POE time

[lala64 93]

Hi VJ family... my fiancé is flying to Phoenix in a few weeks with a connection through Charlotte from Jamaica. His connecting flight is only 1 hour and 10 minutes away. For me to get thru took like 20 minutes but I assume with the visa papers it will take a bit longer for him and his son. Can someone please share with me the process and what he can expect and if he might miss his flight? do they question him there as well as to why he is coming to US? any solid help would be appreciated so that I can pass it along to him. He will not be traveling with much luggage either one carryon one checked bag. I know when I had a checked bag I picked it up and they rechecked it for me right as I left customs. Any ideas? thanks.

[heo luoi 206]

Aside from the process time, what can take a long time is the queue of all individuals before him. General consensus on the boards is to allot at least 3-4 hrs for connections from POE. Is the POE Charlotte? That probably isnt super busy, I would assume but they may not be super efficient processing either.

Edited October 2, 2015 by heo luoi

[Sam and Ani 2]

When I came through on my K-1 visa, the officer opened the packet and spent about 5-10 minutes looking through and stamping and then I was free to go. The customs and immigration line at Minneapolis airport for international arrivals are never really that long, so that needs to be taken into consideration too.

[MariaLD 8]

Hi VJ family... my fiancé is flying to Phoenix in a few weeks with a connection through Charlotte from Jamaica. His connecting flight is only 1 hour and 10 minutes away. For me to get thru took like 20 minutes but I assume with the visa papers it will take a bit longer for him and his son. Can someone please share with me the process and what he can expect and if he might miss his flight? do they question him there as well as to why he is coming to US? any solid help would be appreciated so that I can pass it along to him. He will not be traveling with much luggage either one carryon one checked bag. I know when I had a checked bag I picked it up and they rechecked it for me right as I left customs. Any ideas? thanks.

for me and my daughter took 3 hours for POE on k1 and k2 visa in JFK, not because anybody had some problem just because there were a loooot of people

[Pinkrlion 2,724]

Can he get a later flight? It is hard to predict flights with weather and immigration.

http://www.visajourney.com/reviews/poereviews.php?trim=no&poe=Charlotte&page=1&dfilter=0

[lala64 93]

If he misses his connection us airways is good about getting you to the next flight

[lala64 93]

Also coming through charlotte not a lot of immigrants mostly vacationers definitely not like JFK or Dallas. .just hope he makes the next flight also do they give your papers back to you after they open it. .I think he said his birth records are in there he will need those when he get here

[LionessDeon 2,060]

I'm not sure if they give you anything back. We plan on getting an extra birth certificate to bring with. I've heard of others having problems getting it back. If possible I would change the flight to give him more time for POE. I travel a lot and nothing is more stressful running through an airport scampering to make your next flight. Charlotte isn't as busy but when your not familiar it still takes time to find your way to gates etc

So exciting! I'm so glad how things worked out for you!

[Adil & Jeanne 296]

this doesn't seem to be enough time / remember landing time and time to airport can be 20 minutes

Charlotte is great airlport / immigration will not take long

does he have to change airlines and pick up new ticket and pick up luggage and recheck? you need to know this

i went thru HELL in paris with only an hour and 40 mintues

i give myself 3 hours now for immigraiton

BTW my husband came in to Chicago and was about 10 minutes going thru immigration even with the large number of people

but it was 30 minute trip from landing to actual unloading

[Soup Dragon 104]

I doubt Charlotte will be super busy but I would still allow around 3 hours layover. Better to sit around than rush and get stressed!

Good luck!

[Dave&Roza 748]

Hi VJ family... my fiancé is flying to Phoenix in a few weeks with a connection through Charlotte from Jamaica. His connecting flight is only 1 hour and 10 minutes away. For me to get thru took like 20 minutes but I assume with the visa papers it will take a bit longer for him and his son. Can someone please share with me the process and what he can expect and if he might miss his flight? do they question him there as well as to why he is coming to US? any solid help would be appreciated so that I can pass it along to him. He will not be traveling with much luggage either one carryon one checked bag. I know when I had a checked bag I picked it up and they rechecked it for me right as I left customs. Any ideas? thanks.

He has the added complication of his son. Both will be sent to secondary inspection most likely. Depending on the number of arrivals and the number of CBP people it can take a while on a normal arrival--we had a 1.5 hour connection in MSP and almost missed the flight due to the baggage check taking 50 minutes. If possible, I would see about getting a longer layover.

They will open the brown "DO NOT OPEN" envelope and go thru the paper work. Compete the I-94 information and stamp his passport. I would make certain he brings copies of any official documents from the DR like BC, etc. as the CBP will not give him anything back except the X-ray.

Dave

[Sukie 1,465]

Tell him to find a uniformed agent at immigration. There is usually someone there helping guide people into the correct lines. He needs to tell the agent that he and his son are new immigrants (wave the big packets). The agent will then tell your husband which line to get into. Sometimes there are special lines for new immigrants, and sometimes they are sent to the US-only line and sometimes to the Visitor line. It just depends on the airport.

If the airplane is carrying a lot of non-US passport holders, the visitor lines could temporarily back up.

When your husband and son reach the immigration officer, the officer will open the packets, and perhaps ask them some questions. S/he will then probably escort your husband and son to another room (secondary) where another officer will examine the packets and type some info into the computer system. Then fingerprints, and perhaps some more questions, then usually, a "Welcome to the United States"! Our original documents were returned to us at this point.

Your husband and son will then need to go to Baggage Claim, pick up their bags, proceed through Customs, and then find the "re-check bags" area so that the bags will get onto the next plane.

1.5 hours for transit is a little skinny on time, but you never know.

If your husband's flight is late arriving in Charlotte, then when he talks to the agent to find out what line he needs to be in, he can gently say, "I'm so sorry - our flight was late, and we have a tight connection - can you help us get into the correct line? We are new immigrants and transiting to <city>. Our flight leaves at <time>."

If your husband cannot make the connection, he needs to find a desk agent as quickly as possible to get booked on another flight.

Best of luck.

Sukie in NY

[mondix 12]

I just flew through Charlotte on my way to Ohio and the airport is HUGE! It takes a very long time to get from one terminal to the next. But I passed by immigration while I was racing through and noticed that it was literally empty. So that's good!

[lala64 93]

Thanks all for the help. .I'll let him know all n scenerios...9 days and counting; )

[Jaun Riquelme 0]

Thanks all for the help. .I'll let him know all n scenerios...9 days and counting; )

Congrats... I was reading your about your scenario some weeks ago and was feeling your pain. I am glad you reach this far and I wish you all the best.