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Italians lost passport in Northern Michigan

Italians lost passport in Northern Michigan

Old Apr 25th, 2008, 06:14 PM
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Italians lost passport in Northern Michigan

I have some friends visiting from Italy and one of them lost their passport while on route to the US. It is a Friday night and was wondering what they have to do to get a new one. We are in Traverse City, Michigan and was wondering if anything can be done on a weekend or do we have to wait until Monday.

Would like to hear from anyone with experience with a problem similar to this.
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Old Apr 25th, 2008, 06:57 PM
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probably on monday and i would guess chicago is the closest
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Old Apr 25th, 2008, 07:18 PM
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535 Griswold - Buhl Building, Suite 1840
Detroit, Michigan (USA) 48226

Tel: (313) 963-8560
Fax: (313) 963-8180
E-mail: [email protected]
http://www.italconsdetroit.org


or


Italian Consulate General
500 North Michigan Avenue
Suite 1850
Chicago, IL 60611
Tel. (312) 467-1550, -1551, -1552
Fax. (312) 467-1335
http://www.italconschicago.org/



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Old Apr 25th, 2008, 07:46 PM
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Hello Randy, I think you must mean your Italian friend lost their passport in the US not while on route to the US as if that is the case I don't know how they could have legally entered the US.

I do not think that they will be able to do anything over the weekend but perhaps have them call the phone no. of the Italian consulate, perhaps they have a voice mail (SF does) and than arrive there if at all possible first thing Monday morning. Do they have a photocopy of their Italian passport? If so they should bring it to the consulate with them.
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Old Apr 26th, 2008, 04:00 AM
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LoveItaly, yes it was lost while entering or just after. He thinks the people at US customs forgot to return it to him in Detroit. They have a photocopy, but I am wondering if they have to be there in person. We are in Traverse City and they are vising their son who is an exchange student living with me. It is a 250 mile drive to Detroit.
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Old Apr 26th, 2008, 05:27 AM
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Hi R,

>He thinks the people at US customs forgot to return it to him in Detroit.

Before trying to get a new one, he might want to call the Immigration and Customs office at the Detroit airport.

I doubt very much that they forgot to give him his passport back, but it might have been turned in after he dropped it somewhere.

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Old Apr 26th, 2008, 05:56 AM
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Following up on Ira's suggestion, here is a phone number for CBP at Detroit Metro Airport: (734) 941-6180 Ext: 301

I agree with Ira that it is unlikely that the CBP officer did not give the passport back, but perhaps your friend dropped it shortly thereafter. I would also suggest calling the airport, they have a number on their website for lost and found, 734-942-3669.
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Old Apr 26th, 2008, 08:05 AM
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Thank you all for your help on this.

I called US Customs at Sault Saint Marie, Michigan (only number I had) and they gave me the same number as you did lov2cthings. I called them and they said that when ever something like that happens they turn it over to the airlines and recommended I call the airline.

Since airlines don't seem to like giving out their telephone numbers unless you want to buy a ticket, we drove to the Traverse City Airport in town and went to the United desk to inquire. They gave us the telephone number for the lost and found.

Of course United airlines lost and found number is not answered on weekends.

It is now noon on Saturday.
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Old Apr 26th, 2008, 08:46 AM
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Have you called either of the consulate offices yet? The links AAFrequentFlyer provided are not for the consulates (although phone numbers and street addresses are correct). The following are the web addresses for the Italian consulates in Detroit and Chicago:

http://www.consdetroit.esteri.it/Consolato_Detroit

http://www.conschicago.esteri.it/Consolato_Chicago

"I am wondering if they have to be there in person..." I can't imagine a consulate handing over their new passports to anyone BUT them.
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Old Apr 26th, 2008, 09:22 AM
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>>I called US Customs at Sault Saint Marie, Michigan (only number I had) and they gave me the same number as you did lov2cthings. I called them and they said that when ever something like that happens they turn it over to the airlines and recommended I call the airline.<<

Huh? How would they know what airline the person flew in on?

I can imagine that they turn luggage that has an airline tag on it over to the airlines, but a passport?

Call them back and try to get an intelligent answer from them.

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Old Apr 26th, 2008, 09:35 AM
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They get a passenger list from all airlines before the plane touches down, so it would not be very difficult for them to find on what airline the person flew.

I guess that's one positive out of the whole Homeland Security BS.


btw, I also have doubts that the passport check officer kept the passport. You are not allowed to leave the window until s/he runs it through, stamps it and hands it back to you.
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Old Apr 26th, 2008, 09:56 AM
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Oh Randy, what an irritating problem. I too am 100% sure if your Italian friend can not retrive their passport they would have to go in person to get a new one issued. Will you be driving them? Maybe you could look at this as showing them a bit more of your area..just trying to think along a positive note here. Best regards.
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Old Apr 26th, 2008, 09:59 AM
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CBP gets a passenger list. Does Detroit Metro Airport Lost & Found get a passenger list?
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Old Apr 26th, 2008, 10:14 AM
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No they don't, but that wasn't the issue. CBP knows what airline the passenger was on, so they hand over the passport to that airline. What the airline does with it afterwords is anybody's guess, but I believe with a passport they would look at the PNR of the passenger, try to find a contact number, (usually required during international travel) and call.

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Old Apr 26th, 2008, 10:25 AM
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But the point surely is that CBP gave the passport back and that the passenger lost the passport *somewhere* in the airport. If someone finds the passport, do they give it to CBP or to Lost & Found?

Lost & Found, incidentally, has a Web page that you can fill in and submit:
http://www.metroairport.com/informat...dFoundHome.asp
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Old Apr 26th, 2008, 10:28 AM
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Plan on being there in person. My sympathies to you and your guests. If you fail to locate its whereabouts you could start getting required photos taken, etc. Don't let it spoil your weekend though.

My sister lost her passport outside of Combourg on a 3 day weekend holiday. Those were the days when you had to give the hotel your passport# to register and we were so naive, we thought we had to stay put until we could get photos taken and get a new passport in Paris on Tuesday. Combourg is a lovely town, mind you, but definitely not 3 days worth!

You could look on the bright side, I had my purse stolen years ago and had to replace everything--airline tickets, money, drivers license, passport--and had to travel to Marseilles in person to do this. So at least you might only be having to replace one document.
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Old Apr 26th, 2008, 10:38 AM
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Zerlina,

now you're running around in circles.

I replied to your reply to the OP's post, which basically stated that they called CBP and were told that if CBP did have the passport they would turn it over to the airline.

You asked "how would CBP know what airline the passenger was flying?"

I replied "because of the flight list"

In my last post I also stated that it's anybody's guess what the airline would do if in fact the passport was turned over to the airline, but my guess is they would try to contact the passenger. They do ask for a contact number during reservations.

That's also the reason I don't think it was lost at the immigration/customs area.

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Old Apr 26th, 2008, 11:04 AM
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No, I'm not running around in circles. The OP called CBP; CBP told him to call Lost & Found; Lost & Found told him they turn things over to the airlines. Which is what I questioned, since Lost & Found, as you admit, does *not* get the passenger list.
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Old Apr 26th, 2008, 11:12 AM
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Thank you all for your thoughts on this problem. We have decided to enjoy the weekend and start fresh on Monday morning.

If there are other ideas we would like to see them.

Will let you know how this works out.

The people here on this board really make an effort and it is appreciated.
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Old Apr 26th, 2008, 11:16 AM
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Is it possible that CBP turned over the passport with flight info?
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