1st time to Travel to US

[udawoman 0]

Hi.. Its my first time to travel to the US on the 23rd of this month and I'm alone on this flight. My itinerary would be from Manila,Phils( 4:55 PM- Vancouver,Can ( 12:50 PM) then from Canada( 2:21 PM ) to Chicago ( 8:20 PM).. From Chicago ( 9:10 PM) to Cincinnati ( 11:23 PM) .. I and my husband is worried that I could not go through customs in Vancouver and/or Chicago because of the time constraints.. Any tip or advise as a first time traveler you could give me, that would help a lot. Thank you.

[Audy_Rob 26]

Hi.. Its my first time to travel to the US on the 23rd of this month and I'm alone on this flight. My itinerary would be from Manila,Phils( 4:55 PM- Vancouver,Can ( 12:50 PM) then from Canada( 2:21 PM ) to Chicago ( 8:20 PM).. From Chicago ( 9:10 PM) to Cincinnati ( 11:23 PM) .. I and my husband is worried that I could not go through customs in Vancouver and/or Chicago because of the time constraints.. Any tip or advise as a first time traveler you could give me, that would help a lot. Thank you.

You should not go through immigration in Vancouver. You will be a transit passenger since you are going through to Chicago, your first USA city is where you will need to go through immigration.

SKIP immigration in Vancouver. Look for signs saying Transit passengers or flying through Vancouver.

[canadian_wife 1,822]

NO! Do not SKIP customs/immigration in Vancouver

Many Canadian cities require you to go through Canadian customs once you are in Canada (even if you are a transit passenger and not staying in Canada) and Vancouver is one of them. You MUST go through Canadian immigration in Vancouver.

http://www.britishcolumbia.com/regions/towns/?townID=3993

International Arrivals to USA Departures:

All international arrivals are into the International Terminal. Follow Canada Arrivals sign to the Canada Arrivals Hall. Proceed through Canada Customs and Immigration Preliminary Inspection Line. Be sure to have appropriate documentation available for inspection (such as passport or visa), and a completed Canada Customs Declaration Form. Proceed to the Secondary Inspection Line where you will hand in your Canada Customs Declaration Form. Beyond Canada Customs is the International Reception Lobby where you can access the following services:

Cruise Ship Information Counters

Foreign Exchange and Banking Services

Air Canada and Canadian Airlines domestic check-in counters

Visitor Information Centre.

You may either proceed through the automatic opening glass doors to the Public Meet and Greet area and follow the USA Departures sign to the Departures Level of the International Terminal, or take an elevator to the USA Departures Check-in Area on the Departures Level of the International Terminal. Follow the USA departures sign to the USA Departures Check-in Area. Go to USA Departures.

Many Canadian cities also have US inspection points in Canada. So you'll likely have to clear Canadian Customs and US immigration in Vancouver

Good luck

[Steve S 2]

As I understand it, you will need more than 50 minutes in Chicago. My fiancée's first US city will be New York. I have chosen for her a 4-hour layover.

[SunDrop 59]

Remembering a previous thread, I think (check with your airline!) that you will need a visitor's visa for Canada, even if you're just travelling through. It is dependent on your where you're from.

[M.O 6]

i think u will be great...everybody is nervous for the first time...

[Steve S 2]

All Canadian international airports with commercial flights into the US have US Customs and Immigration pre-clearance. If you're switching planes in a Canadian airport, you'll clear US Immigration in the Canadian airport.

Above comment was posted in a related thread. The whole itenerary sounds a little tight but I think all will be ok. Good luck on your journey!

[HeatDeath 430]

All Canadian international airports with commercial flights into the US have US Customs and Immigration pre-clearance. If you're switching planes in a Canadian airport, you'll clear US Immigration in the Canadian airport.

Above comment was posted in a related thread. The whole itenerary sounds a little tight but I think all will be ok. Good luck on your journey!

Yeah, that was me You will probably find it structurally impossible to get from the International Arrivals section of the airport to the US Departures area of the airport without hitting the US Customs and Immigration desks.

I would personally want at least 2-3 hours to navigate through an unfamiliar airport in an unfamiliar language, much less going through secondary in Immigration with a visa. When you rush these things mistakes happen, like not getting an I-94, or the Immigration Officers not taking your packet, or any of the kinds of PoE nonsense we've seen here recently. These things can be a world class pain in the rear to fix after the fact. Give yourself time in Vancouver.

Time in Chicago won't matter as much, but make sure you pick up a Chicago-style hot dog while you're in O'Hare. They're amazing!

[HeatDeath 430]

Remembering a previous thread, I think (check with your airline!) that you will need a visitor's visa for Canada, even if you're just travelling through. It is dependent on your where you're from.

That is confirmed:

http://www.cic.gc.ca/EnGLish/visit/visas.asp

Citizens of the Philippines DO require a visa to visit or transit through Canada.

Of course, it's kind of water under the bridge now for this thread , but it's still worth putting the link out here for future readers.

Edited February 25, 2010 by HeatDeath

[Darnell 8,478]

wow

Hey - udawoman !!

WHERE ARE YOU ?

[udawoman 0]

Thank you guys for your posts.. I'm already home with my husband ..Arrived last Thursday at CVG ( 11:03 AM EST) .. It was a great trip.. btw, i re booked my flight last Tuesday in the Phils and left NAIA terminal one last Feb 24 11:50 PM.. They took my visa packet at Guam. Next destination was Hawaii, then Houston, then CVG.

[HeatDeath 430]

Thank you guys for your posts.. I'm already home with my husband ..Arrived last Thursday at CVG ( 11:03 AM EST) .. It was a great trip.. btw, i re booked my flight last Tuesday in the Phils and left NAIA terminal one last Feb 24 11:50 PM.. They took my visa packet at Guam. Next destination was Hawaii, then Houston, then CVG.

Wow. That's 10164 miles in the air, crossing the Pacific at the widest spot!

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&amp...ad1ac3e2abb5ce2

Google maps is so cool

[udawoman 0]

Wow. That's 10164 miles in the air, crossing the Pacific at the widest spot!

http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&amp...ad1ac3e2abb5ce2

Google maps is so cool

yeah ..24 hours just to move to the other side of the globe

[Darnell 8,478]

Hey Cool. I'd worried you'd gotten lost somewhere, or snagged by aliens.

Welcome Home !!

What did he cook, first meal ?

[udawoman 0]

Only one alien snagged me and it was my husband

I ate a tv dinner on my first day lol.

Edited March 4, 2010 by udawoman