Flying to Guatemala

[djones9714]

Okay, I just wanted to share my son-in-law's journey so far for those of you who will be traveling to Guatemala.

He left on a plane this morning from Dulles to Guatemala with no problems. He has a driver's license and a passport. They didn't ask to see ID. They only asked him why he was only traveling one-way and he responded that this was because he didn't know when he would be coming back.

The guy said "oh okay" and that was the end of it. So no problems whatsoever traveling back to Guatemala.

[JennyM]

Good to know. We are flying out of Charlotte.

[ujcdv]

A U.S. citizen traving to Guatemala will only need a passport to enter the country, no visa is required. A Permanant Resident of the U.S. only needs their country's passport and the PR ID (Green Card) nothing else is required for them. A Guatemalan Citizen just needs to to show some from of Guat ID to enter the country.

All people regardless of citizenship need to pay an exit tax when leaving by air of Q20.00 (3 U.S. Dollars), by ground leaving the country (GUA) to Hondurous, or El Salvador you only need your passport that has been stamped with your entry into Guatemala (if not then visa rules apply) since Guatemala, Hondurous, El Salvador, & Nicaraugua have a treaty in place with each other to increase trade and tourism.

I'm glad your SIL did not have any exit problems from the U.S., that seems hit or miss these days.

[Pooh79]

Good to hear. :)

[chalakita]

DJ - what airline? I am not going to Guatemala, but I would like to know the requirements for the airline. Also, does he have his appointment already?

[jsierra1982]

i'm glad he made it there safely with no problems!

[djones9714]

Okay, here's what I can write so far.

Flying to Guatemala with Guatemalan passport was a breeze. No questions asked; did not have to show driver's license -- just passport. He actually was asked why it was a one-way ticket and the response was "because I don't know how long I will be staying." The ticket agent's response was "oh, okay."

On Monday, he went to his medical exam. He took all of his vaccination records from here and everything was great.

WARNING: If you obtain chest x-rays here in the United States, you must take the actual x-rays with you. They do not have the proper equipment to read the CD's that the medical offices now give you when you ask for copies.

He had to do his chest x-rays, paid $100.00 for them, and was told to return yesterday between 9 - 11 to pick up the results.

So tomorrow he has his interview.
Edit:
DJ - what airline? I am not going to Guatemala, but I would like to know the requirements for the airline. Also, does he have his appointment already?


He only had to show his passport. He had his driver's license but they never asked for it. Also, my daughter paid for the e-ticket and we thought that they would at least ask to see the credit card that it was paid with but they didn't even ask that. So it was actually pretty easy.

This was on TACA Airlines.

His appointment is tomorrow -- Friday, July 11, 2008 at 8:30 a.m.

[jsierra1982]

good luck to him for tomorrow!!!

[JennyM]

I think they are 2 hrs behind? I never remember, lol if so...he's got one more hour and he's currently waiting in line!!!

[russ2169]

Guatemala is currently 1 hour ahead of Pacific time.

He should be in the building waiting for the interview.

[JennyM]

Ok...so its 2 hrs behind; I'm on est and so is DJ. So its 10:38 over there! WHAT IS HE DOING!!!?!?!

[djones9714]

Okay, update. He had his interview already this morning. That Embassy is very organized. They had everything he had originally sent in with the I-130, DS-230, etc. and the only thing he had to hand in was the I-601. They accepted everything, including the expedite request, and told him it would take 6 months. Oh well, I expected that. So now I am getting busy faxing the expedite request to try to get it to someone's attention instead of just sitting there in a pile of papers for 6 months.

The interview went well. The interviewer was nice. Asked just a few questions: what does your wife do; where does she work; what have you been doing in the U.S.

Even though we did not have to hand in police reports when he filed the DS-230, etc., they definitely did ask him for these at his interview -- in fact, it was the first thing they asked him for and we are lucky that he went and got them this week.

So this is all I know at the present moment. It was short and sweet and to the point.

[Pinkpig]

Guatemala is currently 1 hour ahead of Pacific time.

He should be in the building waiting for the interview.


Russ2169,

How are you doing today? Try to breathe. :)

[lilly]

i'm so glad everything went well!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
and in no time u guys are going to get his approval :)

[russ2169]

djones,
Glad to hear things went fine. Hope you have luck with the expedite.

pinkpig,
Doing fine thanks for checking.

Hope everyone is having a great day:cheerful:

[SEG 79]

Hey DJones, I have been recovering from a terrible case of salmonella poisioning. It's great that you were able to turn your waiver into the embassy the same day as your VISA interview.

It will be a very nerve racking wait for their answer.

God be with you.

Shawn

[chikaprada]

Thanks for keeping us updated on how things went for him.

I have a question, did he fly non-stop to Guatemala or there was a layover?

Honestly I am very, very glad he didn't have any issues going through security.

[djones9714]

No, he flew non-stop from Dulles to Guatemala on TACA Airlines. On some TACA flights, there is a stop-over in El Salvador but you don't change planes.

[russ2169]

My wife also flew direct from Los Angeles to Guatemala City via Taca.
She had no problems of any kind with the Guatemala Passport.
In fact, I was worried about paying extra for over weight luggage.
She was allowed to take 2 bags 50 lbs each, plus 1 carry on at 23lbs ?
Her bags were 74lb, 73lb and 43lb carry on, I was expecting to pay at least $100 for the extra weight. The guy said everything was fine no extra charge.

[Alwin_Mai]

I'm a US Citizen but born in Guatemala. My wife is Egyptian, we married last April 2007 in San Antonio, Texas. Her CR-1 case was completed at NVC on 8-8-08 and waiting for her interview date in Cairo to obtain her permanent US visa.

In the future we plan to live part of the year in Guatemala and part in the USA, since she loves Guatemala. Does anybody know what are the requirements or steps for my wife the get the Guatemalan residency?

[ujcdv]

yes it's here

http://guatemala.usembassy.gov/uploads/images/krDZWqK4HcKYHLGrqesqLQ/acseguatresidence.pdf

[Alwin_Mai]

Thank you so much for the link to Guatemalan residence requirements.

[ujcdv]

your most welcome