Point of Entry and Connecting Flight

[rbhambha 4]

Hi all,

 

My fiancé’s K1 has been approved and I found a super cheap round trip flight from Vienna (with a throwaway return ticket the very next day) into LAX, connecting to San Francisco, with a 1hr 35min layover.

 

I booked the flight, but have some time left to cancel for free if necessary. I’ve looked at average wait times for the CBP for the last 8 Saturdays (the day she will arrive) at the international terminal, and it seems that 30 minutes is the norm. 

 

Will the 1hr 35m layover be enough time for her to get through , or are we cutting it too close? She will also have a checked bag to worry about. Would I be better off cancelling this ticket and buying one with a longer layover (or direct to SFO), but more expensive?

 

Thanks for your input!

Edited August 6, 2018 by rbhambha

[ST_RO 309]

23 minutes ago, rbhambha said:

Hi all,

 

My fiancé’s K1 has been approved and I found a super cheap round trip flight from Vienna (with a throwaway return ticket the very next day) into LAX, connecting to San Francisco, with a 1hr 35min layover.

 

I booked the flight, but have some time left to cancel for free if necessary. I’ve looked at average wait times for the CBP for the last 8 Saturdays (the day she will arrive) at the international terminal, and it seems that 30 minutes is the norm. 

 

Will the 1hr 35m layover be enough time for her to get through , or are we cutting it too close? She will also have a checked bag to worry about. Would I be better off cancelling this ticket and buying one with a longer layover (or direct to SFO), but more expensive?

  

Thanks for your input!

I would definitely think that that is cutting it way too close. You never know how thoroughly she will be checked, how many other people in front of you need to be checked, how many international flights are arriving at the same time as hers, etc. I have travelled to the US from Europe many times and just on the ESTA a 1.5 hour layover gives me the sweats. Since she also needs to re-check the bag, I would chose a longer layover. 

[Dashinka 24,488]

I would look for something that is a minimum of 2.5 hours of layover or even longer particularly entering through LAX.  Does your fiancé have a good handle on navigating LAX after they make it through CBP?  With a 1.5 hours of layover, it might be rough on your fiancé getting through CBP and then getting to whichever concourse their connecting flight is located.

[DaveAndAnastasia 2,092]

Contact the airline for the LAX to SFO flight and see what their policy is if your fiancée is delayed by immigration. It may be that they'll just rebook you on a later flight for free or a minimal cost.

 

If not, depending on how cheap "super cheap" is, maybe just get another ticket from LAX to SFO for later?

 

I'm expecting my fiancée will end up coming in through LAX (that's where the only flight from Moscow to the western US goes) and that I'll just meet her there, but driving back to San Diego is just a little bit shorter than to SF. 😄

[jdaveh 58]

I could be wrong but the average wait time is most likely for people just passing through customs, not entering on K1 visa. The K1 entrants are usually sent to a secondary location for a quick interview(my wife's wait was 1 hour in Atlanta when she entered on K1). I would look for longer layover. Another consideration is her English. or can you meet her at the exit from customs?

[crono_clone 213]

We recently had this experience a few weeks ago with some relatives doing POE (in Dallas) and then trying to catch a connecting flight to Houston. They had a 2-hour layover and missed their next flight because the immigration line itself took about 2 hours overall. Thankfully the airline put them on the next available flight for free, but I'd definitely still recommend at least a 3-hour layover for a POE if you'd rather play it safe. 

[rbhambha 4]

Thank you all for your replies! I went ahead and cancelled the booking, and am looking into others that have a longer layover, or arrive directly at San Francisco Airport.