Point of Entry

[Aviculture1 5]

My fiancé will be arriving in America in about 10 days and my question is, will the point of entry be the first U.S. airport, which is a 3 hour layover in LAX, or the arrival where I actually live, Wich is ATL?

[payxibka 10,045]

23 minutes ago, Aviculture1 said:

My fiancé will be arriving in America in about 10 days and my question is, will the point of entry be the first U.S. airport, which is a 3 hour layover in LAX, or the arrival where I actually live, Wich is ATL?

The first US airport , the flight from LAX to ATL is a domestic flight 

[Loren Y 2,755]

It will be LAX. It's where my fiancee and I came thru. Really quick and easy. You will arrive in the international terminal, go thru POE, then got to another terminal to take your domestic flight to Atlanta. Make sure you have a minimum of 2 hours between flights, I would recommend 4 hours to really be safe.

[Loren Y 2,755]

As a side note, you may want to review with your fiancee the process of moving around these airport terminals. If she is a seasoned traveler, it shouldn't be too bad, but someone that doesn't travel internationally much could easily be overwhelmed. I will be flying out of LAX in about 3 hours from now, and it is a busy airport. Actually both airports she is coming thru are top 5 busiest in the US. Atlanta is number 1 I believe for most flights per day,. And LAX is a logistical nightmare with it's terminals 1-6, then the Tom Brady International terminal. It's easy if you have done it before. Like from the international to Southwest airlines you exit the international, take the interterminal shuttle bus to terminal 1 and head to Southwest airlines. Get her the information she needs to help her out. It's not really complicated, but there is just a lot of people and activity at both airports, and you grab the wrong shuttle, it can make for a bad day very quickly. ATL will be easy as she just has to get outside from a domestic flight, the transfer at LAX is where there is a chance of issues in my opinion.

You said she has 3 hours, so she should be good. Figure 20-30 minutes thru POE, and she has a few hours to get to the next terminal. If she gets pulled into secondary, then it can be 2 hours for POE, and with the 45 minute cutoff rule for domestic flights, she only has 15 minutes to transfer between terminals. Just look everything up beforehand so she knows where to go. Shuttles are usually different colors, and there are signs, but it's just the sheer number of people at LAX that makes it a little difficult.

Edited October 12, 2019 by Loren Y

[Pitaya 2,577]

LAX POE with domestic flight after?, four (4) hours minimum.

• POE/Immigration,
• Baggage pick-up,
• Customs inspection,
• Transit/luggage transfer from International Terminal to Domestic Terminal,
• Ticketing/check-in for domestic travel,
• TSA inspection domestic terminal,
• Getting to the gate.
• Boarding the flight to ATL

YMMV.

Welcome to the US.

[payxibka 10,045]

3 minutes ago, Pitaya said:

LAX POE with domestic flight after?, four (4) hours minimum.

• POE/Immigration,
• Baggage pick-up,
• Customs inspection,
• Transit/luggage transfer from International Terminal to Domestic Terminal,
• Ticketing/check-in for domestic travel,
• TSA inspection domestic terminal,
• Getting to the gate.
• Boarding the flight to ATL

YMMV.

Welcome to the US.

I don't see Starbucks 

[Just Paul 4,595]

32 minutes ago, payxibka said:

I don't see Starbucks 

One in every terminal!

https://www.starbucks.com/store-locator/store/1010300/lax-terminal-2-departures-201-world-way-los-angeles-ca-90045-us

[Aviculture1 5]

Why will the bags not be checked through to the final destination?

 

[Duke & Marie 1,389]

54 minutes ago, Aviculture1 said:

Why will the bags not be checked through to the final destination?

 

I go through lax all the time....

 

she’ll need to clear customs with baggage then drop it again on the way out of international, before heading over to domestic... usually on departure from home country you get the domestic ticket also, so she shouldn’t need to check in again... 

 

Generally takes me about out an hour to get through customs at lax Poe as a visitor... you should allow a little longer for her document processing, from what I’ve seen they recommend 15-30 min for that... 

 

3 hour lay over should be ok, if held up at Poe, they’ll amend her domestic flight, usually free

[geowrian 22,337]

1 hour ago, Aviculture1 said:

Why will the bags not be checked through to the final destination?

That's just the way the US does international to domestic transfers. They recheck bags and you go through another security check.

[DaveAndAnastasia 2,086]

A 3 hour layover should be okay, but could be cutting things close.

 

It took Anastasia almost two hours to get from the plane to me at LAX, and she didn't have a connection; we were driving back to San Diego from there.

[SusieQQQ 11,586]

42 minutes ago, Duke & Marie said:

I go through lax all the time....

 

she’ll need to clear customs with baggage then drop it again on the way out of international, before heading over to domestic... usually on departure from home country you get the domestic ticket also, so she shouldn’t need to check in again... 

 

Generally takes me about out an hour to get through customs at lax Poe as a visitor... you should allow a little longer for her document processing, from what I’ve seen they recommend 15-30 min for that... 

 

3 hour lay over should be ok, if held up at Poe, they’ll amend her domestic flight, usually free

^ as long as it’s all booked through on one ticket. Some people do book separate tickets, in which case she will need to check herself and bags in again and won’t be covered for any delay causing her to miss her flight.

[Highmystic 234]

11 hours ago, Loren Y said:

It will be LAX. It's where my fiancee and I came thru. Really quick and easy. You will arrive in the international terminal, go thru POE, then got to another terminal to take your domestic flight to Atlanta. Make sure you have a minimum of 2 hours between flights, I would recommend 4 hours to really be safe.

Mine was not as smooth.  the big screens that show the arrivals, her flight number was there but it said a different gate that it arrived at (domestic),  I asked a couple of employees and they were a bit confused, but paid my parking fee and drove over to the international terminal, paid more parking fees and walked around looking for where the international flights were.  Went all the way to the end of the baggage claim area and ran out of terminal. LOL.  Then I found a secret little area hidden from view where I waited for like 45 min more before the fiancee came out.    Still to this day, I haven't a clue why an international flight was "directed" on the board for a domestic gate.  Fun times. ! LOL

 

[JFH 12,189]

*~*~*POE question moved from “K-1 fiancé visa progress reports” to “moving to the US” where this question is regularly asked*~*~*

[bakphx1 789]

I went through LAX with my husband on just a regular entry with his green card already and it was three hours.  Depends on time of day.  It can get extremely busy.  I would consider meeting her and spending the night.