Entering the US

[angispangis 0]

I'm just wondering if anyone knows if there is any additional interview with the border officers once you arrive to the US? I know that I need to hand over the sealed envelope the embassy sent me with my visa! But I'm curious if that's it or do they take you in a room and ask more questions? I'm only curious because our cats will be moving with us from Sweden to LA and I want to assure that we don't have any delays or anything that will add travel time!

[Cody and Daisy 373]

I'm just wondering if anyone knows if there is any additional interview with the border officers once you arrive to the US? I know that I need to hand over the sealed envelope the embassy sent me with my visa! But I'm curious if that's it or do they take you in a room and ask more questions? I'm only curious because our cats will be moving with us from Sweden to LA and I want to assure that we don't have any delays or anything that will add travel time!

Sometimes they don't.

But I think most of the time they do.

It's not really an interview, they are just checking you in basically.

When I arrived the only two things they asked me were my mother and fathers name, I guess just to check who I was.

It did take about 30 minutes, but that was mostly waiting and it wasn't very busy.

You can not assume you won't have delays.

Could be flight delays, busy POE times, anything.

My flight was 4 hours late taking off...

Always assume there will be something and allocate yourself more time, especially if you have a layover, always chose at least 4 hours.

Edited March 2, 2015 by Cody and Daisy

[angispangis 0]

Sometimes they don't.

But I think most of the time they do.

It's not really an interview, they are just checking you in basically.

When I arrived the only two things they asked me were my mother and fathers name, I guess just to check who I was.

It did take about 30 minutes, but that was mostly waiting and it wasn't very busy.

You can not assume you won't have delays.

Could be flight delays, busy POE times, anything.

My flight was 4 hours late taking off...

Always assume there will be something and allocate yourself more time, especially if you have a layover, always chose at least 4 hours.

Okey! Yeah of course! I know that flight times aren't them most reliable times! Was just thinking if I needed to add "interview" time to my calculations! So now I will Thank you so much for the answer!

[Mike-eeh and Odie 193]

They took my wife to a room and questioned her, did figerprints etc. for about 2 hours after arriving in NYC's JFK airport.

[JohnR! 5,495]

That is a wise move. Also, if you get out quickly you can try and get on an earlier flight out, if there is one available. It's a better predicament than that of having to stand by for later flights in case you miss the one you're booked on.

Good luck!

Okey! Yeah of course! I know that flight times aren't them most reliable times! Was just thinking if I needed to add "interview" time to my calculations! So now I will Thank you so much for the answer!

[TBoneTX 45,304]

In response to my question at the time, an immigration attorney said that the CBP agents at POE can refuse entry for any reason that the consulate might have had. However, K-1 entrants are rarely given a hard time, because the CBP figures that they've recently been scrutinized at the consular level.

It remains good advice to leave a cushion of time between flights.

[CowBoE 429]

They asked my fiancee number of questions...which I think it lasted 5 minutes...

but she got stuck there for 4 hours because they misplaced her passport and couldn't find it.

[angispangis 0]

Thanks so much for the answers! Really helps! We have 3,5h in Chicago before our flight to LA departs, so hopefully that will be enough time!