Entering US For the first time with DV Visa

[Niceb 2]

Hi All,

We have got our visas and are planning to move in March. One of the information sheets given to us mentioned to leave sufficient time for an immigration interview upon entering the US. We are entering the US via JFK Airport NY. I need to organise transport from the airport. How much time should I leave for the immigration interview?

[Ms Hogan 295]

This is hard to determine because it will depend on factors such as how busy it is, what kind of mood they're in and how prepared you are. Hopefully someone with more experience at that particular POE can share their experience. My POE took several hours at a land border crossing.

[Dohan 133]

Immigration could be about an hour to 1.5 but then it could take up to an hour to get your bags, so I would say about 2.5 hours, maybe even 3 just to be safe. JFK has really long queues at immigration, I recently arrived in Jan and also when my fiance came to visit before, took 3 hours. (the whole thing)

[dhlunar 25]

I see that you are from Ireland. Are you going to be flying out of Dublin? I believe CBP has a pre-clearance location in Dublin so you will go though the immigration procedure before getting on the plane. However, if your flight leaves at night then you might be doing the immigration procedure on arrival.

Also what terminal are you going to be going into at JFK? Terminal 4 is the big international airline terminal. There is report that certain CBP checkpoints have special lines for "New Immigrants" that are not marked, but if you ask someone (a CBP or Airline representative) then they may direct you to the correct line. Is someone going to be picking you up? If not you can take the JFK Airtrain to Jamaica to connect with the Long Island Railroad to points on Long Island or into Penn Station in NYC, or you could catch the subway at Howard Beach or Jamaica.

My in-laws came into the US via JFK Terminal 1 on the day after Christmas. From the time the plane landed till the time they were out of Immigration and Customs was about 35 to 40 minutes. One of the reasons why they might of been fast getting out was due to my father-in-law needing a wheelchair, so they were able to get to the front of the line at immigration. My wife (USC petitioner) was with them and explained to the wheelchair attendant that her parents were new immigrants when the attendant meet them at the plane. The attendant knew what needed to be done. The officer on the line opened the visa packets, stamped the passports, and then escorted them to another room to collect their fingerprints and signature for their green cards. The CBP officer asked my wife one question, "Are these your parents?" When they went to baggage claim their bags were already on the belt. There was no one else in the room were their fingerprints and signature was taken, however, the attendant said they were lucky since sometimes there i a dozen people in there.

[Paul and Svetlana 21]

My wife came in from Russia to NY airport and had 3 hours till next flight. After going through customs she sat down for 10 minutes then boarded aircraft. It was a mid-day flight and the place was filled with people and very busy. It was her third time to this airport. Depending on your arrival give at least 3-4 hours. Hope this helps and good luck...

[Lorvin 45]

I see that you are from Ireland. Are you going to be flying out of Dublin? I believe CBP has a pre-clearance location in Dublin so you will go though the immigration procedure before getting on the plane. However, if your flight leaves at night then you might be doing the immigration procedure on arrival.

Also what terminal are you going to be going into at JFK? Terminal 4 is the big international airline terminal. There is report that certain CBP checkpoints have special lines for "New Immigrants" that are not marked, but if you ask someone (a CBP or Airline representative) then they may direct you to the correct line. Is someone going to be picking you up? If not you can take the JFK Airtrain to Jamaica to connect with the Long Island Railroad to points on Long Island or into Penn Station in NYC, or you could catch the subway at Howard Beach or Jamaica.

My in-laws came into the US via JFK Terminal 1 on the day after Christmas. From the time the plane landed till the time they were out of Immigration and Customs was about 35 to 40 minutes. One of the reasons why they might of been fast getting out was due to my father-in-law needing a wheelchair, so they were able to get to the front of the line at immigration. My wife (USC petitioner) was with them and explained to the wheelchair attendant that her parents were new immigrants when the attendant meet them at the plane. The attendant knew what needed to be done. The officer on the line opened the visa packets, stamped the passports, and then escorted them to another room to collect their fingerprints and signature for their green cards. The CBP officer asked my wife one question, "Are these your parents?" When they went to baggage claim their bags were already on the belt. There was no one else in the room were their fingerprints and signature was taken, however, the attendant said they were lucky since sometimes there i a dozen people in there.

Yes, if you are flying direct from Ireland you should clear US Customs in Shannon or Dublin - go extra early. If you are flying via Heathrow you will clear in JFK.

[seanjoe 1]

_{I flew in from Helsinki to JFK; all done in about 50 minutes and I was out, and that included fingerprints, and baggage. Good luck and once again, welcome to the US. If you need a voice to talk to, pm me for details. Good luck.}