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Let's say I am a foreign student in the United States and I applied for another country's visa at their consulate in Washington DC. They are holding my passport for visa stamp and it takes 6-8 weeks to get back my passport.

I have an emergency at my home country and want to depart the US to go to my home country in Africa. Let's assume it's possible to have my passport from that foreign country's embassy in the US shipped internationally to my home country.

My question is will I be able to legally pass the TSA security checkpoint in order to be allowed to board the outbound flight to my home country?

We can assume I have a copy of my valid passport, copy of the visa that allowed me in to the US, current I-20 and valid SEVIS record, a US Driver's License (not REAL ID) and workplace/university ID badge.

Also, would the answer change for an F-1 student that is in school vs F-1 student in STEM OPT?

elegantcomplexity
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1 Answers1

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TSA will not allow you to pass through security to the airport's departure gates unless you hold (either printed or on your phone) a valid boarding pass and a valid form of identification. ID here is usually a passport.

Because you do not have a passport or other travel document, the airline will not issue you a boarding pass. Even if you have a ticket on the flight and a copy of your passport, the airline will not issue a boarding pass.

Without a boarding pass, you will be stuck landside at the departure airport, unable to access the departure gate.

(It's possible you'd be able to pass TSA Security with an electronic boarding pass (sent to you by email or the airline's app) without a passport, but if so you'd then be stopped by the airline at the departure gate and required to display your passport. Without a passport suitable for the flight, you will be denied boarding.)

DavidRecallsMonica
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