POE SAN FRANCISCO from MANILA?

[Ed and Gina 45]

Looking for feedback regarding POE in San Francisco from Manila. Most layovers there are around 2 hours. Wonder if that is enough time to get through immigration/customs then make the connecting flight to Washington DC. Realize that it depends on time of arrival, an on-time flight and other factors. What has been your experience getting through immigration/customs at SFO - how much time did it take? Very likely, it will be cutting it very close! FYI - flights are connecting, not separate.

Thanks!

[_Paul&Jesica_ 70]

I think that is cutting it close. My fiancee (K-1) and I went through LAX as the POE and we zipped through immigration in about 5 minutes. However, she (but not me) was selected by the CBP officer for additional screening of her luggage which added about 20 minutes after getting our luggage. Plus the flight was more than an hour late, and we barely had time to make it to our next flight and we had a four hour layover.

Also while talking to the CBP officer, we saw another lady, who was alone entering on a K-1, get pulled aside for secondary screening. Not sure how long that process takes...

Ideally you should be fine in 2 hours, but many things can cause a delay.

[Ed and Gina 45]

I think that is cutting it close. My fiancee (K-1) and I went through LAX as the POE and we zipped through immigration in about 5 minutes. However, she (but not me) was selected by the CBP officer for additional screening of her luggage which added about 20 minutes after getting our luggage. Plus the flight was more than an hour late, and we barely had time to make it to our next flight and we had a four hour layover.

Also while talking to the CBP officer, we saw another lady, who was alone entering on a K-1, get pulled aside for secondary screening. Not sure how long that process takes...

Ideally you should be fine in 2 hours, but many things can cause a delay.

Thank you. I assume then that you flew PAL? Seems that many connecting flights from LAX bound for WDC are at the gate just outside of the International terminal. Noticed that many of the flights from the PI to LAX have a 4 hr layover, some with a little over 3 hours. Appears that layover times at SFO are either 2 hours or 8 - 12 hours. Obviously, the 8 - 12 hour layover is a very long time! I think I have her fly into LAX.

[sadavis5 46]

When my fiance came into SFO, it was about 2 hours to get through customs, without secondary screening.

[Mike&Lin 39]

Your other option is to make a short vacation at the POE city and spend a few days there and take some of the stress off of trying to make a connecting flight in a few hours. This is what my fiancée and I will do when I bring her home from Singapore. Her best friend from high school lives in Hawaii so we're going to make a stop there for 4 or 5 days so they can catch up and visit. It also breaks up that dang long flight across the Pacific Ocean. We will ship all of the non-essentials here separately before we fly out so we don't need schlep a bunch of luggage and boxes through the airport.

[kehills 217]

A lot depends on what time you land, and whether other international flights landed at the same time. My husband POE'd at SFO, and we left four hours for the lay-over. And it was his fastest trip ever through customs; in and out inside 10 minutes. *shrug* Personally, I'd go for the longest lay-over possible, especially as we're coming up on storm season for both coasts.

[Ed and Gina 45]

Your other option is to make a short vacation at the POE city and spend a few days there and take some of the stress off of trying to make a connecting flight in a few hours. This is what my fiancée and I will do when I bring her home from Singapore. Her best friend from high school lives in Hawaii so we're going to make a stop there for 4 or 5 days so they can catch up and visit. It also breaks up that dang long flight across the Pacific Ocean. We will ship all of the non-essentials here separately before we fly out so we don't need schlep a bunch of luggage and boxes through the airport.

Yes...that would be nice...but, it isn't an option at this time. That would be my preference...to meet her there.

[Ed and Gina 45]

A lot depends on what time you land, and whether other international flights landed at the same time. My husband POE'd at SFO, and we left four hours for the lay-over. And it was his fastest trip ever through customs; in and out inside 10 minutes. *shrug* Personally, I'd go for the longest lay-over possible, especially as we're coming up on storm season for both coasts.

Yeah...most of the layovers from the PI are 2 plus hours - then it goes to 8 - 12 hours! I have looked at the "processing" times - Airport wait times - checked out various arrival times, volume of international arrivals, etc.

No storm season on the West Coast of the US...at least, not in the 40 years that I lived there! Climate change?? LOL. Definitely typhoon season in the PI.

[NikLR 13,232]

~~moved to moving here and your new life in America from IR1/CR1 process and procedures as topic is about moving and POE, not about the IR1/CR1 process specifically~~

[kehills 217]

Yeah...most of the layovers from the PI are 2 plus hours - then it goes to 8 - 12 hours! I have looked at the "processing" times - Airport wait times - checked out various arrival times, volume of international arrivals, etc.

No storm season on the West Coast of the US...at least, not in the 40 years that I lived there! Climate change?? LOL. Definitely typhoon season in the PI.

...she's coming from the Philippines, right? There are hurricanes ravishing the Pacific this time of year, and depending on where they are and how big they are, it can affect things. :-) And if the long haul is coming up from NZ/Australia, their end of winter weather can impact things badly, too. (I'm just assuming a typhoon would ground flights.) I have no idea when you're thinking about booking her ticket, but you're also coming up on what we called Fog Season when I lived in the Bay Area. ;-)

Also remember that she will have to re-clear security when leaving the international wing. Depending on your finances, it might be worth buying the upgrade that will allow her to move through security faster.

[_Paul&Jesica_ 70]

Thank you. I assume then that you flew PAL? Seems that many connecting flights from LAX bound for WDC are at the gate just outside of the International terminal. Noticed that many of the flights from the PI to LAX have a 4 hr layover, some with a little over 3 hours. Appears that layover times at SFO are either 2 hours or 8 - 12 hours. Obviously, the 8 - 12 hour layover is a very long time! I think I have her fly into LAX.

Yes we flew PAL. However, you have to reclear security when you leave the international terminal to catch a connecting domestic flight. Depending on time of day, this could take some significant time.

LAX does have decent restaurants so it isn't a bad place to spend a few hours waiting for the connecting flight. It is better to have too much time than to not have enough, if you ask me...

[GREG&PHAN 4]

I have flown into SFO several times and the weekends seem to be the worst as far as waiting in lines to clear security/customs.

[Ed and Gina 45]

...she's coming from the Philippines, right? There are hurricanes ravishing the Pacific this time of year, and depending on where they are and how big they are, it can affect things. :-) And if the long haul is coming up from NZ/Australia, their end of winter weather can impact things badly, too. (I'm just assuming a typhoon would ground flights.) I have no idea when you're thinking about booking her ticket, but you're also coming up on what we called Fog Season when I lived in the Bay Area. ;-)

Also remember that she will have to re-clear security when leaving the international wing. Depending on your finances, it might be worth buying the upgrade that will allow her to move through security faster.

Ooooook...the fog "season" in SF doesn't really affect SFO...SFO really isn't in SF - and the micro-climates in the SF Bay Area are legend...and the fog isn't that much of a problem...landing a plane rarely depends on visual contact...it's all by equipment...believe it or not, many planes are landed through automated processes to avoid pilot error. Pretty amazing stuff, really as long as all situations are normal. The pilot, of course, can override the computer in that landing situations.

The weather elsewhere...well...I flew into the PI at the end of August...no problemo!! and out again in September....no problemo. Planes arrived on time. There was a 1 hour delay out of Inchon to Manila due to storms. It happens.

Hurricanes ravishing the Pacific...well...ok...Hawaii...but that's a long way from SFO or LAX and at 30,000 feet up...generally not a problem. Nothing like that along the Pacific Coast of the US!

Depending on the typhoon's strength, where it is in relation to the airport, it's path (usually northward towards HK, Taiwan, Viet Nam...etc), it could have some effect.

Security at the airport is something that all travelers have to deal with...fact of life. From what I've read, there are restrictions and certain qualifications that have to be met on "upgrades" to glide through security more quickly. A new immigrant is not likely to be approved for that....regardless of how much my wife has traveled the world.

Appreciate your input...

\

[kehills 217]

Ooooook...the fog "season" in SF doesn't really affect SFO...SFO really isn't in SF

And the last time I flew in to SFO, a little less than a year ago, we circled til the fog burned off because there was a full ground stop. Because of fog. The husband had a similar issue several times last year, at different times of the day. On top of that, I'm a San Francisco native, and I spent 20 years there before leaving, soooo.

But hey, you asked for advice. I gave it, based on two decades of living in the Bay Area, and spending a further decade flying in and out of SFO, both domestic and international, and, between my spouse and I, having had close to 100,000 cumulative miles of flights routed through SFO in less than a year. What you choose to do with that information is up to you.