Travel to USA

[Mehdi-T 9]

All, I am Mehdi’s fiancé, and I am trying to book his ticket to the USA.  I am a little lost because I know in a lot of countries he will need a transit visa.  What countries does he need a transit visa for and what ones does he not need one?  I am seeing a lot of tickets that travel through Canada and Spain.  I read somewhere he needs one for those counties.  I also see a ticket for Portugal but the layover is short and that makes me nervous.   What is the best thing to do?  What did others do?

[Ben&Zian 4,398]

Most countries that I am aware of, if the layover is less than 12 hours, you just stay in the airport inside security and you don't need a transit visa. This is primarily for if you intend to stay more than 24 hours in the country.

[Cyberfx1024 7,980]

Ditto for above as well. If you are just passing through a country as in a layover you should be fine. What airport is his final destination?

[Mehdi-T 9]

11 minutes ago, cyberfx1024 said:

Ditto for above as well. If you are just passing through a country as in a layover you should be fine. What airport is his final destination?

His final airport will be Salt Lake City international.  I am looking at a flight with a 6 hour lay over in Boston.  He will have to go through Point of Entry in Boston if i get this flight.  

[Cyberfx1024 7,980]

3 minutes ago, Mehdi-T said:

His final airport will be Salt Lake City international.  I am looking at a flight with a 6 hour lay over in Boston.  He will have to go through Point of Entry in Boston if i get this flight.  

6 hours should be more than enough to get through customs and immigration with no problems. Also you have to remember that there are some airports in Canada that does qualify as a POE for the USA as well. I can't remember which ones but it does. 

[JSWH 262]

I always check the visa requirements on Timatic. For instance, here https://www.skyteam.com/en/flights-and-destinations/visa-and-health/ , or you can use an original Timatic web site, but you would need to subscribe. 

 

What is Timatic? 

"IATA Timatic is used by airlines and travel agents to verify passenger travel document requirements for their destination and any transit points. Airlines use various Timatic solutions to ensure their customers are compliant with border control rules and regulations. Timatic delivers personalized information based on the passenger's destination, transit points, nationality, travel document, residence country etc."

[Fromspace 2]

If you book the ticket through Royal Air Maroc, you don't have to deal with issues of visa transit. ticket with RAM can be very expensive. The port of entry would be New York. Then your fiancé will need to change planes in New York to fly to Salt Lake City. Or you can book ticket through other airlines which are cheaper in most of the times like Air Portugal, Air France, Iberia. I don't think he needs a visa transit if he does not have to step out from the airport. You may need to clarify this issue with the airlines when you call them.

[C-ma'am 684]

**Post moved from K1 to MENA forum for assistance from others flying from Morocco.

[sumehra29 22]

We use air France it's not usually a long layover and flight is always good . Casa Paris Boston . There the best I've flown royal air and missed my connecting flight in newyork 

[sumehra29 22]

You don't need a visa to transit through schengen countries usually Paris is a good choice 

[FarrahIdir 46]

We flew to dubai, then Orlando and didn't need a transit visa

[Rick & Apple 233]

On 4/18/2017 at 0:21 PM, cyberfx1024 said:

6 hours should be more than enough to get through customs and immigration with no problems. Also you have to remember that there are some airports in Canada that does qualify as a POE for the USA as well. I can't remember which ones but it does. 

From the U.S. CBP website:

Today, CBP has more than 600 law enforcement officers and agriculture specialists stationed at 15 air Preclearance locations in 6 countries: Dublin and Shannon in Ireland; Aruba; Freeport and Nassau in The Bahamas; Bermuda; Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates; and Calgary, Toronto, Edmonton, Halifax, Montreal, Ottawa, Vancouver, and Winnipeg in Canada. 

[Mehdi-T 9]

Thanks all for your input and help!  I booked a flight that goes through Portugal and Boston.  There is a 2 hour lay over in Portugal, I hope it is long enough. Thanks!