee that Liat adds via online booking from our held reservation (so apparently booking done online can be different that what the agents see at the airport), and then directed us to the ticketing lady for our K-1 visa question because she didn't know the answer.

The BGI ticketing lady told us, yes, you bought it online but you will have problems boarding Liat in Dominica (where my fiance will originate his POE travel) to go to PR . We explained that he would have a visa, the K-1 was approved and it will be affixed in his passport at the time of travel. She said no, that wouldn't work, the only visa that Liat knows about is the visitor visa.

We explained that the K-1 was a type of visa, and told her how the whole process worked and that was why we were in Barbados and that the embassy never told us that there was any extra thing we had to do to board a flight. She went and printed out a Wikipedia page about the K-1 visa and brought it to me and told me it wasn't valid for travel and that if my fiance didn't have problems boarding Liat in Dominica, he would be denied boarding in Antigua (they've changed the flight schedule from direct flights to PR from DOM, to making Dominicans go through Antigua, change planes and then go to PR. Antigua is also their headquarters location and VC Bird airport is their hub).

We then broke down the whole process, the fees, the waiting, the paperwork, the NVC & USCIS processing, and said that Wikipedia is not a valid source of information in this case. So then she said "oh, let's talk to the Liat ticketing supervisor and see what he says." She went in the back and talked for a while and then came back out with Mr. Sylvester, the Liat supervisor. He told us, 'Liat doesn't care what type of U.S. visa it is, once it is valid and affixed to your passport it's okay by us for travel--we won't give you any problems." Mr. Sylvester even extended our 24 hour hold until Friday, October 9th to ensure we get the visa back from the embassy. All these conversations transpired on Saturday, September 26.

Today, September 30, my fiance went to the Liat counter at the Melville Hall airport in Dominica. He asked his friend who works at the Liat desk there to check on the rules for travel to PR on that held ticket and his friend said no, you cannot board this flight in Dominica. My fiance called and put my on the phone with his friend and I asked him, 'Why not?" His friend said I need to call immigration and ask them because it's not allowed and that you must have a US Passport or a Green Card to board a one-way flight to PR or buy a round trip.

I then explained that he weill have a visa in his passport when it's time to board, plus he doesn't need a round trip because he won't be able to come back until he adjusts his status or gains the 2 year conditional Green Card. His friend then tells me that PR won't let him into the U.S., I told him that's where immigration will be waiting to check him in with the K-1 visa. I told him to go online to USCIS and look up K-1 visa.

Next his friend says that Liat in Antigua won't let him board with a one-way ticket, and that he must have a round trip. I told him the Liat supervisor in Barbados, Mr. Sylvester, said that Liat would be okay with it, once he has a valid US Visa in his passport. The friend then tells me that he read the USCIS page online and that we start the visa process 3 months after my fiance enters the US. I said no, we started the process in December and are in the final stages of receiving a visa. I saw that he still didn't understand--so I asked what written proof can I get to make Liat understand that a round trip ticket is not needed and is a waste of money because he won't be able to travel until he gets Advance Parole? The ticket agent kept talking over me and gave the phone back to my fiance.

My fiance's neighbor/high school classmate is the Dominica Liat supervisor and she said she'll call Puerto Rico and get back to him, but I'm worried about what happens when he has to change planes in Antigua because he doesn't have the connections there like he does in DOM, and I've noticed that Liat in Antigua are pretty rude to Dominicans when we travel there or call their HQ on the phone for assistance.

Bottom Line: where do we go to get written proof for the airlines (not only Liat, because now I'm worried about his U.S. flight from Puerto Rico to Baltimore on Southwest Airlines) that a one-way ticket is admissible on a K-1 visa? ^^ THAT ^^ is my question.

Oh yeah, I also emailed BridgetownIV and BridgetownACS the same question because they WILL NOT TAKE PHONE CALLS--hopefully they'll answer soon.

Thanks in advance for any help provided, sorry for typos and yes, the length of the post was to show the runaround we're getting and that we've tried several avenues.

--Lesa

Edited September 30, 2015 by trublubu2

[trublubu2 62]

Hi last year 2014. I bought one way tickets to barbaos online. Dont let them fool you. My hunny is in Haiti and it was from haiti to Barbodos.

Hi faithfulblu, thank you so much for the info; however, this run around Liat is giving us is to go to the US point of entry, in this case it's going to be San Juan, Puerto Rico.

My fiance had no problems going to Barbados as it's a CARICOM country--in fact, he had to go through St. Lucia to Barbados because the Dominica airport was shut down due to Tropical Storm Erika. He could have gone through Martinique or Guadeloupe, but because they are French DOMs/TOMs (and not CARICOM) he would have had to have a visaa (just like the U.S.) just to catch a flight from them--so he went through a CARICOM nation, St. Lucia, instead.

Personally, I think it's because Liat hasn't heard of the K-1 visa...because both the Bajan and the Dominican Liat front line ticket agents hadn't heard of it when I was telling them about it.

[trublubu2 62]

Here's something else I forgot to add: unless you buy Liat's most expensive ticket for travel that date (they have 4 classes of tickets) you will lose ALL your money on the return flight of the round trip--because that most expensive flight is the only one that is valid UP TO one year.

So if we buy a DOM to SJU (that's the route from Dominica changing planes in Antigua and then landing in San Juan, PR) round trip, we'll lose our return flight money if we don't use it in 3-6 months, unless we get the most expensive round trip flight class.

From what I read here on VJ, advance parole is not a sure thing and it's best to just remain in the US until my fiance gets his 2 year green card which takes about 1 year, correct?

[Boiler 45,965]

The Airline will know, the people you are dealing with do not and can not be bothered to look it up.

Edited September 30, 2015 by Boiler

[happiness268 14]

That's a tricky situation. I know the LIAT asks for a round ticket to PR to reset costs of persons being sent back.

What about the Embassy website? Is there information on K-1 visa not needing a one-way ticket to enter?

I know I researched it but I had to resort to the forum. I think once it is clarified with a LIAT supervisor and you get it in writing you should be fine.

[trublubu2 62]

hello @happiness268 and @boiler,

i want to thank you for the feedback. for some reason, i didn't get any notifications that there were additional posts in this thread, so i wasn't ignoring you, i just didn't know.

well, my fiance got his visa back about a week ago. so when he took his passport/visa back to the Dominica Liat personnel to look at, they said, 'oh yeah, sure--you're able to travel on a one way ticket to the u.s. with this'. they just had never heard about the k-1 visa. he had them put the visa number into the document section (just like the passport number was put in) on his reservation and on his Liat account.

as i'm typing this, i'm thinking that we might also need to call Liat's headquarters in Antigua and ensure that there won't be any problems when he has to board the connecting flight from Antigua to San Juan.

as a side note, i called Southwest, about his flight from San Juan to Baltimore. the agent i spoke with didn't know about the k-1 visa EITHER--she kept thinking that i was asking her about him traveling on Southwest OUT of the u.s. into the Caribbean...so MOST of these airlines know NOTHING about the k-1 visa, but she said that once he's able to check in and has the visa in his passport there won't be a problem as far as she knows. the Southwest air lady suggested that i call TSA and i did, and we had a nice talk, but they told me that they only ensure that he has a boarding pass and i.d. to get to the next place and that he doesn't have anything on him that shouldn't go on board the plane. TSA then suggested i call Customs and Border Patrol next to ask them my questions--which was closed--so i have to call back.

*sigh*

what I got from this:

(1) INCOMPETENCE AND IGNORANCE ABOUNDS

(2) if anyone wants to call TSA or Customs and Border Patrol, here's the info:

TSA (866) 289-9673 Mon - Fri: 9am to 11pm Sat & Sun: 9am to 8pm

CPB (877) 227-5511

Edited October 12, 2015 by trublubu2

[trublubu2 62]

That's a tricky situation. I know the LIAT asks for a round ticket to PR to reset costs of persons being sent back.

What about the Embassy website? Is there information on K-1 visa not needing a one-way ticket to enter?

I know I researched it but I had to resort to the forum. I think once it is clarified with a LIAT supervisor and you get it in writing you should be fine.

hi there, i didn't know about the being sent back thing--i'd never heard of that. i thought the deportation people took care of putting people on the plane if they need to go back.

as far as the embassy, i emailed them and all we got from them was that 'they don't supply documents to airlines on behalf of applicants because most airlines are aware of K category visas and that to go show the Liat agents the K-1 visa in the passport and let them know that a USC has petitioned the beneficiary to enter the US for permanent resident and if that doesn't work, then take an alternate route into the US.'

when i tried to search "one-way ticket" on the barbados.embassy.gov site, all i got was

lear

Search results

Sorry, no results found for 'one-way ticket'. Try entering fewer or broader query terms.

thanks for the idea about getting the Liat supervisor to put it in writing...i will let my fiance know.

Edited October 12, 2015 by trublubu2

[Unidentified 2,930]

Why not buy the one way ticket online? Ignore the VWP thing,it doesn't apply to you. There should be an option somewhere to fill in additional info, SEVIS I believe it's called where you just fill out that you're flying on a visa and it tells you to put in the visa number written on the visa etc and then done. No hassle.

[Boiler 45,965]

Must be nearly 20 years since I bought a ticket other than on line.

[trublubu2 62]

as before, i apologize for the delayed response as i received no notifications.

Hi @Maria&Seve and @Boiler, I will reiterate: ALL of the tickets were purchased online. The problems came when talking to the ticket agents at the various airlines about it and they're clueless.

@Maria&Seve, My fiance gave me his information to go into his account on Liat's website to put in his Visa info, but it wouldn't let me in. He then went to the Liat office in Dominica to get them to do it, and his neighbor (the supervisor) said it wasn't necessary; everything should be fine. Per @happiness268's advice, I then advised him to get her to write a letter on Liat letterhead saying that he's good to go. I hope everything works on Friday.

I still think it's a monetary scam of intimidation for those who aren't in the know or are unsure of themselves in this whole process.

[Unidentified 2,930]

as before, i apologize for the delayed response as i received no notifications.

Hi @Maria&Seve and @Boiler, I will reiterate: ALL of the tickets were purchased online. The problems came when talking to the ticket agents at the various airlines about it and they're clueless.

@Maria&Seve, My fiance gave me his information to go into his account on Liat's website to put in his Visa info, but it wouldn't let me in. He then went to the Liat office in Dominica to get them to do it, and his neighbor (the supervisor) said it wasn't necessary; everything should be fine. Per @happiness268's advice, I then advised him to get her to write a letter on Liat letterhead saying that he's good to go. I hope everything works on Friday.

I still think it's a monetary scam of intimidation for those who aren't in the know or are unsure of themselves in this whole process.

No it is not. A lot of airlines refuse to sell one way tickets unless you have a visa because they don't want people to "jump ship" in the US and never go back to their home country. And it's not just the US, I know for example many airlines don't let you book a one way ticket to Japan because of the worry that people will just stay indefinitely.

[trublubu2 62]

...but in this case--where we told them he had a visa--it seems to be. they STILL were trying to tell us that one must have a u.s. passport or green card to enter the u.s. on a one-way ticket, which is false.

No it is not. A lot of airlines refuse to sell one way tickets unless you have a visa because they don't want people to "jump ship" in the US and never go back to their home country. And it's not just the US, I know for example many airlines don't let you book a one way ticket to Japan because of the worry that people will just stay indefinitely.