J1 Visa stuck at customs, plane tomorrow, now what?

December 24, 2007 12:43 PM

US J1 Visa (DS-2019 form) held up by DHL, plane ticket already booked for tomorrow. Now what?

I'm a university student from Canada, and I have a 4 month internship job in San Francisco starting on Jan 2nd.

My J1 internship visa application has been approved, and my sponsor has mailed my DS-2019 form to me via DHL express. I've already booked my plane ticket for tomorrow afternoon (Christmas day).

My package has been held up at Canadian customs. DHL's tracking website displays a "clearance delay" status. I called DHL, and they said it's "missing paperwork". They also told me that since it's Christmas, Canadian customs is not processing shipments until the 27th, which means I'll be missing my flight. The airline charges a large fine for ticket changes.

The normal procedure for J1 applications is to take the DS-2019 form to US customs upon landing, where they will finish processing the paperwork for the applicant.

Since I'm a Canadian citizen, I can travel to the US without a visa (but I can't work). Can I just fly to the US as a tourist, have the DS-2019 mailed back to the US after it arrives at my Canadian address, and then somehow get my visa processed once I receive it?

Please also feel free to comment if you've had any delay experiences with Canadian customs.

posted by BeaverTerror to travel & transportation (14 comments total)

I don't know if you can fly to the US without a visa. If you can cross the border, it might be a good idea to drive. Not ideal, I know, but possible. Get a rental car and drive it.

You certainly don't want to get stuck at the airport without your documents. Sorry to hear about this problem. Good luck.
posted by zerobyproxy at 1:15 PM on December 24, 2007

Call the airline and explain the situation. It depends on the agent you get (and the airline) but my inlaws were recently able to delay their departure due to a visa situation for a couple of days without penalty. Getting into the US as a Canadian isn't your problem--it's entering the US under your visa which, if you go ahead and head down there now, could mean having to leave and re-enter once your visa is ready to go. Even if you have to pay to change the ticket, it could be cheaper in the long run.
posted by wallaby at 1:38 PM on December 24, 2007

Airline first, sure, but if that doesn't pan out then try calling the US embassy line for visa inquiries. The offices are closed for holidays, but the phone line may still be open, the number is here (there's a nasty per minute charge, yes). Alternatively, the Los Angeles consulate of the Canadian embassy may be able to work some magic, possibly you would be able to enter as a tourist, and then leave and re-enter by visiting the consulate (technically foreign territory)? Anyway, they would know. As a last resort, the Canadian embassy has an emergency system for helping Canadian travelers, which is definitely open, the number for that is here.
posted by anaelith at 2:00 PM on December 24, 2007

I don't know the details, but I'd DHL has it a reasonable distance away (call to check) you can drive to the package, get it, then drive back to the airport.
posted by Pants! at 2:27 PM on December 24, 2007

if you don't have a return ticket for a short stay and you're not independently wealthy, they will know you're planning to work and turn you away. this, i know from experience.

a lot depends on how much on how much of an ass the DHS agent is (i've crossed the border many, many times in the last 2 years and there have been no exceptions to the rule), but taking your chances and getting denied is costly.
posted by klanawa at 3:17 PM on December 24, 2007

I have now had several personal experiences that demonstrate without exception that DHL sucks. Badly. You can make excuses for them, but things always seem to get more screwed up with them. German efficiency my ass. This doesn't help you (the OP), but at least we can serve as warnings to others.
posted by intermod at 3:31 PM on December 24, 2007

The airline charges a large fine for ticket changes.

You may be conflating several things here. Usually North American airlines charge a penalty (say USD 100) plus fare difference for changes on discount tickets. If you want to change a ticket for tomorrow to the next day, the fare difference is going to be against the ticket of buying a ticket for two days from now (= expensive). You could probably save some money by delaying your flight. Won't be a great start for the internship though. Maybe your employer would be willing to delay your start given the snafu?
posted by grouse at 3:45 PM on December 24, 2007

Something similar happened to a friend of mine who had an internship in D.C. Didn't have the proper documents at the border. They let him in as a tourist and he got the situation straightened out with his employer in D.C. Finally, he had to get out of the country to get back in with the proper paperwork (flew out to Montreal for one day). So to answer the question in your penultimate paragraph: no, I don't think you can get your visa processed in San Francisco. You actually have to leave the country and be processed at a point of entry. I would look into a cheap return flight to Canada (Vancouver?). Even Mexico might work (flight San Diego / Tijuana). Good luck, and let us know how things turned out!
posted by bluefrog at 6:00 PM on December 24, 2007

Big no-no here. If you enter the country as a tourist, then you change your status to J-1 in just a few weeks (so it's clear that you entered with the intention of going J-1), you might be denied entry next time you leave and re-enter the US (because of lying to the immigration officer the first time).

If you do not lie to the immigration officer, she should deny you entry. Your visa should match the purpose of your entry; tourist visa is for tourists, not workers.

I would rather lose the plane ticket than risk my good standing with US immigration authorities. I would definitely not intern for any US employer while on a tourist visa, even for free. But that's me.

Just my 2 cents. IANAL and I am not Canadian.

By the way, I second the idea about calling DHL and driving to the customs office where your package is being held.
posted by Ervin at 8:24 PM on December 24, 2007

P.S. I just want to point out that I did not make a confusion between H-1B and J-1 when I wrote "workers". ;)
posted by Ervin at 8:27 PM on December 24, 2007

In my experience, airlines won't always charge you if you miss a flight; they'll stick you on standby though. So, wait for the Visa, then standby to the next flight. Your internship doesn't start until January, so stick it out.

Alternatively, do you have any paperwork showing the J1, *without* the DS form?
posted by effugas at 9:18 PM on December 24, 2007

Update from OP:

I called the website I booked the ticket with (http://www.cheaptickets.com/), and they said that itinerary changes come with a fine of $100, on top of whatever fine the airline charges.

I decided to try calling the airline directly (Delta), so I can skip the middleman charge.

I was able to cancel my flight after a fine of $73. Delta says I can call to book a new flight whenever I'm ready to travel. The credit from the cancelled flight will go into the new flight. The new flight will definitely be much more expensive, and I'll have to pay the difference.
posted by BeaverTerror at 3:11 PM on December 25, 2007

Just a small point, in airline industry terminology, the $73 you paid is called a penalty, not a fine.
posted by grouse at 4:07 PM on December 25, 2007

Big no-no here. If you enter the country as a tourist, then you change your status to J-1 in just a few weeks (so it's clear that you entered with the intention of going J-1), you might be denied entry next time you leave and re-enter the US (because of lying to the immigration officer the first time).

This is not true. DHS knows when you were issued your DS2019 (and when you're bad or good, so be good for goodness sake).

Unfortunately I'm late to the ball game here, sorry. If you'd traveled without the form you probably would have gotten one of several reactions: CBP not caring and issuing a J-1 as if you'd had it, CBP not caring and issuing you an I-515 to send in with proof that you actually have your paperwork within 30 days or CBP not caring and issuing you a B-1 that you would leave on and then return and get everything squared away.
posted by Pollomacho at 11:14 AM on December 26, 2007