id check

[lay]

hi everyone

i just get confused because next month i like to travel from philadelphia,PA to richmond,VA with amtrak carolinian...

but i am traveling with 1 of my friend who doesnt have an issue id such a driver license ( he has passport from his country)

yesterday he confused about any check point from border patrol who jump in on amtrak train...

i am not worry about me but just worry about my friend..

please anyone who ever ride carolinian amtrak give me input..

is there any border check point between new york an north carolina or just on my journey from philadelphia to richmond

thankyou

regards

 

[HoosierStater]

There's not going to be any border control point, because there's no international border along the route. However, Amtrak "requires" a government-issued photo ID for most tickets. In my experience, they don't always check it. If your friend has a passport that should work, they have photographs and are issued by governments.

 

[TVRM610]

I don't know why, but somehow this country has gotten mixed up into thinking that "valid ID" EQUALS a drivers license. A drivers license is usually a valid photo ID, but so are many other items such as a Passport, State ID, Passport Card, Military ID, etc. Your friends Passport is a valid ID.

 

[lay]

thank you guys

because i got confused to about this situation..

i read on another post if the federal gov already sign/deal with amtrak and greyhound to check the passengers near the border or at least 100 mile near border....

cause i just make sure there is no check point between philadelphia,pa to richmond,va....( check point from ICE)

because like i said my friend is undocumented but he got his country passport...

anyone ever rode the carolinian between this city please give me suggestion........

also why this train make 25-30 minutes stop at washington dc...?

thanks

 

[HoosierStater]

There is no check point between Philadelphia and Richmond, since there is no international border between the two cities. Neither city is that close to an international border. The stop in DC is to change engines: from Philadelphia to Washington, the train uses an electric locomotive powered from overhead wires; from Washington south the train uses a diesel locomotive.

 

[lay]

thank you HoosierStater for the information...

if anyone lese got experience pleasepost some comment..

thanks

 

[TVRM610]

well for what it's worth we are talking about two different things here I think.

1 - Amtrak Checking ID - When Amtrak checks for ID on board the train they are checking that you are who your ticket says you are. So they are asking for a valid photo ID, that matches the name on your ticket. As far as I know, that is all they check, that your name is the name that is printed on your ticket.

2- Border Patrol Checking ID - This is when US Border Patrol officers board the train and ask questions, and ask for ID. The reality is they can board almost any train, at any time they feel like and ask for ID etc. I've personally only seen this once, and it was on the Lake Shore Limited early in the morning. An officer asked me if I was a US Citizen, I said yes, and he said thanks. That was it for me. Not sure what happens to other people. The Border Patrol boards anywhere they want, and it is unscheduled, and not planned, but rather "random." If this happens, your friend may or may not need to present documentation that they are legally in the country. I honestly don't know how that works, but I would imagine it would be something you should look into before your friend travels by any means in this country.

 

[Jim G.]

I do believe if you have a passport and it's stamped by US Customs you are considered to be in this country legally. Same as if I go to another country and they stamp my passport.

 

[Jim G.]

As far as ID's go, a passport is about as good as it gets.

 

[AlanB]

There is no check point between Philadelphia and Richmond, since there is no international border between the two cities. Neither city is that close to an international border. The stop in DC is to change engines: from Philadelphia to Washington, the train uses an electric locomotive powered from overhead wires; from Washington south the train uses a diesel locomotive.

While I admit up front that it is highly unlikely that one will find the Border patrol checkign the Carolinian, it is still possible that it could happen. The Atlantic Ocean is considered a US Border and therefore since the Carolinian runs within 100 miles of a US Border the Border Patrol can indeed board said train and perform a check.

Don't know that I've ever heard of the Carolinian being subjected to such a check, but within the past 2 years there has been at least 1 report of a Silver train being checked.

Lay, a foreign passport with a stamp from Immigration would be considered proof by the agents that someone is in the country legally.

 

[George Harris]

A few years ago there were three of us traveling on business between San Fran Ferry Building and Sacramento. We were obviously traveling together. We got the random ID check and showed the guy a Mississippi driver's license, a New York State driver's license, and a French passport. Somewhat of a strange look, but no problem.

 

[lay]

thank you guys for the input

if most people said safe and there is no border patrol between my journey i will tell my friend to buy the ticket

thanks again

 

[cirdan]

I don't know why, but somehow this country has gotten mixed up into thinking that "valid ID" EQUALS a drivers license. A drivers license is usually a valid photo ID, but so are many other items such as a Passport, State ID, Passport Card, Military ID, etc. Your friends Passport is a valid ID.

I can confirm this.

I'm British and don't have any ID besides my passport and have never had any trouble travelling on Amtrak.

In fact nobody ever asked to see my passport except when I was collecting my tickets at the ticket office (I normally buy them online from home and when arriving in the US I pick them up at the first Amtrak station I visit).

I never had any sort of trouble with Amtrak. In fact all the staff I ever had contact with were extremely helpful, even when I was stupid.

 

[lay]

Cirdan

Where are you going with amtrak???

Which corridor??

Thanks

 

[cirdan]

I do believe if you have a passport and it's stamped by US Customs you are considered to be in this country legally. Same as if I go to another country and they stamp my passport.

I don't think the stamp counts for much because at least in my passport half the stamps are close to illegible. They look as if immigration never actually clean their stamps. I'm sure somebody with a criminal mind would have no trouble manipulating that.

What is more important is the green slip they give you at immigration and which you have to give back when you leave the country. That you should take good care of and never lose it (and never forget to give it back).

Some people staple it inside their passports to make sure they don't lose it

I have a friend who lost his and this was years ago but still years later he's on some sort of a black list because every time immigration or the police check him he gets held while they make some phone calls and then they eventually let him go again but it's quite unnerving.

 

[cirdan]

Cirdan

Where are you going with amtrak???

Which corridor??

Thanks

Hi, not got anything planned right now but am hoping to come to the USA around November

Stuff I've done so far is:

2008 trip:

Raleigh NC - Philadelphia

Philadephia - Pittsburgh

Pittsburgh - Chicago

Chicago - Dallas

2009 trip:

Atlanta - New Orleans

New Orleans - San Antonio

San Antonio - Dallas

2010 trip:

Chicago - Albuquerque

I haven't got the next trip worked out yet but was thinking maybe the Caliphornia Zephyr.

 

[Cho Cho Charlie]

An officer asked me if I was a US Citizen, I said yes, and he said thanks. That was it for me. Not sure what happens to other people.

If you replied "Sí", "Oui", or "Da", things might have been different. :giggle:

I have to go onto a tangent here, and mention that back when I was growing up, we were taught that one of the bad and evil things about the Soviet Union was that people had to carry government issued papers with them when they traveled even inside their own country. Supposedly, here in America, we don't need to carry any kind of papers on us as we can freely travel around.

 

[Shanghai]

I lived in Hong Kong for seven years.

I was required to always carry my Hong Kong ID Card

at all times as were all residents of the colony.

It was "fun" when I was asked for identification in

the United States, I would show my HKID, and the

people asking would go ballistic!!

It worked very well when I got caught with a driving

infraction. I would show my Hong Kong Driving License

and the policeman would be shocked to see it. Three

times the policeman let me go rather than give me a

citation.

 

[AmtrakBlue]

Cirdan

Where are you going with amtrak???

Which corridor??

Thanks

Hi, not got anything planned right now but am hoping to come to the USA around November

I haven't got the next trip worked out yet but was thinking maybe the Caliphornia Zephyr.

My daughter & I will be on the CA from CHI to PRO (11/20-21). My first LD trip. Can't wait.

 

[ACVitale]

I think the issue is that LAY is travelling with someone who has a valid passport from their country but, is not here legally. They probably came in as a tourist or similar and never left. (Common). They are concerned that if the ICE team boards the train the "friend" will be detained and/or deported. Hence, the concern over ICE.

The likelyhood of them getting caught on the Amtrak train is minimal however, on a personal level I have a problem with ILLEGAL immigration. There are many paths to legal immigration and the fact that some choose to cut corners and the system puts those who do it legally further behind.

So in response, Good luck but, my gut is churning.

 

[TVRM610]

ACVitale,

I agree with your assessment, however I have a good friend who lived here on a work visa for years, he loves this country and wants to stay but has simply not been able to stay despite meetings with multiple immigration lawyers etc. It's not very easy to stay here unless you get Married it seems. Ha. Now he has followed the law, and is back in Australia, and I respect him for that, but I can sort of see the other side of the coin.

 

[Bob Dylan]

ACVitale,

I agree with your assessment, however I have a good friend who lived here on a work visa for years, he loves this country and wants to stay but has simply not been able to stay despite meetings with multiple immigration lawyers etc. It's not very easy to stay here unless you get Married it seems. Ha. Now he has followed the law, and is back in Australia, and I respect him for that, but I can sort of see the other side of the coin.

In all honesty lots of countries make it even harder than the US to legally immigrate including Australia! :excl: In the current political climate with the t-pub morons in the midst of bankrupting this country,nothing will get done in the area of immigration until after the 2012 elections, and then will depend on who wins the elections?? When economic times are hard people are looking for scapegoats, they forget their ancestors all came from somewhere else!!(except Native Americans and look how we treated them!)

 

[lay]

acvitale you are right..

i will travel with one of my friend who is illegally in this country..

so i just tell him to be carefull and make sure there is no border check or kinda ICE officer jump in the train between philadelphia,PA to richmond,VA on CAROLINIAN TRAIN...

i think maybe there is no check point on this corridor like on the north side upstate NY or southwest like TEXAS or New Mexico....( cause that side near the international border)

please anyone whoever rode CAROLINIAN AMTRAK please give me input as much as you can

thank you much

regards

 

[jis]

Lay, a foreign passport with a stamp from Immigration would be considered proof by the agents that someone is in the country legally.

We need to say a bit more than that....

For non-US citizens who are also not Canadian (not sure what rules apply to Mexicans these days)

If you are a permanent resident then you need to have your Green Card or an I-551 (or whatever the heck they call it these days) Processed stamp in your passport to be legal.

If you entered from a visa waiver country using one of those green I-94W forms, then just an entry stamp in the passport is OK (I think though I am not sure, since I have never personally done that), though you might need the stub from the green form too. Again having never done it myself I don;t know for sure.

If you entered using a visa then in addition to having a stamped passport you also need to have the (white) I-94 stub with the info on it and duly stamped by CBP, to establish legal presence in the country.

 

[leemell]

An officer asked me if I was a US Citizen, I said yes, and he said thanks. That was it for me. Not sure what happens to other people.

If you replied "Sí", "Oui", or "Da", things might have been different. :giggle:

I have to go onto a tangent here, and mention that back when I was growing up, we were taught that one of the bad and evil things about the Soviet Union was that people had to carry government issued papers with them when they traveled even inside their own country. Supposedly, here in America, we don't need to carry any kind of papers on us as we can freely travel around.

This is because the Soviet Union required an internal passport for travel. You had to ask for permission to leave your home province. If you were traveling without your passport or permission, you could and probably would be arrested immediately. They checked for those "papers" at virtually every internal border.