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EllisAndRenz

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  1. EllisAndRenz
    Republic of Korea (Inchon). They specifically said they wouldn't take the extension letter if the date on the card was expired. The embassy subsequently told me that was incorrect, but that really doesn't help. (I just made another post about that ..)
  2. EllisAndRenz
    Yeah, since you asked. Prior to leaving for the trip, I called the Embassy in Atlanta and they assured me we woudln't have a problem. When we got to the airport and were ready to board Asiana they called immigration in Korea. The immigration officer there wouldn't accept the extension letter so long as the expiration date on the actual green card was expired. So, we were denied boarding. Asiana showed us as "abandoning the flight", so we couldn't even get a refund. (I've since contacted the embassy again about this matter, and they said the ROK immigration officer was wrong, not that it's any recourse). All wasn't lost. We spent an extra three days in Thailand and had a great time. But, I had to buy a new ticket home. Due to the last minute booking, it cost me an extra $2400 which wasn't expected for our trip. Making matters worse, it was a long flight. Bangkok - Abu Dhabi - Dublin, Ireland and then back to Florida. (Qatar seats were REALLY uncomfortable). Air Lingus was much better, but it's the first airline that I can recall that charges you for everything on International. That said: When we got to Dublin we learned that the airport doesn't have a "transit" area so we also had to clear immigration. Wife didn't have an EU visa. We explained it, and the immigration officer was REALLY nice. He granted her a 24 hour Visa rather than being deported. (So we got to see Ireland for a few hours during our 10 hour layover). All of this could have been avoided if the USA would have just issued a new card with a current expiration date. We are actually applying for her to get a tourist Visa for Korea now so she can go and visit. (Technically she shouldn't need one, but this time not taking a chance).
  3. EllisAndRenz
    We are well over two years at this point. I have to look and see when, but I fear we are going to hit the end of the extension letter. (That extension letter by the way is often rejected at foreign ports of entry, they should have sent us an updated card) Frustrating.
  4. EllisAndRenz
    So I just read the entire doc again. It looks good. I'm going to send a question with the document over to the embassy for validation and wait for their reply. (Best to be safe and verify)
  5. EllisAndRenz
    Staying three days. Page 2 of that document says "Visa Status and Period of stay: Tourist Transit (B-2), 30 days." So essentially the same as USA Visa Free arrival.
  6. EllisAndRenz
    Good catch. That's a private company and may be outdated. Korea lifted their COVID restrictions. I just found on the embassy page this: (It says the policy resumed on April 30, 2023) https://overseas.mofa.go.kr/us-en/brd/m_4500/view.do?seq=761063&page=1 １. Visa Free Entry for Third Country Transit Passengers . (Resume April 30, 2023) □ Eligibility (excluding nationals of 23 countries* that are not granted visa free entry to Jeju) * Syria, Sudan, Iran, Cuba, Kosovo, Palestine, Afghanistan, Iraq, Nigeria, Ghana, Yemen, Gambia, Senegal, Bangladesh, Kyrgyz, Pakistan, Somalia, Uzbekistan, Nepal, Cameroon, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Egypt ◦ Nationals of countries that need a visa to enter Korea, and meets either ① or ② of the below ① hold a visa (including permanent residency, re-entry permit) to enter either the U. S. (including Guam and Saipan), Canada, Australia, or New Zealand and △ transit through Korea to enter one of the abovementioned 4 countries or △ has stayed in and departed from one of the abovementioned 4 countries and transit through Korea bound for the country of origin or a third country
  7. EllisAndRenz
    So here is an update. I inquired about a "visa free tour" at Incheon airport. I got this reply from the airport crew. It's not the embassy, but I would think their information is accurate. (The first line of their message is key, I hade it bold and underlined). She shouldn't need a visa if we are headed to the USA and she holds a green card. W00t! Some days you are good, some days you simply dodge bullets. Thanks all for the input. One of you all said something that triggered me to look out to the airport, so thank you. --- Dear Ellis Thank you for your inquiry. If you hold a Philippine passport and have a U.S. Green card, you are able to enter South Korea when coming from or heading to the United States. Sorry for your inconvenience, but the transit tour is available only for transit passengers with a layover of 24 hours or less. If you have a 3-day stay, please refer to the K-stopover website on the following link for more information. https://www.airport.kr/ap_cnt/en/trn/trnstop/trnwhat/trnwhat.do Thank you once again for considering our free transit tour. We look forward to welcoming you on board. Thank you. Incheon airport transfer guide team. 2023년 10월 11일 (수) 오후 6:06 ---
  8. EllisAndRenz
    Subsequent to our above conversation, I did find that on the Korean consulate page. It's a 30-day Visa Exemption, for US, Canada, Australia and NZ. It seems to say (paraphrased) if the passenger is destined for the USA while transiting thru Korea and holds a valid Visa or Residency to enter (the USA) they are waved from the Visa requirement. Now I'm trying to get an embassy to confirm this. I can't get anyone to answer the phone. There is also a blurb that the Visa must be affixed to her passport, but she's a green card holder (with an extension letter). So I have NO idea what to expect. Hopefully I'll get ahold of someone soon. I am surprised the Embassy didn't mention this when I was corresponding with them. Thank you. This trip *might* be salvageable.
  9. EllisAndRenz
    Oh, just to add some clarification: - She was right you don't need a visa to transit THROUGH Korea. - Then she found your a get the ETA in like a few days. She confused that with a Visa. I for one will be thrilled whenever she gets her citizenship and I can get her on a US Passport.
  10. EllisAndRenz
    My worry as well. I'll let you know how it turns out. ROK has to be one of the most inflexible embassy's I've encountered. (But maybe everyone changed after COVID?) I have one more email out to some tour group at the airport that (according to their web-page) claims a Philippine citizen with an outbound Visa to the USA (she has a green card) can "tour" with their group for 3 days Visa free. It's still the middle of the night there now but hopefully they get back to me. If so, it salvages that part of the trip. If not, I have to do some costly flight changes. I'll never let her guilt-trip me into booking without doing my homework again. Thanks for all the help and advise.
  11. EllisAndRenz
    I did call DC. They won't help me as Florida (my home state) is serviced out of Atlanta.
  12. EllisAndRenz
    Thank you for this. I actually did call them. They were not inspiring. Short version: - Yes, I can make an appt and go there, but they *still* need 14 business days + time to mail everything back to me. She said "We don't take personal schedules into account and we have no express service." So about the only thing going there would do is save me the time to mail it to them (assuming I could get an immediate appointment) That would have been ideal if we could have gone there.
  13. EllisAndRenz
    She's asking me for a recommendation. I'm asking here in the hopes that someone else has had to deal with a travel Visa to ROK. Given the information I've posted, would you feel comfortable sending your passport off to an embassy on Oct 11th or 12th when you absolutely need it before the last day of the month? I'm just trying to get some eyes on this that aren't as invested. Thank you in advance.
  14. EllisAndRenz
    My wife and I are taking a (VERY) log overdue honeymoon starting 10/31. Our plans were to go to Thailand and then spend three days in South Korea on the way home. I have a USA passport and my wife has a Philippine passport and USA green card. Unfortunately for me, my wife told me that she didn't need a Visa to Korea. (She claims she did, but whatever). So I decided to check and yes, she does. Here is the issue: The Korean embassy is in Atlanta. Assuming I mail all the documents to them, it takes 14 days to process and then they mail back. (USPS mail). I asked them if I fly to Atlanta does it help? They said they still need 14 days and will mail it back. I'm not even sure I'd have her passport back by the time we leave, and if not, the whole trip is dead. I emailed the Korean embassy in Bangkok, but they told me that I would have to live in Thailand for 2 years before they could help us. Would you all take the chance? If I don't get the Korean embassy, we have an issue coming home. BUT: we at least get the Thailand portion of the trip. If I mail it, I *might* get it back on time? (It's already the 11th!) Wife REALLY wants to go and she's accusing me of sabotaging the Korean portion of the trip. Am I overthinking this? I tend not to trust the USPS or government agencies in general with time-sensitive items. (We only booked this trip two weeks ago ...) Thanks in advance.
  15. EllisAndRenz
    We just received ours, we didn't ask for it. I guess that means they are running way behind schedule. 🙂
  16. EllisAndRenz
    it's also that the passport name doesn't match her airline ticket name that could potentially cause the issue. This is where my wife ran into problems.
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