Flying Through LAX

Alright guys so here is the deal. I did not apply for DACA because instead my husband and I are trying to adjust my status through marriage. Our lawyer recently sent our application. Have not heard back from immigration.

Now here is the situation: I recently was accepted into a phd program in CA (I live in GA). They want to fly me out for their prospective weekend. I would fly out from Atlanta to LAX and was wondering what you guys think about me taking the risk of flying on my Mexican passport with no visa stamp.

Should I risk it? My sister has told me LAX is notorious for customs checks. What do ya'll think.

Granted this was over 5 or 6 years ago, but my mom flew back and forth to LAX from ORD a few times while she was finishing the process of selling her apartment in Mexico and she didn't have any trouble. She did come back through Tijuana every time though, after which her sisters took her to LAX.

i've flown with my valid Mexican passport before and have had no problems. my passport has never been stamped with a visa or otherwise.
just make sure that your name on your passport matches the name on the ticket. if you have 2 last names, list both on the ticket. exactly like it is on the passport.
seeing how you would be on a domestic flight (within the US) you would not be going through Customs.

Damn. Phd in what ?

Political science. It's pretty amazing actually. I have heard that sometimes they do check. Has anyone known of anyone who has been apprehended for flying domestic with a passport and no visa

Alright I guess. It's not engineering , physics , math or chemistry. But props to you. What do you wanna do for job ?

Well it may not be a big deal to you but I think any doctoral program as a dreamer is a big accomplishment. Anyone else have advice about flying?

It's a risk u should call the airport or consult with a travel agent...
There are ways to fly without proper ID if you're American (like if a family is traveling and mom forgets her ID... They make u sign a sheet and the police checks w data... but I don't know if it applies to us w mex passport

Thanks. I'm thinking I'd rather not risk it at this point. Although it'd be amazing to go and the chance of apprehension is minimal it still exists. It'd be the pits to get detained now.

A friend of mine just recently flew up to Seattle from LAX with just her Mexican passport (w/o Visa) she had absolutely no issues. I say go for it if the PHD is something that is really important to you (also, CA >>> GA) like everyone else just said, make sure that the name on your ticket matches the name on your passport word by word.

Good luck!