Delayed Luggage When Entering the US

[TBoneTX 45,288]

You can't help it if your checked luggage didn't keep up.  Every CBP agent has probably had luggage problems of their own.

[flicks1998 1,044]

3 hours ago, camhorto said:

Yeah, we're getting our tickets on Qatar Airways' site and their hub is Doha. Their MCT is an hour. Still... 15 minutes more than that is rough.

 

I flew with Emirates to visit my fiancee earlier this year (before coronavirus). I had a one hour and five minute layover in Dubai, and their MCT is also an hour. I made the flight due to being escorted (thankfully lol) but my bags were delayed.

During this time it’s always best for direct flights if you can. If you can’t and you only have 1 hour between flights in Doha, you need to be familiar with the transiting rules during this pandemic. Qatar only a few months ago opened to transit passengers. You need to check if you miss your flight if your allowed out of the airport. My assumption would be no and you’d have to wait for the next flight to your destination which could be a day or multiple days. You should also check and make sure that any airside hotels are open before you leave to fly to Qatar. Many airports only have limited services now. Some have closed airside hotels AND closed lounges. Some have open lounges. You need to check these things if your delayed. Don’t worry on the baggage at all. It will make it to the US and no issues if you arrive without it. Happened often anyway. 
 

also have some packaged food in case you are delayed. Many food places are also closed at airports now or have very limited hours. Your travel experience before COVID doesn’t matter. It’s a whole new ballgame now. 
 

Ive transited Qatar many times. Sometimes the security can be extremely disorganized and security for transit flights can take 45 minutes or more. Especially if your arriving at an odd hour they will probably have to find someone to open it up. The sense of urgency in Qatar is like the rest of the Middle East. It will get done on their own time.  But as I said, this is pre-pandemic so things could have changed. 
 

Edited November 1, 2020 by flicks1998

[flicks1998 1,044]

11 minutes ago, flicks1998 said:

During this time it’s always best for direct flights if you can. If you can’t and you only have 1 hour between flights in Doha, you need to be familiar with the transiting rules during this pandemic. Qatar only a few months ago opened to transit passengers. You need to check if you miss your flight if your allowed out of the airport. My assumption would be no and you’d have to wait for the next flight to your destination which could be a day or multiple days. You should also check and make sure that any airside hotels are open before you leave to fly to Qatar. Many airports only have limited services now. Some have closed airside hotels AND closed lounges. Some have open lounges. You need to check these things if your delayed. Don’t worry on the baggage at all. It will make it to the US and no issues if you arrive without it. Happened often anyway. 
 

also have some packaged food in case you are delayed. Many food places are also closed at airports now or have very limited hours. Your travel experience before COVID doesn’t matter. It’s a whole new ballgame now. 
 

Ive transited Qatar many times. Sometimes the security can be extremely disorganized and security for transit flights can take 45 minutes or more. Especially if your arriving at an odd hour they will probably have to find someone to open it up. The sense of urgency in Qatar is like the rest of the Middle East. It will get done on their own time.  But as I said, this is pre-pandemic so things could have changed. 
 

Also don’t be sitting in the back of the plane on your flight into Doha. Sit close to the exit doors. You want to beat all the passengers on your flight through transit security. Probably 90% of your plane will be transiting. That’s how it’s been for all my flights there. But as I said that was pre-pandemic. 

[payxibka 10,045]

7 hours ago, camhorto said:

Sorry for the triple post.

 

To rephrase my fear... I'm worried that CBP will get suspicious if they notice we don't have our checked luggage with us. Of course, we'd tell them it's delayed. But we just want things to go smoothly and be prepared for any bumps.

First of all, nobody picks up the checked luggage until after passport control.

[SunflowerSweet 1,321]

7 hours ago, camhorto said:

Sorry for the triple post.

 

To rephrase my fear... I'm worried that CBP will get suspicious if they notice we don't have our checked luggage with us. Of course, we'd tell them it's delayed. But we just want things to go smoothly and be prepared for any bumps.

Even if they are suspicious, which I highly highly doubt will be the case because it’s an all too common occurrence that luggage is delayed, I can’t imagine it would be that difficult for them to verify there is a cargo issue with your flight. It’s really not something I would have high on my concern list right now when it comes to international travel.

[Missing7abibi 1]

13 hours ago, camhorto said:

Hello!

 

My fiancee and I are preparing for her visa interview. I'm planning on flying to her country and be there while she has her interview, and then fly back together once she has her visa. We're looking at plane tickets now.

 

Our preferred airline and flight has a layover of just over an hour at the airport connecting to the US (at LAX). That's a pretty quick layover time and I'm worried about our bags getting delayed, and if that'll complicate/disrupt anything when passing through CBP or passport control.

 

Without the backstory, my question is: if our bags are delayed while passing through CBP, what could happen?

 

Also, I'm not sure if this is the correct place to ask this. I didn't find any forum about entering the country.

 

Thanks!

Why are you so certain she will get the visa immediately? What if she is placed under administrative processing for weeks months or years? 

[Crazy Cat 41,851]

9 hours ago, camhorto said:

Sorry for the triple post.

 

To rephrase my fear... I'm worried that CBP will get suspicious if they notice we don't have our checked luggage with us. Of course, we'd tell them it's delayed. But we just want things to go smoothly and be prepared for any bumps.

Luggage is not an issue.  Time between arriving and connecting flight is the only bump I see.

[SusnOwen 159]

9 hours ago, camhorto said:

Sorry for the triple post.

 

To rephrase my fear... I'm worried that CBP will get suspicious if they notice we don't have our checked luggage with us. Of course, we'd tell them it's delayed. But we just want things to go smoothly and be prepared for any bumps.

You will have the stubs from your checked luggage - I am sure that by now they are more than used to the airlines delaying or losing luggage - I think you are worrying yourself over nothing.

[carmel34 3,631]

51 minutes ago, Missing7abibi said:

Why are you so certain she will get the visa immediately? What if she is placed under administrative processing for weeks months or years? 

This ^^   Quoting from the DOS website:

 

Important Notice
Do not sell your house, car or property, resign from your job, or make non-refundable flight or other travel arrangements, until you have received your immigrant visa.

 

 

[Missing7abibi 1]

2 minutes ago, carmel34 said:

This ^^   Quoting from the DOS website:

 

Important Notice
Do not sell your house, car or property, resign from your job, or make non-refundable flight or other travel arrangements, until you have received your immigrant visa.

 

 

Exactly 

[Loren Y 2,755]

I arrive thru LAX internationally many times a year, not many times this past year, but still a few. When my wife arrived on her K1 the whole process took 20 minutes from entering the line, to walking thru the POE. Your bags are not a worry, you will go thru the Entry process first with CBP before you get to your baggage. The packet and everything is looked at before you get your bags. Then you get your bags and go thru another exit after baggage and that is where you could get pulled into secondary. LAX is a large airport, and still under a lot of construction. You will arrive at the Tom Brady international terminal, then depending on your next flight will have to make your way to one of the other 7 terminals to catch your next flight. For example, southwest airlines is in terminal 1. By myself with global entry, mobile passport, and no issues, arriving on an international flight and making it to my domestic connection within an hour would be very tight time wise( and I know LAX very well). I have done it in 40 minutes most of the time if things go well, but an hour is a pretty high risk, you my want to push your connection back.

[JeanneAdil 6,505]

Make sure the bags are checked thru to your final destination

and the Chicago 4 hour layover is better than a  hour at LAX

[SusieQQQ 11,586]

Even if the bags are delayed, she will still fill in the customs form on arrival. It is possible that CBP /TSA may want to examine the bags when they arrive if there is something on the form that makes want to, if they do so (this has never happened to me on the way in when luggage is out of my sight but it has happened on the way out) they will leave a notice inside the bag that they opened and inspected it. It really is no worry, they understand this stuff happens. Honestly, the bigger worry to me is having an hour transit, especially if Doha is as problematic with missed flights as indicated in posts by flick1988. If it is possible to get a longer layover, especially if the next connecting flight is longer than a few hours, I’d do that, even if it costs more on a different routing, for me it’s a peace of mind issue. The bags are the least of the problems.

 

 

Edited November 1, 2020 by SusieQQQ

[PWB 213]

Different advise and I hope you understand.  I traveled to the Philippines to attend the Embassy interview with my fiancee in February 2020,  and we were confident that the interview would be just a formality.  I spent a small fortune on tickets and as it turned out lost a lot of money.  Our interview was a disaster, they could not find her physical from SLEC and the interview with the consular was equally as bad.  Our file looked like it had been dumped on the floor.  To make a long story short after waiting for the visa to be issued the Embassy claimed there was a problem with the NBI and we were  placed into administrative review.  We tried to tell the Embassy that we had our personal copy of the NBI, which was given to us by window 37 at the initial screening, but the Embassy went off line and thus started to close down for covid.  Now here we are 8 months later, more money spent for a new physical and still no visa.  I would not recommend prior travel, save the money and be patient.  Best of luck.

[Hsmit 0]

On 11/1/2020 at 2:08 AM, camhorto said:

Hello!

 

My fiancee and I are preparing for her visa interview. I'm planning on flying to her country and be there while she has her interview, and then fly back together once she has her visa. We're looking at plane tickets now.

 

Our preferred airline and flight has a layover of just over an hour at the airport connecting to the US (at LAX). That's a pretty quick layover time and I'm worried about our bags getting delayed, and if that'll complicate/disrupt anything when passing through CBP or passport control.

 

Without the backstory, my question is: if our bags are delayed while passing through CBP, what could happen?

 

Also, I'm not sure if this is the correct place to ask this. I didn't find any forum about entering the country.

 

Thanks!

Hello, I’m new to the site and just wanted to find out if your fiancée had her interview in November as l am also currently awaiting on mine in Zimbabwe but have not heard from the embassy here yet? If she did l hope it was approved  Any info you could give would be appreciated. Thank you.