B-2 visa stolen with an upcoming cruise vacation—can a C-1 visa be used to enter the US and proceed to the port?

[Dan C. 18]

Hi all, oddball question here.

 

My wife's family is in Tijuana, and they had their B-2 visas (Border Crossing Cards) stolen a week ago. They're supposed to come with us on a cruise that's leaving in just under 5 weeks, and the wait time for replacement B-2 visas is approximately 18 months, which isn't exactly going to work.

 

I'm trying to figure out if a C-1 visa would be usable for them to enter at a land port of entry (San Ysidro), where they would proceed directly to the cruise port (San Diego). I'm getting conflicting information on the Internet, and heaven knows nobody at a consulate will answer my calls...so I'm hoping someone here may know.

 

Cruise was booked and paid for when they still had visas, and now it's late enough that they'd have to forfeit almost all the money they paid if they don't go—so we're hoping there's some viable solution. The C-1 looks like as close as we can get—if it works. Does anyone know?

[Adventine 3,196]

That's tough. Sorry that happened to your family.

 

In case you don't get a solution to the visa issue, you might have better luck contacting the cruise company with a police report about the stolen border crossing cards. Might get a refund or rescheduled trip.

[Boiler 45,468]

Normally I would go for a B but here the issue is a major difference in appointment times, or so it appears, so seems your only option.

[Dan C. 18]

Crazy update: after spending my morning researching C visas, I got a message from my sister-in-law that they were able to reschedule their appointment to next Monday, which gives them plenty of time (assuming they're approved) to receive their replacement cards and still make the trip.

 

This trip might wind up happening after all! What a wild ride.

[Allaboutwaiting 2,503]

On 2/27/2023 at 2:17 PM, Dan C. said:

Crazy update: after spending my morning researching C visas, I got a message from my sister-in-law that they were able to reschedule their appointment to next Monday, which gives them plenty of time (assuming they're approved) to receive their replacement cards and still make the trip.

 

This trip might wind up happening after all! What a wild ride.

Curious as to how they were able to reschedule so soon. Maybe a cancellation?

 

And, how it went?

[Dan C. 18]

21 minutes ago, Allaboutwaiting said:

Curious as to how they were able to reschedule so soon. Maybe a cancellation?

 

And, how it went?

We requested an expedited appointment via the website, and provided details of the theft and the upcoming trip.
 

I also contacted my congresswoman’s office and worked with a staff member who handles passports and immigration. 
 

I’m not sure whether the congressional office actually reached out to the consulate or not, but we got a notice saying their expedited appointment was approved, and their interview was scheduled for a few days later. 
 

They went to their interview and provided evidence of the trip, and were approved. :)
 

At this point, we’re just waiting for the new visas to arrive via DHL, but that should be well before the trip—plus the consulate knows the dates of our travel and the request was expedited. 
 

I still can’t believe we managed to get the request expedited. The Government does work sometimes!

[Allaboutwaiting 2,503]

2 minutes ago, Dan C. said:

We requested an expedited appointment via the website, and provided details of the theft and the upcoming trip.
 

I also contacted my congresswoman’s office and worked with a staff member who handles passports and immigration. 
 

I’m not sure whether the congressional office actually reached out to the consulate or not, but we got a notice saying their expedited appointment was approved, and their interview was scheduled for a few days later. 
 

They went to their interview and provided evidence of the trip, and were approved.
 

At this point, we’re just waiting for the new visas to arrive via DHL, but that should be well before the trip—plus the consulate knows the dates of our travel and the request was expedited. 
 

I still can’t believe we managed to get the request expedited. The Government does work sometimes!

Pretty amazed it all went so smoothly! Congratulations!

 

And the whole thing will make the trip even more memorable.