A few things I learnt trying to get my family out of the country last week:
1. The law is that US citizens entering or leaving the US, must do so on
their US passports.
2. The airline that boards a US passenger w/o their US passport is liable to
a fine of $3000 or more.
3. Because of #2, there is nothing you can do to convince the airlines to
board you, even calling immigrations in the US and telling them that someone
will meet you at the airport with your valid US passport.
4. None of this applies when you fly via another country first, that is, you
may not need to show your US passport if you fly through Canada, Holland,
etc.
5. This said, if you do get to the airport and you do NOT have a valid US
passport, you have two choices:
a. Go to the Consulate in JM or TA and get a new passport. This can be done
in 2-3 hours for $40. You do NOT have to go to the Embassy in TA for this,
though the airport official may tell you so.
b. If you have a few hours before your flight, call the US Embassy in Tel
Aviv, even in the middle of the night, explain your situation. They can
prepare a "Transportation Document" which will get you to where you have to
go. I don't know how much it costs, or how long it takes, but it's available
only AFTER HOURS, or if you don't have time to catch your next flight before
the Consulate can prepare new a passport.
Hope you never need this info, and YMMV (your mileage may vary),
BeNechamat Zion VeYerushalayim,
Aryeh Sonnenberg
Technical Writer
BMC Software
Jerusalem, ISRAEL
972-2-679-5070 x336
972-2-679-5040 fax
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
'The land is very, very good.'
Registering for day care?
Check out Thee Farm at Moshav Yishi
www.shemesh.co.il/theefarm.html
