Bad Advance parole/JetBlue experience in Santiago, Dominican Republic to JFK, NY

[feeling_hopeful 45]

I haven't posted in a bit, and I really need to update my timeline (I will do it this weekend) but I wanted to share my experience using Advance Parole through Santiago Airport in the Dominican Republic.

It was one of the single most stressful 20 minutes of my life. No joke.

In Santiago Airport, there is a line before you get to the baggage claim area. They weigh your luggage and check your passport. Sure enough, when they checked my wife's passport and AP card the lady had no idea what it was, and promptly took me and my wife off of the line and straight to the ticket counter.

When I got there, the gentleman from JetBlue, without checking anything, told me that the card was invalid for travel, and her that her K1 Visa was only to be used once, and that she should have never left the USA. (seriously, he was an immigration expert as well as a JetBlue employee it seems.)

Of course I got pissed instantly. He said there should be a letter, and not a card to allow my wife into the USA. I explained what an AP card was, and said that she could not have been the only person ever to use one. As of January 4, 2016, no JetBlue employee in Santiago knew what an AP card was...lol

I explained as best I could, what the card was, and he told me to wait until his supervisor showed up. I was fuming. Another dumba$$ airport employee who thought she knew everything told my wife how she never should have left the USA and how people mess up all the time. My wife had confidence in me and she ignored most of what everyone was telling her.

About 20 minutes later, the supervisor showed up, looked at the card, and said "she's good to go, sorry for the confusion..." It literally took one second.

The guy on the counter apologized and explained how he would be fired if he allowed my wife on the plane if he let her go without being sure and blah blah blah. I was just happy to get our boarding passes. The immigration officers actually inside the airport all knew what the card was and we were in the plane waiting area in 5 minutes.

When we got into JFK it was a whole different story. She had to pass through the first time visitor area as she did when she got her K1, but she actually made it into the baggage claim faster than I did, because there was a huge line for Citizens. Go figure. JFK was awesome when she arrived with her K1 and they were just as awesome this time.

She has her Green Card in the mail now, so I am hoping future trips will be uneventful. But yea - Santiago Airport/JetBlue employees don't know what an AP card is.

Good luck.

Edited January 29, 2016 by feeling_hopeful

[Bzegurl 41]

Sorry to hear glad it worked out. But try how some airline employees don't know how you can get from Cancun, Mexico to Belize. Geography was not thought it seemed.

[Sean and Kristina 24]

Hmmm...we have an upcoming JetBlue flight returning from Nassau to Boston on President's Day. Any advice for my husband traveling with his EAD/AP combo card? Should we contact the airline first...or would that even help since it seems that this was an airport employee misunderstanding?