1

Are you aware that this is the USA branch? The Philippines are covered in the Asia - Southeast Asia branch.

Since there is no immigration control when you leave the US that's not an issue and I doubt information on misdemeanor charges / warrants at a local or state level are shared with the federal government, so your return to the US shouldn't be an issue.

Of course, you could just take care of your responsibilities and get the issue resolved.

2

I agree with #1 that a bench warrant will probably not prevent the OP from entering the Philippines. However, a bench warrant also means that he/her is subject to immediate arrest if found by the police in certain jurisdictions. All warrants (including local and state) go into a national database but it's up to the local authorities in each area to decide what to enforce. At one time, there was no immigration control for leaving the US but it is my understanding that the TSA now checks people leaving and they will have all the information including name, date of birth, and passport number. (All of which you have to give to the airline in order to get an international boarding pass.) There's even agents at the border crossings going into Mexico now.

So what's the answer? Nobody knows but if it were me, I wouldn't bet money on being able to get on that flight.

3

It might be the returning to the US that would be a problem.

4

Pretty sure the OP would be arrested coming back into the US, taken into custody and transported to the locality where the bench warrant was issued. And in handcuffs.

And I wouldn't expect to get bail afterwards.

5

Never mind, on second thought, you're SOL.

Edited by: tiltedflipcurves

6

Remember: A passport is not so you can leave the US, it's so you can get back in!
I wouldn't be surprised if they got you on the rebound.

7

A Bench Warrant is nothing more than an order from a judge to be presented in court. A Bench Warrant for a misdemeanor charge could be nothing more than a warrant issued by a judge because because he's tired of the OP not paying his parking fines or making an animal noise in court (Contempt of Court).

#4 has got to be a joke. By far, most misdemeanor warrants are not extraditable.

The fact is we don't know what the warrant is for, where it was issued and where the OP intends to fly in / out of.

The odds are you will not be arrested upon entry to the US because the odds are you won't enter in the same judicial jurisdiction where the warrant was issued and the odds are the warrant will not include extradition.

Anything is possible though.

I'll go back to my previous statement; how about you just take care of your responsibilities.

8

A bench warrant (as I understand the term) is more than that. It's a ruling that you disobeyed a prior direction to be present in court and should therefore be arrested if the police happen to come across you. You could try asking the court for permission to travel. In practice that would mean taking care of your rezponsibilities like LT suggests, which is why I deleted #5.