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Avoiding a transit of the United States tourist information
Avoiding a transit of the United States tourist information
You may wish to avoid transit in US airports because:
Anyone arriving into the United States or one of its territories (like Puerto Rico) ? and not covered by the or the separate provision for citizens of ? requires at least a C-1 transit visa to transit the airport. This can be expensive (US$131 minimum) and time-consuming to obtain, and you can be denied the visa: the requirements are the same as the full B-2 tourist visa. If you arrive without this visa, even for a fuel stop or transit, and aren't eligible for a waiver, you will be sent home and recorded as having been denied entry to the US.
The United States does not allow sterile transit, which means that even if you have an immediate connecting flight, you have to pass through Customs and Immigration. This is time-consuming and tedious (4 hours or more is recommended to be safe), and all travellers transiting in the USA using either a transit visa or the Visa Waiver Program will be photographed and fingerprinted.
You have previously been denied entry to the US or overstayed in the US, and have been advised that entry may be refused in future. Transit entry is as likely to be refused as any other entry, it will almost certainly be easier to avoid risking it.
Note that all of these activities now require either a Visa Waiver or C1 transit visa: transferring to another flight; just stopping and not disembarking from the plane; and refuelling stops. Sometimes these minor stops are not even clearly marked on preliminary itineraries for long haul flights. If you have reason to avoid the US, ask that the itinerary be double and triple checked for transit and fuel stops in the US (including Hawaii and Alaska).
Note: Alternative transit points described in this article often also require visas. Always check transit or entry conditions of all stops. You are responsible for checking and if necessary getting the visas and are advised to do so months before your planned trip.
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Avoiding a transit of the United States Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.