HELP! EBTA cruisers, didn't leave the country?

[Lisa F]

Yes, but you state it's not Disney's fault because they provided proof they submitted the papers correctly, which they didn't
And apparently you also feel like Disney doesn't need to keep their word?

You're obviously in a highly agitated state because of this (understandable) and I'm not going to argue with you. It sounds like the likely outcome is that you will have your appeal granted and your good standing with the US restored. None of us will never know EXACTLY what went wrong and no one is going to share with you why exactly there was a mistake - that is not how our government rolls. If Disney is saying they properly submitted the paperwork there is no way that you are going to prove otherwise so you kind of have to take them at face value. Hopefully the appeals process will do the job it is there for and your status will be restored and there will be no lasting harm to you requiring any sort of compensation. Good Luck

 

[olafLover]

You're obviously in a highly agitated state because of this (understandable) and I'm not going to argue with you. It sounds like the likely outcome is that you will have your appeal granted and your good standing with the US restored. None of us will never know EXACTLY what went wrong and no one is going to share with you why exactly there was a mistake - that is not how our government rolls. If Disney is saying they properly submitted the paperwork there is no way that you are going to prove otherwise so you kind of have to take them at face value. Hopefully the appeals process will do the job it is there for and your status will be restored and there will be no lasting harm to you requiring any sort of compensation. Good Luck

Well, I get agitated with people not reading the post they quote and saying Disney isn't too blame because ... and then something which is said in the post they quoted ISN'T TRUE!

Disney hasn't provided documentation that they filled the paperwork properly, they only told us that they did.

Honestly I would not expect Disney to know how to fix this for you. They know how to do what they know how to do but they are not in the business of interfacing with immigration issues for people. They may have lied about not doing their paperwork but if they provided you with the proof that they did it properly, I find it very unlikely that they are at fault. They just do not have control over anything but what they have control over, which is to file the paperwork correctly. What happens beyond that is completely out of their hands. All they can do is provide the documentation to you that you need to work through the system and they have - I wouldn't imagine that they would do it on their own without being asked because they are not immigration attorneys and cannot make a determination about how for YOU to proceed in your appeal. They should certainly support you with any specific documentation you require and it seems like they have done that.

Also having stated numerous times I DON'T expect Disney to FIX it! I only expect them to send regular updates like they PROMISED!

 

[Lisa F]

Well, I get agitated with people not reading the post they quote and saying Disney isn't too blame because ... and then something which is said in the post they quoted ISN'T TRUE!



Also having stated numerous times I DON'T expect Disney to FIX it! I only expect them to send regular updates like they PROMISED!

Wait, Disney said that they did not follow proper protocol and that's why this mess? I thought they did file all of their paperwork properly and the breakdown was somewhere further along the line. If they admitted to not doing what they should have, then yes they are to blame. I must have missed where they said that the did not file their paperwork properly.

 

[KashasMom]

What sucks is that the bureaucracy failed, someone dropped the ball and now you have a mess to deal with - and it is even MORE stressful in our current hostile immigration environment. I get that. But honestly this is the kind of stuff people deal with all the time in this country from health care issues/payments (I have spent literally weeks worth of hours unraveling double and triple billing from a hospital and it was on me to do, no one was going to do it for me and no one was going to compensate me for my time to unravel it), to dealing with moving from one state to another and not having my returned license plates processed in a timely manner to all sorts of things when someone did not do their job properly... and it IS stressful. It's just what happens in big bureaucracies and there is no one to provide compensation for anyone's time and hassle to deal with it. I am truly sorry that you are dealing with it but I really do not see where Disney owes anyone money over it (again unless it came out that they did not do their job and this mess is directly because of that... then I do believe they should compensate people for setting off this poopstorm.)

These are such ridiculous comparisons. What is the worst that would happen with your hospital situation? A collection agency coming after you? Scary! That's quite different than people being refused entry into a country, worse for people that STILL might not even know this even happened. Can you imagine going to an airport and being denied boarding because you've been banned for overstaying when you had no idea?

Repeatedly picking apart the OP is not helpful. And she was NOT the one who mentioned compensation in the first place.

 

[olafLover]

I'm not sure how I feel about their responsibility to inform passengers. It seems like that is on the US government to do for anyone who is in danger of overstaying their visa (or has already overstayed it.) That is not something that Disney keeps track of and even if they inform all of the passengers that they may have overstayed their visa, then what are they supposed to do? They can't fix it and they can't guide people or direct them in how to fix it themselves... so basically it opens up a big Pandora's box where they are apparently taking responsibility for it by getting involved yet they can't really get involved in... so they send it out and then when panicked people call with questions they tell them that there is nothing they can do? Disney never takes responsibility for passengers' immigration status... that is the personal responsibility of the passengers. They assume you have your stuff worked out with the government. If I show up with an expired passport even though I had the date linked to my Disney account for years, they are not going to take responsibility for that - it's on me to do that and make sure all of my documentation is as it should be.

Let's say you and your son are on a cruise. A few months afterwards somebody contacts Disney stating they found out they had a very infectious decease while on the cruise. But there is an easy and quick test to see if you've got it and if you did, you'd only have to take one pill and you're fine, but if you don't take the pill, you'll loose you're ability to walk. More and more people contact Disney stating they did the test as the first person advised them to do so on social media and ALL of them got it!
Wouldn't you expect Disney to contact you and all the other cruisers to inform you of the easy test and quick solution? Or would you prefer to wait till it's too late and nothing can be done?

 

[Lisa F]

Let's say you and your son are on a cruise. A few months afterwards somebody contacts Disney stating they found out they had a very infectious decease while on the cruise. But there is an easy and quick test to see if you've got it and if you did, you'd only have to take one pill and you're fine, but if you don't take the pill, you'll loose you're ability to walk. More and more people contact Disney stating they did the test as the first person advised them to do so on social media and ALL of them got it!
Wouldn't you expect Disney to contact you and all the other cruisers to inform you of the easy test and quick solution? Or would you prefer to wait till it's too late and nothing can be done?

this is not the equivalent thing ... this is not an infectious disease, where I do believe that Disney would have the legal obligation to contact people, unless the CDC (center for disease control) took lead agency on it and requested a passenger list and started contacting people. And it is not a "life or death" situation that has to be resolved on a tight deadline or there will be dire consequences such as loss of life or limb... it it is not an irreversible medical thing, it is a paperwork snafu with an appeals process to get it resolved. Disney was not in power to make this go away for you once the government agency had the wrong information, all you can do at that point is correct it through the established protocol of that agency who thankfully has an appeals process. If you really think that Disney could have just made a phone call and cleared this up before you overstayed your visa, you have not been following the immigration situation here in the USA. It is a very very dire situation for very many people and the whole agency is completely, utterly overloaded... that is without making any political commentary, it is a fact that we do not have enough personnel to process everything that needs to be processed. Unfortunately once the mistake had been made, you are stuck in the bureaucratic process of getting it fixed and that is not something that Disney, big and powerful as they are, is in power to do for you. They should absolutely without any question provide whatever documentation is required of the agency (and regardless of whether you think it is good enough, as long as the agency accepts it as proof what does that matter?) and it sounds like they did that?

It's not a life or death situation, it's a paperwork snafu with an established appeal protocol through the agency that is responsible for keeping the records. I understand that it is unnerving and you will be anxious about it until it is resolved especially given the current immigration situation here in the USA and I even understand the anxiety that even though you did everything above board, you still may end up facing consequences for something that is not your fault... life is not very fair here in the USA for many people and things don't always turn out the way they should. Believe me, I understand that and I understand your frustration. But you seem to think that Disney could have solved this all for you easily if they had just acted quickly on it and I am telling you that after being involved in bureaucratic paperwork snafus myself that this is not generally the way it works. Things take time to go through the system, deadlines are missed and then appeals must be made and it's all a big stressful pain in the butt. I'm just not sure it is Disney's fault either, as they are claiming they handled all of the paperwork properly on their end. You may never know if they did or didn't but there's nothing more you can do but take them at face value that the mess up happened further down the line with powers that Disney has zero influence over.

 

[Lisa F]

These are such ridiculous comparisons. What is the worst that would happen with your hospital situation? A collection agency coming after you? Scary! That's quite different than people being refused entry into a country, worse for people that STILL might not even know this even happened. Can you imagine going to an airport and being denied boarding because you've been banned for overstaying when you had no idea?

Repeatedly picking apart the OP is not helpful. And she was NOT the one who mentioned compensation in the first place.

Are YOU kidding ME? Having my life and credit ruined by a paperwork snafu at the hospital is not as important as not being able to take a vacation at your preferred vacation destination? That could have utterly ruined my life, as unpaid medical bills ruin the lives of many people in this country. Your credit rating affects everything from interest rates on future loans to being approved for housing to being hired for a job... all of which is a little more important than not being able to go to Disney World.

Can you imagine applying for a job because you need health insurance for your child with special needs and being denied that job because you defaulted on medical bills that you didn't even incur? That said, frustrating as it was, it's a paperwork snafu and I spent a ton of time on it but I worked through it and no one compensated me for it because especially in this age of computers, stuff happens. I just got to live my life normally with my 800 credit and low interest rate on my car loan and nice rental house that I was chosen to rent because of my stellar credit. And hopefully the OP will be able to work through the appeals process for what is basically an administrative snafu and it will not in any way curtail future vacations.

 

[coast2coastmickey]

this is not the equivalent thing ... this is not an infectious disease, where I do believe that Disney would have the legal obligation to contact people, unless the CDC (center for disease control) took lead agency on it and requested a passenger list and started contacting people. And it is not a "life or death" situation that has to be resolved on a tight deadline or there will be dire consequences such as loss of life or limb... it it is not an irreversible medical thing, it is a paperwork snafu with an appeals process to get it resolved. Disney was not in power to make this go away for you once the government agency had the wrong information, all you can do at that point is correct it through the established protocol of that agency who thankfully has an appeals process. If you really think that Disney could have just made a phone call and cleared this up before you overstayed your visa, you have not been following the immigration situation here in the USA. It is a very very dire situation for very many people and the whole agency is completely, utterly overloaded... that is without making any political commentary, it is a fact that we do not have enough personnel to process everything that needs to be processed. Unfortunately once the mistake had been made, you are stuck in the bureaucratic process of getting it fixed and that is not something that Disney, big and powerful as they are, is in power to do for you. They should absolutely without any question provide whatever documentation is required of the agency (and regardless of whether you think it is good enough, as long as the agency accepts it as proof what does that matter?) and it sounds like they did that?

It's not a life or death situation, it's a paperwork snafu with an established appeal protocol through the agency that is responsible for keeping the records. I understand that it is unnerving and you will be anxious about it until it is resolved especially given the current immigration situation here in the USA and I even understand the anxiety that even though you did everything above board, you still may end up facing consequences for something that is not your fault... life is not very fair here in the USA for many people and things don't always turn out the way they should. Believe me, I understand that and I understand your frustration. But you seem to think that Disney could have solved this all for you easily if they had just acted quickly on it and I am telling you that after being involved in bureaucratic paperwork snafus myself that this is not generally the way it works. Things take time to go through the system, deadlines are missed and then appeals must be made and it's all a big stressful pain in the butt. I'm just not sure it is Disney's fault either, as they are claiming they handled all of the paperwork properly on their end. You may never know if they did or didn't but there's nothing more you can do but take them at face value that the mess up happened further down the line with powers that Disney has zero influence over.

I don't have a stake in this situation, but I refuse to believe that Disney can't craft an email to all the reservations on that sailing, simply to say "Hey, it came to our attention that some folks experienced issues with their visa to the US. Please reach out to whatever authority granted you this visa to see if you are impacted and for next steps if so."

That took me 10 seconds to write, and I'm sure there's a button to press to send an email to everyone. Further, just because they're not legally required to send the above email, doesn't mean it isn't a great idea to send it, from a purely customer service perspective.

My wife and I both work for companies that are highly regarded for customer service and communication to customers is huge. Disney I would think would be on top of it, and it's disappointing to hear from OP that they aren't doing an email blast.

 

[olafLover]

this is not the equivalent thing ... this is not an infectious disease, where I do believe that Disney would have the legal obligation to contact people, unless the CDC (center for disease control) took lead agency on it and requested a passenger list and started contacting people. And it is not a "life or death" situation that has to be resolved on a tight deadline or there will be dire consequences such as loss of life or limb... it it is not an irreversible medical thing, it is a paperwork snafu with an appeals process to get it resolved. Disney was not in power to make this go away for you once the government agency had the wrong information, all you can do at that point is correct it through the established protocol of that agency who thankfully has an appeals process. If you really think that Disney could have just made a phone call and cleared this up before you overstayed your visa, you have not been following the immigration situation here in the USA. It is a very very dire situation for very many people and the whole agency is completely, utterly overloaded... that is without making any political commentary, it is a fact that we do not have enough personnel to process everything that needs to be processed. Unfortunately once the mistake had been made, you are stuck in the bureaucratic process of getting it fixed and that is not something that Disney, big and powerful as they are, is in power to do for you. They should absolutely without any question provide whatever documentation is required of the agency (and regardless of whether you think it is good enough, as long as the agency accepts it as proof what does that matter?) and it sounds like they did that?

It's not a life or death situation, it's a paperwork snafu with an established appeal protocol through the agency that is responsible for keeping the records. I understand that it is unnerving and you will be anxious about it until it is resolved especially given the current immigration situation here in the USA and I even understand the anxiety that even though you did everything above board, you still may end up facing consequences for something that is not your fault... life is not very fair here in the USA for many people and things don't always turn out the way they should. Believe me, I understand that and I understand your frustration. But you seem to think that Disney could have solved this all for you easily if they had just acted quickly on it and I am telling you that after being involved in bureaucratic paperwork snafus myself that this is not generally the way it works. Things take time to go through the system, deadlines are missed and then appeals must be made and it's all a big stressful pain in the butt. I'm just not sure it is Disney's fault either, as they are claiming they handled all of the paperwork properly on their end. You may never know if they did or didn't but there's nothing more you can do but take them at face value that the mess up happened further down the line with powers that Disney has zero influence over.

Trying to enter the US if you have an overstay on your record is NOT a little paperwork snafu! (which is what the people who are unaware are facing)

how many times do I have to tell you I DON'T EXPECT DISNEY TO FIX ANYTHING?

 

[Lisa F]

Trying to enter the US if you have an overstay on your record is NOT a little paperwork snafu! (which is what the people who are unaware are facing)

how many times do I have to tell you I DON'T EXPECT DISNEY TO FIX ANYTHING?

then why do you think you should get compensation from them? Which is the statement I made that started this whole thing. What are they supposed to compensate you for if it's not their fault and you realize they can't fix it?

I did not say it's a "little" paperwork snafu. I said it's a paperwork snafu, which means the proper paperwork was not filed for whatever reason which is entirely different than an irreversible life or death health situation... a hypothetical in which one little pill can fix the whole thing... what is the pill that Disney should have given you to fix the situation? This is the easiest type of appeal to make because you followed the rules AND have the actual proof that you followed the rules (I mean as opposed to if you had broken the rules and overstayed, maybe for good reasons, but had to then go back and explain that.) But it is, at its core, the paperwork was incorrect and it needs to be corrected, and there is a process for it to be corrected, and you are going through that appeals process to get it corrected, and I do wish you luck in getting it corrected so that you are no longer flagged with an undeserved overstay on your record. I know it can be brutal dealing with USA government agencies and it's not a given that you will be successful even though you are 100% in the right... I hope you are successful and can enjoy many years of US vacations for years to come. You did nothing wrong and it is frustrating to have to take the time and emotional energy to correct it. But there is no magic pill that if it were administered before you overstayed your visa that could have prevented it either.

 

[olafLover]

then why do you think you should get compensation from them? Which is the statement I made that started this whole thing. What are they supposed to compensate you for if it's not their fault and you realize they can't fix it?

I did not say it's a "little" paperwork snafu. I said it's a paperwork snafu, which means the proper paperwork was not filed for whatever reason which is entirely different than an irreversible life or death health situation. This is the easiest type of appeal to make because you followed the rules AND have the actual proof that you followed the rules. But it is, at its core, the paperwork was wrong and it needs to be corrected, and there is a process for it to be corrected, and you are going through that appeals process to get it corrected, and I do wish you luck in getting it corrected so that you are no longer flagged with an undeserved overstay on your record.

I never said they should compensate me for anything!

 

[Lisa F]

I never said they should compensate me for anything!

Well then we agree I guess! Because I was specifically arguing that I did not feel that Disney had anything to compensate people for. And that they should be providing whatever documentation is requested of them to help people clear this up, which it appears they are doing. So hopefully with that, it will be cleared up for you.

 

[DynamicDisneyDuo]

Methinks it's time for everyone to take a break from this thread. I don't think it should be locked as it is important information that should be updated but it appears people are getting worked up. When that happens, it becomes a vicious cycle until someone breaks it.

As to them sending out an email, I can see a slight delay while getting legal to approve wording and such. I don't think at this point it is unreasonable to expect them to have sent out a simple email saying "If you entered the US on a visa for this cruise, please contact US CBP as there was an issue on their end (if true) as we have been made aware of a processing error that occurred for Visa holders on this cruise. They may require information from DCL to rectify the issue. If so, please contact DCL specialaddresssetupforthismess@disney.com."

 

[Lilsia]

Are YOU kidding ME? Having my life and credit ruined by a paperwork snafu at the hospital is not as important as not being able to take a vacation at your preferred vacation destination? That could have utterly ruined my life, as unpaid medical bills ruin the lives of many people in this country. Your credit rating affects everything from interest rates on future loans to being approved for housing to being hired for a job... all of which is a little more important than not being able to go to Disney World.

Can you imagine applying for a job because you need health insurance for your child with special needs and being denied that job because you defaulted on medical bills that you didn't even incur? That said, frustrating as it was, it's a paperwork snafu and I spent a ton of time on it but I worked through it and no one compensated me for it because especially in this age of computers, stuff happens. I just got to live my life normally with my 800 credit and low interest rate on my car loan and nice rental house that I was chosen to rent because of my stellar credit. And hopefully the OP will be able to work through the appeals process for what is basically an administrative snafu and it will not in any way curtail future vacations.

It is hard for some people to take a step back and see the situation for what it is. It is much easier to pick the easiest target and ascribe blame, even if they are blameless. It is much easier to expect someone else to fix the issue. I understand that in a situation like this, some may not know who to go to, or are unwilling/unable to do the research and find out who to talk to to resolve this. I think calling Disney was the first step in the process. Once you know that they did what they needed to do on their end, then it was time to step up the ladder. This is clearly a government agency issue. I don't understand the extreme animosity toward DCL about this situation. No business wants to send out information to people that the government messed up. We are dealing with 2 different mindsets in this case. Trying to explain reason when someone's mind is made up is near impossible. Just know that there are others that agree with you.

 

[SirDuff]

It is hard for some people to take a step back and see the situation for what it is. It is much easier to pick the easiest target and ascribe blame, even if they are blameless. It is much easier to expect someone else to fix the issue. I understand that in a situation like this, some may not know who to go to, or are unwilling/unable to do the research and find out who to talk to to resolve this. I think calling Disney was the first step in the process. Once you know that they did what they needed to do on their end, then it was time to step up the ladder. This is clearly a government agency issue. I don't understand the extreme animosity toward DCL about this situation. No business wants to send out information to people that the government messed up. We are dealing with 2 different mindsets in this case. Trying to explain reason when someone's mind is made up is near impossible. Just know that there are others that agree with you.

You're also assuming that DCL is telling the full truth. As the OP said (a number of times), they've provided no evidence that they did so. Not saying that they didn't, just saying that it it not "clearly a government agency issue".

Seems to be a lot of made up minds in this thread.

 

[Lilsia]

You're also assuming that DCL is telling the full truth. As the OP said (a number of times), they've provided no evidence that they did so. Not saying that they didn't, just saying that it it not "clearly a government agency issue".

Seems to be a lot of made up minds in this thread.

Why would you assume that they are lying? It goes both ways.

 

[olafLover]

It seems like Disney was able to fix it after all.
Unbeknownst to me, my husband had been checking our status on the CBP page three times a day ever since I gave him the address (two weeks ago). He showed me tonight and we have a departure date! It’s even the correct one. We don’t have a location though, but I don’t think that matters.
I posted it on social media and it seems like everybody’s got it. That’s why I suspect the solution came from Disney, only one other family got the notification they had supplied enough evidence. Not that they told us or anything...

 

[dizneeat]

It seems like Disney was able to fix it after all.
Unbeknownst to me, my husband had been checking our status on the CBP page three times a day ever since I gave him the address (two weeks ago). He showed me tonight and we have a departure date! It’s even the correct one. We don’t have a location though, but I don’t think that matters.
I posted it on social media and it seems like everybody’s got it. That’s why I suspect the solution came from Disney, only one other family got the notification they had supplied enough evidence. Not that they told us or anything...

As a fellow European I have been following this and I am so happy this worked out for you in the end. I can only imagine how stressful it must have been for you.

 

[Nici159]

It seems like Disney was able to fix it after all.
Unbeknownst to me, my husband had been checking our status on the CBP page three times a day ever since I gave him the address (two weeks ago). He showed me tonight and we have a departure date! It’s even the correct one. We don’t have a location though, but I don’t think that matters.
I posted it on social media and it seems like everybody’s got it. That’s why I suspect the solution came from Disney, only one other family got the notification they had supplied enough evidence. Not that they told us or anything...

Thanks for sharing here! I just checked it and we also have a departure date. Seriously I‘m sitting here with tears in my eyes because it‘s a huge relief.
Even if Disney took care of it (I think we will never know), I‘m not sure if we will stick to them in the future. Still disappointed how they treated us.

 

[Tracy_T]

Whoop whoop finally showing as departed. So can’t wait for my holiday on 21st December and entering with no issues ttxx