stevensane
Difficulty:  | Review Topic: Port of Entry Review
I have rated JFK with a difficulty rating of 1 not because I was harassed, but more because there seemed to be some kind of disagreement between the POE Officers as to where I should be sent.
My flight from London Heathrow landed at about 16.30. The terminal I was at at JFK was Terminal 4. Although the entrance hall was pretty busy, even for JFK, mercifully there was a line for people who are entering the US using a visa for the first time, which I think sped things up a bit. I was in line for about 15 minutes when an usher pointed me towards a POE officer. The officer was a bit flustered that I had been sent to him and told me I needed to go to the 'Adit Room' in the far corner of the room. I went down there and gave my stuff to another POE officer. She told me that I had to be initially processed at the booth and that I should go back to the first POE officer and tell him that and that I was entering the US on a fiancee visa. I did so, and the first POE office r was pretty scathing of his colleagues and going on about how "it's a different fuckin' rule for every fuckin' terminal", although he was always polite to me. He then looked at my paperwork, stamped my passport and walked me to yet another room. He gave my paperwork to yet another POE officer. I sat and waited. I was scolded by a POE officer for looking at my phone in the waiting room. I had stupidly missed the 15-20 'No Electronic Devices Allowed' signs, but I was not the only one. I sat there for about 20 minutes waiting for my turn, when my name was called, I went up to the desk and the POE officer gave me my passport and said "make sure you get married within 90 days" and that was it. I'm not sure that it could really be called an interview.
The whole process took about an hour and all of the POE officers were about as pleasant as you could hope for from a US border official. Overall, a pretty decent experience.
ADVICE TO OTHERS:
#1 Don't question their procedures. I got the feeling that would not be appreciated at all.
#2 Don't even touch your phone while waiting for the interview. One of the POE officers told about 4 people to put their phones away while I was waiting and she was getting a bit flustered.
#3 Make sure your fiance(e) in the US knows you might be a while if they are waiting for you in arrivals. Me and my fiancee had already agreed she would not come to the airport but that I would get a taxi right to her place after I got out.
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Port of Entry Member Review #15639
Entry Date: 2014-03-30