Visas and Passports

Many travelers are caught by surprise when the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) changes the rules about what can be carried aboard aircraft and what constitutes a “prohibited item.” I suggest that before you finish your packing for each trip, you consult the TSA webpage www.tsa.gov/travelers/airtravel/prohibited/permitted-prohibited-items.shtm. You are able to sign up for e-mail notification for changes in several categories of interest, including the list of prohibited items.

I have another bit of information to add regarding using a 10-year visa in India (June ’07, pg. 14 & Sept. ’07, pg. 89).

My name is J. William. On my passport, my first name has always read “JWilliam.” This has been on several passports over about 50 years without any problems.

I read how you could get additional blank pages into inserted in your U.S. passport (termed a “passport amendment”) at a U.S. Embassy (Aug.’07, pg. 34). After several years of international travel, my wife and I were running out of blank passport pages. We didn’t like the thought of mailing our passports to the backlogged passport processors at the State Department and then waiting for several weeks, so an embassy visit sounded like a good idea. During our February ’08 visit to Italy we finally had our opportunity; Rome’s U.S. Embassy was only a 10-minute walk from our hotel.

Before a trip, first I arrange for every bill possible — car insurance, phone, etc. — to be paid by my credit cards. I never, never enter anything in a computer. Then I arrange for my credit cards to be paid by my bank automatically every month. I make sure my checking account has enough in it to cover the bills.

For that one guy who will only accept a check, I take care of him separately before the trip. Then I am carefree for a long trip.

by Richard Shally, Walnut Creek, CA. Photos by Henk Ten Dam, Netherlands

In his May ’07 “Discerning Traveler” column, Philip Wagenaar described how, when going through security checkpoints at airports, anywhere, he places on the moving belt, for inspection, his quart-sized zip-lock see-through baggie with sundries in it, each of the sundry containers capable of holding no more than three ounces of liquid or gel, of course. Next to that, again for the inspectors to see, he places a 4-ounce bottle of contact lens solution.

I was part of a group of eight Americans scheduled to visit Saudi Arabia, Oct. 22-Nov. 2, 2006, under the auspices of Advantage Travel & Tours. I was the only member of our tour group whose visa was denied. I also was the only member of the group who was Jewish and so indicated on the visa application form question asking us to list our religion.

My travel agent had assured me that the “official policy” of the Saudi government is they do not discriminate on the basis of religion.

I was in Thailand in February ’07 and made four cash withdrawals at ATMs using my Visa card. The withdrawals totaled $1,152.

I was on a trip to the North Pole, July 5-28, 2007, with Quark Expeditions (Darien, CT; 800/356-5699, www.quark expeditions.com). The group met in Helsinki and flew to Murmansk, at which time a couple from South America was refused entry into Russia. They had made a short, pre-North Pole trip to St. Petersburg each with a single-entry visa.