Meeting fiancee at port of entry?

[sativo 3]

Hi,

My fiancee's flight will be coming from Europe through New York (or Chicago depending on the ticket we buy) and then finally arriving in my state. Does that mean that New York (or Chicago) will be her port of entry?

What will happen to her there? Her English isn't up-to-speed yet.

Can I meet her inside the terminal and accompany her through the UCIS process?

Thank you!

Edited November 13, 2016 by sativo

[JFH 12,189]

She will complete the immigration procedures at the first airport she reaches in the USA.

You would not be able to escort her through unless you are in the plane with her. Are you planning to fly to her and then come back with her? If not, the immigration hall will be out of bounds to you because it is a secure area for screened passengers only. It's not possible for non-arriving passengers to enter this area.

[sativo 3]

I see, thank you.

Do you have any information on how the process is handled? How long will she be detained there? I'm trying to estimate how long to plan for a connecting flight.

Also, will anyone there speak Russian or Ukrainian? Will they grill her pretty badly or what?

[aleful 1,905]

hi

ditto, you can't be with her, you will be waiting for her where family meet the international passengers

she will go through customs, process her documents, and then you will meet her

for what I've read, people try to leave at least 3 hours of layover to have time to process all the documentation, and be able to catch the next flight

Edited November 13, 2016 by aleful

[lost_at_sea 995]

You can see how the process normally goes for which ever POE she's coming in through here: http://www.visajourney.com/reviews/poereviews.php

[JFH 12,189]

You can browse through reports that others have given of their POE experiences on this site. Those reports and reviews are very useful.

They will likely ask her to confirm that she understands that she must marry within 90 days. Usually new arrivals are taken to secondary so that the desk officers can continue to process the hundreds waiting in line behind her.

There may be someone there who speaks Russian or Ukrainian but it's not a guarantee. It would only be the case if one of the officers on duty at the time happens to speak either of those languages. It's not a requirement of their job so it can't be guaranteed.

Surely she speaks enough English to be able to answer basic questions? After all, she will be living in an English-speaking country.

[sativo 3]

This is very helpful. Thanks!

[Neonred 3,537]

A lot of Russian speakers at JFK in NY. If her plane is coming from eastern Europe there will be many others that will be speaking Russian also.

[Adil & Jeanne 296]

We have done both JFK and Chicago

JFK has many international flights coming in at the same time so there are people directing the flow

she will be directed to one of the lines for immigrants as USC have their own line

yes, there will be someone who speaks Russian at the window / she may have a wait for one to get there but they can get one for her

she will give her filled out visa form (recd on plane ), her passport and sealed packet to the man at the POE station

they will ask her a few questions and she will proceed to the next plane

if needed there is tram for changing the terminal for her next domestic flight / she should ask the person who speaks Russian to direct her for this before she leaves the window at POE

Chicago is about the same but less lines especially late at night / Adil came in at 10:30

relatively easy to do the POE there

you can fly over and come thru with her / only seperated for the immigrates and USC lines

[jakartausa 28]

There is another option - As the USC if you want to be with her/him when they go through the POE is to fly to there country and accompany them back to the USA. This is what Im going to do, so I will be going through the POE with her.

[Andrea&Henry 311]

I see, thank you.

Do you have any information on how the process is handled? How long will she be detained there? I'm trying to estimate how long to plan for a connecting flight.

Also, will anyone there speak Russian or Ukrainian? Will they grill her pretty badly or what?

I think is not worth it for you to go there...I went through the same process as well and I was in the immigration room about 2 hours....but it can depend...I've seen people detained for 6 hours and people who spent 30 minutes...It depends on how busy the POE is at that time (usually gets crazy around the holidays)

I recommend you guys to booked the connection flight at least with 4 hours between connections to avoid her from losing her flight....

[David & Diana R 1,005]

Hi,

My fiancee's flight will be coming from Europe through New York (or Chicago depending on the ticket we buy) and then finally arriving in my state. Does that mean that New York (or Chicago) will be her port of entry?

What will happen to her there? Her English isn't up-to-speed yet.

Can I meet her inside the terminal and accompany her through the UCIS process?

Thank you!

If you are concerned about her English if I were you I would accompany her. Meaning, I would fly to Europe and get on the plane with her. I'm sure she would be less nervous if you were there with her. She will go through immigration at the first US Airport that she lands in. The only way you can be with her is to be on that airplane with her. I tend to be on the conservative side and left four hours between us landing in Honolulu and our connecting flight to Maui. It ended up taking only 15 minutes for us to get through immigration...but perhaps we were lucky. But let me tell you. There was a lot of comfort knowing we got into the US. It was worth waiting in Honolulu for 3 plus hours.

Good luck and God Bless...Aloha from Maui. David

Edited November 14, 2016 by David & Zoila

[javadown2 308]

I personally will just go visit her and family and fly back with her. Your not going to be able to get past the checkpoint without a ticket at the US airport, and even then she Will be incoming on the other side, just go visit and fly with her