US CBP APIS and COVID-19
A traveler is trying to check in online for an Austrian airlines itinerary originating in a non-Schengen country, with a change in Vienna, with the final destination being the US. The traveler resides in the US with a G-4 visa, so the immigration suspensions related to COVID-19 do not apply.
Online check-in was refused with this message:
Unfortunately, we have not received travel approval from the US authorities. Please check your entries, in particular the number of your passport.
Needless to say, the numbers of the passport and the G-4 visa have been checked and double checked, as have their expiration dates. Austrian advised that the passenger should check in at the airport.
Questions:
- Does APIS take into account the type of visa held by a traveler when making the determination whether to return "OK to board"?
- Is the PCR test requirement somehow enforced through APIS?
My thinking here is that, depending on the answers to these questions, it might be impossible to expect to be able to get an "OK to board" determination without showing the visa or the PCR test results to an actual person.
Best Answer
Online check-in for international flights is pretty much non-functional at the moment.
Every country has specific and quickly changing requirements of permission to enter, covid testing, travel registration & approval etc. Automated systems are not keeping up and hence in-person doc check at the airport is required.
In your care case you need a negative PCR test and the airline can't check you in without someone looking at your test documentation.
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Do US citizens need Apis?
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has collected mandatory and voluntary advance passenger information (API) from air, rail, bus, and sea carriers for over a decade.What is APIS CBP?
The Advance Passenger Information System (APIS) is a widely used electronic data interchange system that allows carriers to transmit traveler data to CBP. APIS data includes passenger information that would be found on the face of a passport, such as full name, gender, and country of passport issuance.Do you need a Covid test to cross the US land border?
Fully vaccinated travelers do not need to provide a pre-entry COVID-19 test result to enter the United States by air, land, or sea.What are the COVID-19 requirements to cross the border into the United States?
Non-U.S. travelers seeking to enter the United States via land ports of entry and ferry terminals at the U.S.-Mexico and U.S.-Canada borders are required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and provide proof of vaccination upon request.Covid 19 Policies
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