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I'm a Canadian citizen with a Canadian passport. I booked a flight with American Airlines to Mexico City From Toronto Pearson and it says that "Passenger details are needed to check in".

Flight 1: YYZ -> DFW -> MEX
Flight 2: MEX -> DFW -> YYZ

They already took my name, gender and such. It is now asking for my passport number and expiry date. That all seems reasonable. However, when I enter that I am a Canadian resident it asks for:

1) Street or hotel in US
2) City in US
3) State in US

My trip to DFW is only for a connecting flight. The fields are required so I can't submit my passport information without filling this in.

Is there something I'm missing?

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    My understanding is that you should write TRANSIT in the address fields. I'm not sure what you should do with the state. If they require it, then don't submit your passport info online. Instead, show up at the counter when you arrive at the airport and say, "I tried to submit my passport details online, but the system would not let me because it doesn't handle transit passengers." Or, if it's important to you to check in online, put TRANSIT, TRANSIT, TX or TRANSIT, Dallas, TX, and then explain when you get to the airport.
    – phoog
    Commented Nov 29, 2016 at 2:05
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    @pnuts No doubt. I suppose a British IO would react similarly to someone in London saying they were in transit to the Isle of Man. CBP, on the other hand, explicitly instructs those who are in transit to write TRANSIT for the address on their customs forms; you were ("admittedly") not in transit since your final destination was US territory. For the purpose of US immigration law, 'The [geographical] term “United States” means the continental United States, Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Guam, the Virgin Islands of the United States, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands.'
    – phoog
    Commented Nov 29, 2016 at 2:39
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    Or you can enter 2400 Aviation Drive, Dallas, TX 75261... You also could skip online check-in and talk to a human being at the airport. But I presume you really don't want to do that.
    – Michael Hampton
    Commented Nov 29, 2016 at 6:04
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    Note that those details are never checked by the airline/immigration, so you can put in whatever you want.
    – JonathanReez ♦
    Commented Nov 29, 2016 at 11:21
  • @pnuts that is how one British IO reacted to a completely different situation. I don't see how it is relevant. I would add that I was once in the very same situation and met a somewhat different reaction.
    – phoog
    Commented Nov 29, 2016 at 13:50

4 Answers 4

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The best is to write in-transit if the form lets you. When it does not because it requires a full address, use the one of the airport. I am also a Canadian and have been in transit via the USA dozens of times and one of these two had always worked. This is a very common case you can imagine since going from Canada to Mexico, Central America or South America passed through the USA extremely often.

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Simply write "IN TRANSIT TO MEXICO VIA DFW". If you need to fill in additional address lines, give those of the airport through which you are transiting.

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  • This question is not about what address to put on the landing card. It asks what address to give the airline during online check-in.
    – Michael Hampton
    Commented Nov 29, 2016 at 18:02
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    @MichaelHampton Agreed.
    – Calchas
    Commented Nov 29, 2016 at 19:14
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    @pnuts what issue could there be? The answer is truthful, after all. You might as well be asking "do you have evidence that posting comments on this site will not be an issue at some point?"
    – phoog
    Commented Nov 29, 2016 at 23:18
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    @pnuts then perhaps you should vote for Itai's answer, which says basically the same thing, but claims personal experience as its basis.
    – phoog
    Commented Nov 29, 2016 at 23:23
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    @pnuts I have done this a dozen times or so. To be honest I don't think anyone actually looks at it. I don't know if it will cause problems, but sometimes reading the advice on this site I wonder if I am just a very lucky traveller.
    – Calchas
    Commented Nov 30, 2016 at 8:37
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I had the same issue, flying from europe to mexico over houston. On the way to mexico I had to wait a night and had hotel - no problem there. On the way back I just filled in the Hotel Adress again and wrote TRANSIT beside it. No one was asking anything about this. I assume filling in the airport adress and TRANSIT is also kind of clever as it is literally the adress you will stay until your next flight.

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    This question is not about what address to put on the landing card. It asks what address to give the airline during online check-in.
    – Michael Hampton
    Commented Nov 29, 2016 at 18:02
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In the check-in system: 1) Transit 2) Dallas 3) Texas

The passport kiosks at YYZ (on the outbound trip) and DFW (on the return) will ask for the purpose of your trip, whereby you select "Transit".

(Mind you, you do not need to fill out a blue customs form on the plane on the MEX-DFW flight, even if airline staff may suggest otherwise)

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  • "you do not need to fill out a blue customs form on the plane": only if you're certain you'll be using a kiosk. I failed to fill out a form when flying into Newark last summer, then found that I was in the terminal that doesn't have kiosks. Consequently, I was at the end of a very long line for passport inspection.
    – phoog
    Commented Nov 29, 2016 at 23:19
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    @phoog OP will be entering the US at YYZ (preclearance) and DFW terminal D
    – Crazydre
    Commented Nov 30, 2016 at 8:42

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