POE questions

[nimche 8]

Now it is almost time for me to bring my wife here and I am looking for flight tickets.

One of the questions I have is: How long the POE processing time will take. See, Our flight from Europe to JFK and JFK to San Diego. It will be a connecting flight so how much time should I consider between those two flight as POE processing time?

Thank you guys

[frali 2]

Nimche,

As you know POE really depends on so many things. Are you going to pick her up from JFK? I would recommend a minimum 5 - 6 hour gap between the 2 flights.

[nimche 8]

Nimche,

As you know POE really depends on so many things. Are you going to pick her up from JFK? I would recommend a minimum 5 - 6 hour gap between the 2 flights.

5-6 hours

I am not picking her up, I am traveling with her but 5 hours is too much. It shouldn't be more than two hours.

I should probably find a flight from Berlin to LAX straight so we can wait in LAX as much time as needed and then drive back to SD.

When I came to the US, mine didn't take that long

thank you

[ninjarocket 1]

I think 5-6 hours was intended to allow for the worst case scenario. For most it will take a small fraction of this time.

[nimche 8]

I think 5-6 hours was intended to allow for the worst case scenario. For most it will take a small fraction of this time.

I love to hear that small fraction time. What is it?

Anyone who has done POE, could you share?

[TBoneTX 46,126]

A three-hour layover seems to be the standard recommendation for connecting flights.

You might consult http://www.cbp.gov and find the POE listing for JFK airport. Call, ask for "Immigration," and ask them how long it generally takes for aliens on your wife's visa type to be processed at the time when your wife's plane is scheduled to arrive, and the layover time that Customs (CBP) recommends if someone has a connecting flight. The specific time frame is something that they'll have to tell you, but things that can affect processing are how many people are already in the processing room when the next plane lands, how many international flights are arriving around the same time, etc.

Another consideration is whether your wife would have to change terminals at JFK in order to catch her connecting flight.

Calling will ease your mind. If you choose not to call, see first line of this response.

Edited October 21, 2008 by TBoneTX

[ninjarocket 1]

On Friday, it took roughly 90 minutes or so for my wife to emerge from customs at LAX POE after the plane officially "landed."

About 30 minutes of that time was spent queuing in order to have her CR visa processed (LAX is busy). The actual time spent in front of the immigration officer was mere seconds. The bulk of the 90 minutes was probably spent taxiing, getting off the plane (747s take longer than other planes), walking the miles from the gate, queuing in visitor immigration lines, collecting baggage & going through customs. From my experience, baggage claim is very slow at LAX.

On the other hand, I have heard stories about immigrants being detained for hours with extensive rounds of questioning. Might be a good idea to check through some of the POE reviews in order to get a more general perception. It could be that "hours of questioning" are a relatively rare occurrence?

I think 5-6 hours was intended to allow for the worst case scenario. For most it will take a small fraction of this time.

I love to hear that small fraction time. What is it?

Anyone who has done POE, could you share?

[nimche 8]

Thank you guys, and I will call CBP for help or I should find a flight which goes directly to LAX then I can rent a car to San Diego.

Thanks again

[sweetmeli 0]

Well let me tell you something i work at the airport IAD ( Wshington dullas internacional airport )

It all depend how busy they are that day but as far as I know JFK is the busies airport in USA.

So even if you miss the connection they will put you on another flight so I would not worry about that time frame

One thing is that if the name is strange to them they’ll hold you and ask question

Do not bring food with you that might delay your custom clearance

I am so happy that when my hubby time will come I will be working there and he won’t have problem…..

[Cassie 8]

I always tried to give myself around 3-4 hours to get through Customs.

[nimche 8]

You guys are right. I am not just patient and I can't find a flight with more time between connection.

I will figure this out hopfully.

[TBoneTX 46,126]

Well let me tell you something i work at the airport IAD ( Wshington dullas internacional airport )

(And you can't spell it?) Do you have experience with having worked at JFK, or having flown into it recently or often from abroad?

So even if you miss the connection they will put you on another flight so I would not worry about that time frame

What is your source for this information, and who is "they"? Airline policies & regulations change all the time. If you make claims, please be specific, because specific information will help readers here.

[payxibka 10,047]

Well let me tell you something i work at the airport IAD ( Wshington dullas internacional airport )

It all depend how busy they are that day but as far as I know JFK is the busies airport in USA.

Ummmmm that distinction belongs to Atlanta Hartsfield Airport (ATL) ......

JFK might be considered one of the busiest POE's but it is certainly not the busiest airport....

[TBoneTX 46,126]

as far as I know JFK is the busies airport in USA.

Ummmmm that distinction belongs to Atlanta Hartsfield Airport (ATL) ......

JFK might be considered one of the busiest POE's but it is certainly not the busiest airport....

Absolutely correct, regarding number of passengers transported as of 2007 (likely the latest figures available). See this link, then around the middle of the page that comes up:

http://www.aviationexplorer.com/the_busies..._in_the_usa.htm

Chicago O'Hare had more flight operations during 2007, but Atlanta was all alone in a close second place. Interesting that none of the New York City-area airports ranked in the top 10 in either number of passengers transported or number of flight operations.

[Penguin_ie 5,996]

Took us less than 10 minutes to get processed through EWR, but that is a elss busy airport than JFK. It'll also depend how many other visa holders are on your flight/ on flights landing around the same time. 3 hours is a good recommendation, you could chance it and go with less especially if there is a later connecting flight, ie that you can move onto a later flight if neccessary.