A young Venezuelan woman shared on social media her unpleasant experience during one of her recent trips to the United States. A resident of Houston, Texas, she planned a trip to visit her family and together visit Disney World Park in Orlando. She had her valid Real ID, so she was calm at the airport. However, when she went through the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) checkpoint, she couldn’t believe what was happening to her.
The TSA agent reprimanded her that it was not a Real ID, and that with that documentation she could not travel. She explained that it was an official document, in effect, and that it even had the famous golden star. I even asked her for another identification document, but the young woman did not have her work permit with her (since if you have the Real ID, it is not necessary). In the end, she was allowed to board the plane, but was again informed that with that document she should not have been allowed to travel.
The young woman not only went through that bad moment, but also began to worry about what would happen on the flight back home. Despite all this, he had no issues on the return flight, and even recounted another story of a trip to Las Vegas, where he also did not experience anything similar with his Real ID. With these testimonies, he wanted to make this type of situation visible and recommended that all migrants who are planning to travel also carry their work permit in addition to the Real ID, to avoid undesired problems.
When the Real ID was not enough to travel
The use of the Real ID as a valid travel document came into effect months ago, so it is known by all Americans. In fact, we have addressed this topic on this portal, providing all the necessary information. However, a young Venezuelan woman residing in Houston, Texas, experienced a rather unusual and even unpleasant situation: she almost didn’t get on the plane despite carrying her Real ID. As you read.
The young woman had planned a trip to visit her family in Orlando and go together to Disney World. When she arrived at the TSA checkpoint, she showed her Real ID and was surprised. The agent looked at her license, scanned it, and said, ‘You know you can’t travel with this, this is not a Real ID.’ Stunned, she replied that it was, and that she also had the “gold star”.
The agent asked for another form of identification, but the young woman did not have her work permit with her. After this tense moment, the agent said to her, ‘Well, for next time, you need to know that you can’t travel with this,’ and let her board.
What happened in her following flights?
The young woman shared this experience on her TikTok profile, hoping to find some clarity. She recounted that after boarding the flight, the tension remained, as she couldn’t stop thinking about whether they would give her any trouble flying home from Orlando, Florida. However, she had no issues: no one questioned her document.
“The young woman scanned my license and everything was perfect, nothing happened,” she recounted. On her subsequent flights, she decided to be cautious. She not only carried her Real ID (which should be sufficient), but she also took her work permit. As expected, she did not encounter any problems on any of her subsequent flights: neither going to Las Vegas nor returning home.
“When I was at the airport in Houston, we went through TSA and everything was perfect,” she commented. The same happened when returning from Las Vegas to Houston. “They didn’t say anything at all,” she expressed.
Travel with all the possible documentation
“That man had a bad day, I don’t know… he was stubborn. He made me have a bad time,” explained the young woman about what happened. With this story, she aims to warn the other migrants residing in the United States who are planning to take domestic flights. “If you are going to travel these days, and you have a license under TPS that expires on September 10, I recommend that you also travel with your work permit”, she advised.