Manipulate Layover Time for K-1 Entry

[Dave&Roza 748]

Extend it for more than a day - come on - take an entire week and really explore the city ! You may not have time (the OP, rather) once she's actually back in the Carolinas.

I agree with this as well. My thought when reading the OP was to get her a direct flight to JFK, meet her there, and spend some time in the city if he has the time off of work. I am lucky that there is a direct flight from Frankfurt to Denver so there is no connecting flight for us which is a good thing as it took 2.5 hours for her to clear the international area and that was do to a baggage problem. She said immigration took about 10 minutes and customs took about 10 minutes, but it took about 2 hours for the bags to arrive. So you never know what may happen. I was glad all I had to do was wait for her.

I would either drive up or fly to JFK and have the return flight the next day or more, if you can afford the time off of work and the expense.

Good luck,

Dave

Edited February 8, 2012 by Dave&Roza

[Leatherneck 693]

Just curious what flight goes from manila to jfk. I know of no direct flight, so she is going to be stopping somewhere anyway. Unless your talking about a flight to maybe hong,japan or korea, and then directly to jfk. You can also check flights (if you havent already) manila-japan-poe detroit, then to NC. The manila to detroit is same plane, and poe in detroit is easy. Anyway good luck, and best advise was already said dont book until visa in hand!!!

That seems to be the experience of the VJ'ers that make the connection to NC, good point.

[Adriene H 89]

Now that is a beautiful drive, especially if you took the 101, the scenery starts to change the moment you get out of Thousand Oaks from that steep downgrade and enter Camarillo and it just gets better through Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo, then the scenery gets downright breath taking out of Morro Bay along the coast through Monterey. Now the 5 is nothing exciting until you are well beyond Sacarmento.

Morro Bay! Brings back memories ... always used to go camping with my family

there when I was a little girl ... loved the doughnut shop with the decor they

hadn't changed since the 1950s

[acuratlsd 11]

This would be so perfect! Asking 750 for this flight, but of course she doesn't have visa in hand, yet.

06:10 AM

10:30 AMDEPART: Manila, Ninoy Aquino Intl

ARRIVE: Detroit, Detroit MetroDelta Air Lines

Flight 630

Economy ClassStops: 1

12:14 PM

01:59 PMDEPART: Detroit, Detroit Metro

ARRIVE: New York City, John F KennedyDelta Air Lines

Flight 3354

Economy Class

[Enigma11561 336]

Delta has their own immigration stations. Its not like the international terminals that has a ton of flights arriving every 5 minutes. It could go faster than expected. However, they have 2 terminals ( next to each other a 7 minute walk) and it is possible that a connecting flight might mean moving baggage from one to the other. But since I made the suggestion to you to stay in NY for a few days, maybe you will not have to do this?

[Leatherneck 693]

This would be so perfect! Asking 750 for this flight, but of course she doesn't have visa in hand, yet.

06:10 AM

10:30 AMDEPART: Manila, Ninoy Aquino Intl

ARRIVE: Detroit, Detroit MetroDelta Air Lines

Flight 630

Economy ClassStops: 1

12:14 PM

01:59 PMDEPART: Detroit, Detroit Metro

ARRIVE: New York City, John F KennedyDelta Air Lines

Flight 3354

Economy Class

Yeah it would be nice to arrive at JFK with some daylight in your face.

[acuratlsd 11]

I think it will still be better going to JFK.. The layover is less than 2 hours and like you said, someone would need a minimum regardless of the POE.

I think I will stay a day in JFK, maybe we can visit the statue of liberty. Don't you think that will kind of be symbolic for her LOL

[Leatherneck 693]

I think it will still be better going to JFK.. The layover is less than 2 hours and like you said, someone would need a minimum regardless of the POE.

I think I will stay a day in JFK, maybe we can visit the statue of liberty. Don't you think that will kind of be symbolic for her LOL

Yes it would be great and good for her to not to have to put her butt back into another airline seat for a several hours. Besides, you'll be in the Big Apple, why hurry back to NC? Once you're back in NC, that is home and you probably will not travel again for awhile.

And do a little research about the food in NYC, take her to Katz's Deli or to Stage Deli and let her see a NYC style deli sandwich, let her experience real pastrami NYC style...of course you'll have to help her eat it!

il Laboratorio del Gelato is just nearby...there she can probably have her first taste gelato, a nice treat after huge a pastrami or corned beef sandwich.

Edited February 8, 2012 by Leatherneck

[Leatherneck 693]

Yes it would be great and good for her to not to have to put her butt back into another airline seat for a several hours. Besides, you'll be in the Big Apple, why hurry back to NC? Once you're back in NC, that is home and you probably will not travel again for awhile.

And do a little research about the food in NYC, take her to Katz's Deli or to Stage Deli and let her see a NYC style deli sandwich, let her experience real pastrami NYC style...of course you'll have to help her eat it!

il Laboratorio del Gelato is just nearby...there she can probably have her first taste first taste of gelato, a nice treat after a huge a pastrami or corned beef sandwich.

I fixed it.

[Leatherneck 693]

Morro Bay! Brings back memories ... always used to go camping with my family

there when I was a little girl ... loved the doughnut shop with the decor they

hadn't changed since the 1950s

Would that be the Cerro Alto Campground (along Morro Creek) off Hwy 41 between Morro Bay and Atascadero?

Never had the doughnuts, (Ocean Front, is the place you speak of, right?) I was usually in a hurry and running through Morro Bay to get to Atascadero or headed up the coast. But I always found time to stop at that avocado farm on Hwy 41to buy avocados but the case. yum-yum!

Will try the doughnuts on the next trip.

[Mark&Took 1]

I have to add, as flight crew, there are two airports in the U.S. I try to avoid due to frequent delays 1) Chicago O'Hare and 2) JFK....in that order. I have not travelled to or from the Philippines but I do travel from NC to Thailand, out of RDU (Raleigh, NC), to visit my fiancé several times a year. I have entered (POE) at Detroit, Minneapolis, Washington D.C., and Atlanta with no problems. I would leave 4-6 hours for her to enter, clear customs/immigration and go through another security screening and make a connecting flight. I highly recommend no matter where she enters you be there to meet her and help her connect. To clear up something posted earlier Delta does not have their own customs/immigration hall. These are government facilities are used by all airlines. As for you helping her with her bags I don't think you will be able to do that unfortunately. After clearing customs she will have to claim her bags from the belt....in the customs area (there are carts down there and sometimes a few sky caps hoping for a tip when they help you). If she doesnt connect to another flight she will pass by more officers pulling people/bags for random screening then come out where the public meeting place is. If she has a connecting flight before you see her she will take her bags to another area, not far away, to be re-checked to her final destination.....they pull random bags for screening here too. There will be airline agents helping people re-check bags/scan bag tags for tracking. Then she will come out to the public area. These days even though you just came off a flight, on landing in the U.S., she will have to get re-screened at a security checkpoint before taking a domestic flight. These lines can be very long just like the customs lines. It just depends on how many flights arrive at the same time. They try to space them out to prevent traffic jams but planes get delayed and sometimes several arrive at the same time. I personally use kayak.com to find tickets and check schedules. You can also use e-skyguide.com for checking airline schedules (no buying tickets here) between airports. It shows every airline and every flight they have between city pairs and can be helpful too. 4-6 hours seems like a long time but it beats missing your flight or being stressed about time. Hey, if she gets lucky and breezes right through then just check the monitors for an earlier flight go to that gate and list yourself standby for that flight. Touring the city she lands in could be fun. Just remember after a long flight and major time change she will have a hard time being awake to enjoy those tours. For me going West I adjust pretty quick. Flying East is always much harder on my body clock. As for the drive from NYC to NC I think you know I-95 ain't no country drive....lol. And traffic around D.C. Can be a nightmare. The drive from Washington to NC isn't bad and if you live in ILM there are probably direct flights (there used to be anyway). Good luck!

Another piece of advice. If you find a ticket on a cheap airfare website and price on the real airline website is only a few bucks more.....buy from the airline. I had a bad experience once not being able to pick seats and when I needed to make a change the airline told me to call the website I bought the ticket on. It was horrible! The website was vayama.com.

Edited February 8, 2012 by Mark&Took

[JP and Tee 13]

cant you just buy separate tickets? One from Manila to JFK, then a domestic to RDU? That way you'll be able to manipulate the transit time. It'd be a good idea to factor in checked baggage fees etc, or maybe call the airline to ask for a later flight. I've done that before - flight was the last one out, but I asked during check-in and they had an earlier flight so I got to SC earlier

[Enigma11561 336]

I have to add, as flight crew, there are two airports in the U.S. I try to avoid due to frequent delays 1) Chicago O'Hare and 2) JFK....in that order. I have not travelled to or from the Philippines but I do travel from NC to Thailand, out of RDU (Raleigh, NC), to visit my fiancé several times a year. I have entered (POE) at Detroit, Minneapolis, Washington D.C., and Atlanta with no problems. I would leave 4-6 hours for her to enter, clear customs/immigration and go through another security screening and make a connecting flight. I highly recommend no matter where she enters you be there to meet her and help her connect. To clear up something posted earlier Delta does not have their own customs/immigration hall. These are government facilities are used by all airlines. As for you helping her with her bags I don't think you will be able to do that unfortunately. After clearing customs she will have to claim her bags from the belt....in the customs area (there are carts down there and sometimes a few sky caps hoping for a tip when they help you). If she doesnt connect to another flight she will pass by more officers pulling people/bags for random screening then come out where the public meeting place is. If she has a connecting flight before you see her she will take her bags to another area, not far away, to be re-checked to her final destination.....they pull random bags for screening here too. There will be airline agents helping people re-check bags/scan bag tags for tracking. Then she will come out to the public area. These days even though you just came off a flight, on landing in the U.S., she will have to get re-screened at a security checkpoint before taking a domestic flight. These lines can be very long just like the customs lines. It just depends on how many flights arrive at the same time. They try to space them out to prevent traffic jams but planes get delayed and sometimes several arrive at the same time. I personally use kayak.com to find tickets and check schedules. You can also use e-skyguide.com for checking airline schedules (no buying tickets here) between airports. It shows every airline and every flight they have between city pairs and can be helpful too. 4-6 hours seems like a long time but it beats missing your flight or being stressed about time. Hey, if she gets lucky and breezes right through then just check the monitors for an earlier flight go to that gate and list yourself standby for that flight. Touring the city she lands in could be fun. Just remember after a long flight and major time change she will have a hard time being awake to enjoy those tours. For me going West I adjust pretty quick. Flying East is always much harder on my body clock. As for the drive from NYC to NC I think you know I-95 ain't no country drive....lol. And traffic around D.C. Can be a nightmare. The drive from Washington to NC isn't bad and if you live in ILM there are probably direct flights (there used to be anyway). Good luck!

Another piece of advice. If you find a ticket on a cheap airfare website and price on the real airline website is only a few bucks more.....buy from the airline. I had a bad experience once not being able to pick seats and when I needed to make a change the airline told me to call the website I bought the ticket on. It was horrible! The website was vayama.com.

The point here is that many airlines use the international terminal and you could have 20-30 flights all landing within an hour of each other and the lines can be quite long. The Delta terminal has its own ( yes it is still the government) immigration and not nearly the same number of flights landing close to each other and therefore much shorter lines.

[gland 5]

I have to have my fiancee fly from the Philippines to North Carolina.

Going into Raleigh isn't the easy place to fly into directly so of course she will need a layover in New York which I think will be the POE.

To give her enough time for the waiting time, finger prints, and camera shot at immigration.

Is there a way to manipulate the layover time for your POE while ordering your tickets online?

I just booked a flight that would have a 3 hour layover in Chicago. Are poe. Just find one that will work before you bookit?

[Philippiniana2011 0]

When i first came here 6 years ago (K-1 visa) it was really overwhelming and intimidating on whats going on the airport. I flew from manila to L.A. thru Philippine airline but my destination is maryland.. Anyways L.A is my POE which is a huge airport and they have a lot of IO and it only take me 20 mins from the end of the line to the IO, and im done. going to my next flight which is a 4 hours waiting.. But every POE is different so u better give her plenty of time for her next flight.Meeting her up in the airport of her POE is a good idea...