Tag 373 - Welcome to Miami!

Hello dear ones!

The long wait is over for us, and the long-awaited journey to Florida has begun!

However, true to the motto “never change a running system,” our journey started with some major complications 😅

Since Kevin’s passport had a torn signature page, we ordered him a new one before departure. At that time, we had already filled out the immigration application (Esta) and didn’t think anything of the passport exchange.

We were super prepared, had everything together, and arrived at the airport two hours before our flight as recommended, but then everything suddenly became incredibly complicated….

The gentleman at check-in informed us that the passport has a new number and that the ESTA form must correspond to that number. He sent us to the supervisor and mentioned that they could help us further, but we would likely need a new form. While we were waiting for the supervisor, I already started filling out a new application online. Getting approval takes between 40 minutes and 72 hours! Our time window was only 45 minutes…

When the supervisor became available, we were luckily almost finished with the application, as the gentleman was zero percent motivated to help us further. The only thing we heard again was, “you need a new ESTA; otherwise, we can’t check you in.”

Just before time ran out, we faced the big questions: What do we do if it doesn’t work out in time?

Book a new flight for both of us? Only for Kevin and I would travel ahead? By when should we book a new flight? It was so uncertain how long it would take to receive the new form…

To make matters worse, we had treated ourselves to a business upgrade with our credit card miles, which we would lose if we had to postpone the flight.

We went to the Swiss desk and asked a staff member for advice, who was very friendly to us. She scanned Kevin’s passport repeatedly in the hope that the ESTA form would arrive in time.

Unfortunately, we had no luck in this regard. Since we didn’t know how long we would have to wait, we were both provisionally rebooked onto the next flight (12:50 PM).

We really didn’t expect to receive the form today and headed to the train station.

On the escalator, we checked our two phones again and looked at each other in disbelief: We had actually received the form! Exactly 20 minutes late for our original flight; however, we could now book the later flight and no longer had to worry.

While the rebooking did cost something, it was much less than a new flight, and the upgrade worked out as well!

We were overjoyed that everything ultimately worked out, and we happily checked in our luggage.

Since we still had some time, Roman & Tiziana stopped by briefly, making our waiting time shorter.

Before long, the time had come; we said our goodbyes and headed to the airport.

Upon reaching the gate, the complications continued. Due to the whole passport situation, Kevin had a note with the airline, and we were referred to another staff member.

She was already quite nervous and said she had been waiting for us since the morning. She rechecked all the documents, called America, and examined the passport thoroughly. When Kevin noticed that she was questioning the authenticity of his passport, he gave her his ID and driver’s license, and she appeared totally relieved.

A short time later, we received America’s approval and were actually allowed to board the plane!

We enjoyed the business class to the fullest, and about ten hours later, we landed in Miami.

After waiting for about an hour in line at passport control, we quickly found the exit, called an Uber (like a taxi), and drove 25 minutes to our hotel.

By now, it was relatively late; we picked up some drinks for our room and collapsed exhausted into the balcony chairs.

So dear ones, that's it from us for the first day, and we’ll say once again:

See you tomorrow ☺️