I was checking everything because tomorrow I have to fly to Mexico at 2:00 PM and I have to be at the airport by 11:00 AM, but I didn't find my passport. Can I use my ID or my licence? I'm an American citizen flying from Chicago O'Hare.
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2@user71600 see if you can have an Emergency Travel Document issued. But that's an entirely new question, and you should ask it as one - it would get much more attention than as a comment.– user29788Commented Dec 18, 2017 at 8:19
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11If you need to fly, immediately search every square inch of your house. It's got to be there somewhere. Especially search the (often numerous) zippered compartments (which can be both external and internal) of every piece of luggage you own: That's the most likely place it will be.– BohemianCommented Dec 18, 2017 at 12:34
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4Think it the other way around: Could I (being a Mexican citizen) fly to the US showing any Mexican identification document?– BarrankaCommented Dec 18, 2017 at 17:58
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1This question has been like a splinter in my head since yesterday, because it seems that the OP thinks that rules can be bent for a US citizen, rules that anybody in the US would not bend for anybody else in the world. I'm not xenophobic, but it makes me angry when double-standards pop up– BarrankaCommented Dec 19, 2017 at 15:47
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2@Barranka I certainly sympathize with the irritation with double standards, but I don’t see any evidence that in this particular case “the OP thinks that rules can be bent for a US citizen,” but rather that this is a US citizen who does not know the relevant rules and is seeking them out. Quite possibly another problem (international travel without knowing the rules and securing the appropriate documents ahead of time), but not a double-standard.– KRyanCommented Dec 19, 2017 at 17:19
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3 Answers
You definitively need your passport or an adequate emergency travel document.
Not only will Mexico not accept your ID card or driver's license but more importantly, since about a decade already, you are required to present a passport to return when arriving by air.
So, unless you want to stay in Mexico for, uh... a longer time, not taking your passport is hardly an option. The airline will refuse to let you board on your flight back (if they ever let you board on the flight to Mexico, which I doubt). But even if they do let you board, you won't make it past the immigrations officer. Sure, you will eventually make it back, but that'll be a lot of needless trouble.
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4"But even if they do let you board, you won't make it past the immigrations officer." You mean the US immigration officer? If you can show US citizenship, US immigration can't refuse you entry. Commented Dec 18, 2017 at 22:43
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2"The airline will refuse to let you board on your flight back" Wouldn't the airline instead be required to put you on the next flight back to the U.S. when you reach the Mexican border (assuming that the airline somehow messed up and let you on the flight to Mexico in the first place?)– reirabCommented Dec 19, 2017 at 5:58
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@reirab: That is an interesting question. Actually they're not allowed to let you even board the plane to Mexico in the first place. If they do, they're required to provide you leave (i.e. put you on the next plane back, yes). But if you somehow made it through by some means, they arguably wouldn't be allowed to let you board on the trip back either, ironically, since air travel to the USA requires presenting (and thus carrying with you) a passport for US citizens, and the airline must make sure you meet this requirement (or be liable). No doubt you will be allowed to go back...– DamonCommented Dec 19, 2017 at 10:14
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1... to your home country. Being a citizen of that same country, there is finally no way they can refuse you (it's a right that cannot be easily denied, or denied at all under normal circumstances). Sure. But I wouldn't want to go through the immigration ordeal (hours, days?) it takes. That's definitively the kind of trouble that one wants to avoid.– DamonCommented Dec 19, 2017 at 10:17
According to Timatic (I used the Sky Team interface), the following applies:
Driving License issued by United States of America to a national of United States of America is not listed as an accepted document by Mexico. Please check the document details have been entered correctly.
And:
Document of Identity issued by United States of America to a national of United States of America is not listed as an accepted document by Mexico. Please check the document details have been entered correctly.
And:
Official Photo Identification issued by United States of America to a national of United States of America is not listed as an accepted document by Mexico. Please check the document details have been entered correctly.
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4@Mindwin you can't link into most Timatic or travel document engines - I gave the name of the one I use, which is enough to reproduce the results.– user29788Commented Dec 18, 2017 at 19:33
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@Moo: Do you guys purchase a subscription? I'm confused how so many consumers have access to Timatic... it doesn't seem intended for consumers and doesn't seem worth it unless for some reason you're constantly having visa questions? Commented Dec 18, 2017 at 23:46
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2@Mehrdad there are loads of public access sites which act as a gateway to it - Sky Team use traveldoc.aero, which gives a much cleaner interface to Timatic information, but you can also use the Emirates visa finder page for a similar result emirates.com/english/before-you-fly/visa-passport-information/…– user29788Commented Dec 19, 2017 at 0:06
I should note that every US airport I've been to in the last few years (where the airplane is departing for another country) has people showing their passport to board the aircraft (might vary by airline but unlikely). They probably won't even let you on the plane in O'Hare without the passport.
This doesn't qualify as a life or death emergency, but calling your local bureau and explaining the situation might yield you some sort of option that would still allow you to travel.
