How much of a problem is a typo in a visa?

February 26, 2006 7:11 PM

I hold a UK passport. It now contains a US (C1/D) visa. Due to a clerical error during the application, the visa lists my sex incorrectly. Is this going to be a problem in the event that I actually need to travel to the USA?
posted by Lebannen to travel & transportation (13 comments total)

Since the information on the visa doesn't match what's on your passport, I'd guess it could be a problem.
Have you considered contacting the issuing authority (US Embassy?) to ask them about the implications of this error and possibly having a corrected version issued?
posted by Incharitable Dog at 7:16 PM on February 26, 2006

You don't want those people to have *any* reason to stop you, even if it's just while they check it out. Call the embassy, get it fixed. (That's another early morning for you, then)
posted by bonaldi at 7:16 PM on February 26, 2006

It would certainly put them in a quandry if they decide to pull you for a more 'intimate' screening. Do they send you to the female attendent? The male one? Gosh... we never got trained for this one!
posted by five fresh fish at 7:52 PM on February 26, 2006

Is this an actual question? Why wouldn't this matter? My guess is that if the information is on the visa, then it's pertinent. Have it changed, and avoid any future problems this may cause.
posted by viachicago at 8:22 PM on February 26, 2006

Contact the US Embassy in the UK.
posted by qwip at 8:28 PM on February 26, 2006

Yes. You will be suspected of having received your passport or visa fraudulently and you'll be detained. And what on earth will you say when they ask why you didn't just have it corrected?
posted by desuetude at 8:55 PM on February 26, 2006

You can sometimes talk your way through problems with UK police and immigration. In the US, things are different: the rules are the rules and officers have to pay attention to any and all deviations. I'd be really surprised if they let you in. Get your visa corrected.
posted by fuzz at 3:40 AM on February 27, 2006

Is this an actual question? Why wouldn't this matter?

This is actually pretty much my reaction too. I was basically looking for confirmation of it, and at 3 AM on Sunday night MeFi seemed to be the best place to ask...

My passport was sent from the US Embassy to my employer, who then posted it back to me. I received it on Friday and called my employer (at the other end of the country). They informed me that it was merely a cosmetic problem, and while no doubt a source of emotional distress to me (!), for which they were terribly apologetic, it shouldn't be an issue.

I leave here tomorrow morning for a third country where the visa is unlikely to be an issue, and currently have no plans to travel to the USA, but it's not outwith the bounds of possibility that I'll be required to go there at some point.
posted by Lebannen at 4:07 AM on February 27, 2006

why'd you get the visa when you've no plans to go to the US?
posted by knapah at 8:31 AM on February 27, 2006

why'd you get the visa when you've no plans to go to the US?
As I said above, I might be required to go there, or transit through, possibly at short notice. The visa - and my trip to London to get it - were organised and paid for by my employer, which is how it came about that a person other than me was doing my paperwork (badly) in the first place.
posted by Lebannen at 9:20 AM on February 27, 2006

You could get the rumoured by never proved co-ed naked strip search. Frankly, I'd get the visa fixed.
posted by tiamat at 10:26 AM on February 27, 2006

I once got my US visa in Nogales, Mexico. It was printed multiple entries instead of 2 entries. They took it back as soon as they handed it to me, and issued a correct one within 1 hour. I would go back to your issuing port and have it corrected. Imagine, at the port of entry to the US, if the error were caught, you would have to explain the entire what-happened to the officer, who might not even want to listen to you but to relay the case to someone else. They are just doing their job, but it can cause you quite a bit of time and make you feel like some kind of criminal.
posted by dy at 12:19 PM on February 27, 2006

They might just be doing their job, but anecdotal evidence shows many of them enjoy every opportunity to make life hard for travellers. A friend of mine, born and bred in London and with a UK passport, was recently detained at SFO for 18 hours because his surname 'didn't sound English' - his surname is Nazir.

Get it changed.
posted by goo at 1:32 PM on February 27, 2006