https://www.msn.com/en-us/travel/news/welcome-home-now-pay-up-thousands-await-big-bills-for-virus-repatriation-flights/ar-BB17lbBr?li=BBnb7Kz
 

"State has flown home about 100,000 U.S. citizens from nearly 150 countries since the pandemic began, at a cost of $196 million to the agency, which it must collect from passengers. Of that sum, about $8 million comes from direct loans secured with a passport.

Desperate to get home to California from Peru, Ash Maki took out a direct loan from the agency, guaranteed by his passport. It was stamped to indicate it would be invalid after five days and only good for one return entry. He said he was told that he'll have to apply for a new passport and that it would only be approved after he repays the repatriation loan in full.

There's just one problem: He's still waiting for a bill. In the meantime, Maki, an American citizen, has a passport that can't be used."

 

Nothing new about that. It has been that way many years.

He knows how much he owes. Pay it and they will stamp his passport that it was paid.

4 minutes ago, ubonjoe said:

Nothing new about that. It has been that way many years.

He knows how much he owes. Pay it and they will stamp his passport that it was paid.

True. But the rest of the article says that the U.S. State department has failed to bill him and it's been over 2 months. Which means he cannot travel even if he has the resources to, since he has to pay the bill before he can apply for a new passport, but the bill isn't coming. He doesn't even know how much to pay...they never stated the price. He is stuck in the land of the free, home of 4.26M covid cases.

11 hours ago, audaciousnomad said:

True. But the rest of the article says that the U.S. State department has failed to bill him and it's been over 2 months. Which means he cannot travel even if he has the resources to, since he has to pay the bill before he can apply for a new passport, but the bill isn't coming. He doesn't even know how much to pay...they never stated the price. He is stuck in the land of the free, home of 4.26M covid cases.

 

If I understand you correctly you are talking about

• a man who is a national of the USA, and
• who got a loan for the US State Department to buy a ticket for his repatriation, and
• who "is stuck in the land of the free", meaning the USA.

As he is currently in the USA, to what country is trying to repatriate?

18 minutes ago, Maestro said:

 

If I understand you correctly you are talking about

• a man who is a national of the USA, and
• who got a loan for the US State Department to buy a ticket for his repatriation, and
• who "is stuck in the land of the free", meaning the USA.

As he is currently in the USA, to what country is trying to repatriate?

Well it means that now after been repatriated, he cannot fly out to any of the nations which are currently open to travelers from the US since they won't give him his bill. I don't know what his current finances are or what his current plans are, but that is not a good thing to see. It's not as if the only traveling going on in the world now is repatriation. Some countries are opening up.

16 hours ago, audaciousnomad said:

True. But the rest of the article says that the U.S. State department has failed to bill him and it's been over 2 months. Which means he cannot travel even if he has the resources to, since he has to pay the bill before he can apply for a new passport, but the bill isn't coming. He doesn't even know how much to pay...they never stated the price. He is stuck in the land of the free, home of 4.26M covid cases.

Sucks to be him, but the US government is not a consumer bank. Their money, their rules (and inefficiency). 

 

17 hours ago, audaciousnomad said:

True. But the rest of the article says that the U.S. State department has failed to bill him and it's been over 2 months. Which means he cannot travel even if he has the resources to, since he has to pay the bill before he can apply for a new passport, but the bill isn't coming. He doesn't even know how much to pay...they never stated the price. He is stuck in the land of the free, home of 4.26M covid cases.

It's not rocket science.  That trip to Cancun can wait.

 

"The Department of State advises U.S. citizens to avoid all international travel due to the global impact of COVID-19."

 

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/traveladvisories/ea/travel-advisory-alert-global-level-4-health-advisory-issue.html

 

Edited July 30, 20205 yr by Oliver Holzerfilled

14 minutes ago, Oliver Holzerfilled said:

advises U.S. citizens to avoid all international travel

does not say CAN NOT Travel