Travel exemption

[LauraSt 9]

Hi everyone,

 

My fiance and I are currently awaiting approval of our i-129f and recently welcomed our beautiful child into the world. My question is whether I am exempt from the travel plan as I am her parent? I do have a valid ESTA. She has US citizenship by crba from her father but lives with me in Ireland and we want to travel to see her dad.

 

Thanks in advance.

[payxibka 10,045]

1 hour ago, LauraSt said:

Hi everyone,

 

My fiance and I are currently awaiting approval of our i-129f and recently welcomed our beautiful child into the world. My question is whether I am exempt from the travel plan as I am her parent? I do have a valid ESTA. She has US citizenship by crba from her father but lives with me in Ireland and we want to travel to see her dad.

 

Thanks in advance.

A careful read of the proclamation would indicate that a parent of a USC child under the age of 21 qualifies for an exemtion to the 14 days preceding restriction 

[SusieQQQ 11,586]

1 hour ago, LauraSt said:

Hi everyone,

 

My fiance and I are currently awaiting approval of our i-129f and recently welcomed our beautiful child into the world. My question is whether I am exempt from the travel plan as I am her parent? I do have a valid ESTA. She has US citizenship by crba from her father but lives with me in Ireland and we want to travel to see her dad.

 

Thanks in advance.

She has a US passport presumably? You qualify, be sure to not check in online (causes problems for ESTA holders currently) but arrive early at the airport to present your evidence (her birth certificate naming you as mother plus her US passport should suffice) of why you can travel. 

[LauraSt 9]

5 minutes ago, SusieQQQ said:

She has a US passport presumably? You qualify, be sure to not check in online (causes problems for ESTA holders currently) but arrive early at the airport to present your evidence (her birth certificate naming you as mother plus her US passport should suffice) of why you can travel. 

Thank you very much! We are getting an emergency passport issued at embassy. We have an appointment. So should be good to go then!

[Ryan H 3,812]

Moved from IR-1/CR-1 Progress Reports to General Immigration-Related Discussion.

[LauraSt 9]

I know this probably does not apply to too many others but we are planning to travel on Tuesday, flights booked. So if anyone is interested we can let you know if there were any issues 🙂

[TBoneTX 45,299]

That's a very generous offer.  Please post your experiences.

[LauraSt 9]

So quick update: We are currently in the US!  Our daughter is currently cuddling with her dad.

 

When we went to the airport in Dublin, I brought a copy of her dads citizenship details, her passport and birth cert, evidence of our i-129f and a copy of the proclamation and a copy of my Esta.

 

At the check in counter when they saw my passport they immediately asked what my exemption was. When I said I was a US citizens mother they only wanted her passport and birth cert and were very pleasant and it went easy.

 

A different passenger to me did not have an exemption and they turned him back and would not check him in. I asked if this was frequent, they said most days, they will turn someone back. 

 

Dublin, Ireland has US preclearance where you go through customs and border protection in Ireland prior to entering the US. It means that you do not need to do anything when you land, it is like flying domestic in the U.S. 

 

At preclearance, they took her birth cert again and started reviewing my case. They seemed more concerned with me visiting and possibly not going home than with the travel ban. They said I was exempt immediately from the travel bans but they asked a lot of questions and were very tough about my employment, ties to Ireland and why I would leave the US when I am planning to live there with my Fiancé in the future. Once they were satisfied I would return home after my trip, we got approved. 

 

Overall a positive situation that was not very difficult if you have all your documents. Definitely high stress though haha. 

[millefleur 5,046]

7 minutes ago, LauraSt said:

Dublin, Ireland has US preclearance where you go through customs and border protection in Ireland prior to entering the US. It means that you do not need to do anything when you land, it is like flying domestic in the U.S. 

Wow, that's crazy....I've never heard of that. I wish all international airports had that!

[LauraSt 9]

Its a great service that Ireland is very lucky to have. Its only in 16 airports within 4 countries.

 

" Today, CBP has more than 600 officers and agriculture specialists stationed at 16 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, Victoria, and Winnipeg in Canada." 

 

Canada, Caribbean, United Arab Emirates and Ireland. The link below has more info.

 

https://www.cbp.gov/border-security/ports-entry/operations/preclearance

[SusieQQQ 11,586]

19 hours ago, millefleur said:

Wow, that's crazy....I've never heard of that. I wish all international airports had that!

I’ve used it from Canada, it’s great... ease aside, it’s especially good for those who are not actually sure if they’ll be allowed to enter the US - easier to get home from the starting airport than be deported from the US. Ireland and Abu Dhabi are commonly mentioned here. I think they have been trying to get one in the UK but the issue is that the host country has to agree to allow CBP officers to be able to do certain things on host nation soil, and that seems to be a sticking point for a few countries including UK.

 

[SusieQQQ 11,586]

19 hours ago, LauraSt said:

So quick update: We are currently in the US!  Our daughter is currently cuddling with her dad.

 

When we went to the airport in Dublin, I brought a copy of her dads citizenship details, her passport and birth cert, evidence of our i-129f and a copy of the proclamation and a copy of my Esta.

 

At the check in counter when they saw my passport they immediately asked what my exemption was. When I said I was a US citizens mother they only wanted her passport and birth cert and were very pleasant and it went easy.

 

A different passenger to me did not have an exemption and they turned him back and would not check him in. I asked if this was frequent, they said most days, they will turn someone back. 

 

Dublin, Ireland has US preclearance where you go through customs and border protection in Ireland prior to entering the US. It means that you do not need to do anything when you land, it is like flying domestic in the U.S. 

 

At preclearance, they took her birth cert again and started reviewing my case. They seemed more concerned with me visiting and possibly not going home than with the travel ban. They said I was exempt immediately from the travel bans but they asked a lot of questions and were very tough about my employment, ties to Ireland and why I would leave the US when I am planning to live there with my Fiancé in the future. Once they were satisfied I would return home after my trip, we got approved. 

 

Overall a positive situation that was not very difficult if you have all your documents. Definitely high stress though haha. 

So happy it’s all good! I haven’t read back through the thread but if no-one warned you to bring proof of strong ties to home then we were remiss... it’s always an issue for those with an obvious incentive to stay rather than go home. Enjoy the time together as a family!