GF is worried about coming here alone

[Delane70 0]

My gf/fiancee is very worried about coming to the US alone. With my new work I cant really take anymore time off. Can you who have come here alone tell me was it easy or hard with customs and what not. She is from the Philippines. Thanks all you guys and gals your great help in many ways.

[flipicaneze 20]

My gf/fiancee is very worried about coming to the US alone. With my new work I cant really take anymore time off. Can you who have come here alone tell me was it easy or hard with customs and what not. She is from the Philippines. Thanks all you guys and gals your great help in many ways.

Well for my wife I took the time off just so she can have a shoulder to cry on all the way to the states, thats a long ride for some gal who just left her whole family and life behind her just to be with you. I made it a point to take a couple of weeks off for that. But thats just me, and I had to pull alot of strings to make that happen.

As for customs, it seemed easier when i entered port at Chicago rather then LA. Immigration is a little more laid back as well in Chicago. They dont have as much international traffic in the inland Airport it seems, I was in and out of there in 15 minutes in Chicago. I see you are from Michigan, I suggest having the flight direct to Chicago with no stop at a border city. It will only make things quick for her and she doesnt have to find her way to the next teminal to find her flight. Then take a drive from Chicago to Michigan, be a fun way to show a small part of America to her. When we got home from the Philippines, the first thing I did was put my wife in the car and drove her around the greatest city on earth....Chicago!!!

Wish you the best of luck!!!

[Lil_Halo 0]

I have flown everytime to visit Dan on my own (and I'm a girl!) and to get from London to Tulsa involves two flights. Most have gone through Chicago (and it is a pretty good airport I've had no problems) but I've done Houston and Dallas too which were both fine.

I think the main thing if she has to take a connecting flight like me is just to make sure you leave a good length of time between them so she has plenty of time not to stress about getting lost or any hiccups with reclaiming luggage, immigration, customs (not that I forsee any but sometimes it just does depend on the moods of people working that day!!!!)

Look up and see if you can get her maps of the terminals at the airports so she knows where she's going.

It is a bit daunting and yes having someone with you is always nicer but Dan like you can't take the time off to fly back with me. Plus we can't afford the second airfare and then there would be the cost of kenneling all of his herd of pets!

I'm not looking forward to leaving my family but I know that I'll probably cry for an hour or so on the plane and people will look at me like I'm crazy but then the fun kicks in and you get excited about getting there.

So my advice is just make sure she knows which terminals, flight numbers etc she has and if connecting that she'll have to reclaim her luggage and recheck it and that she knows how to fill in the i-94 thing on the plane.

Tell her you'll be there waiting to carry her million suitcases when she arrives.

Lol hell she's a woman and we are invinsible. We can handle anything!

[Jasman0717 9]

Claudeth didn't have any problems with customs. Actually, the POE officer was very kind to her and welcomed her to America.

[Delane70 0]

Thanks for all your insite. Believe me if i could go there would in a heartbeat. but took 2 weeks the 2nd week i started the new job. The flight I would get her would be one that lands in japan then from there stright to detroit but never leaving the plane just adding fuel and food. She is very worried they will not understand her not speaking good english. Her english is good and we never have a problem understanding each other. Hope this will go smooth and she will come here.

[Jasman0717 9]

Thanks for all your insite. Believe me if i could go there would in a heartbeat. but took 2 weeks the 2nd week i started the new job. The flight I would get her would be one that lands in japan then from there stright to detroit but never leaving the plane just adding fuel and food. She is very worried they will not understand her not speaking good english. Her english is good and we never have a problem understanding each other. Hope this will go smooth and she will come here.

I have found Filipinas can be silly from time to time. I am sure she will be just fine. I agree about going there in a heartbeat, I love the RP

[iceyspots 0]

Anything that's foreign can be scary... but reassure her that everything will be OK! I took the risk of flying across the world to see my fiancé.... and I love him so much I'd do it over again a million times if I had to!

[dp8255 0]

Hi,my wife flew from the philipines in to japan to detroit also,her first time she had been away from her mom for even 1 nite she made it fine with out any troule. it was long trip for her but she made it here in my arms safe lol Good Luck

[mrswooten4ever 0]

Poor girl must be terrified just reassure that everything will be ok and if she's really worried about her English just ask for a translator

Good Luck

Adele

[CarolineM 0]

Girls in general can be silly - I don't think it's just those from the Phillipine's

I've flown back and forth from Australia by myself three times. It's fine. While, yes, I do speak English, I think getting a translator if she's nervous is fine!

Good luck and I hope she gets here soon.

[Ladylethal 12]

I´m gonna plan to have my POE in San Juan, already in Puerto Rico, I have a feeling it might be easier for me, or else the other option is Miami, which is so so, but I´m uncertain if San Juan will be as laid back as I imagine.

[Saddle Bronc 124]

I'll give a proxy answer for Pras--who, indeed WAS worried about coming alone.

Also, her mum wanted to see the wedding, but could not get a visa appointment in time (in hindsight, I should probably have contacted Sarbanes or Cardin much earlier than I did).

The Lufthansa flight was difficult for her as:

• this is her first time travelling out of India (and she didn't sleep even on the partly-empty HYD-FRA portion; the other portion was packed, and "pretzelising" is hardly conducive to sleep)
  
• she generally hasn't travelled alone, even within India in the past
  

The customs and immigration check went smoothly (I phoned her a few hours after arrival), but she forgot to ask for the temp EAD at Detroit (dunno if they actually would have issued it, but worst they could've done was said "we don't issue that here").

[bly 0]

My gf/fiancee is very worried about coming to the US alone. With my new work I cant really take anymore time off. Can you who have come here alone tell me was it easy or hard with customs and what not. She is from the Philippines. Thanks all you guys and gals your great help in many ways.

My Fiancee is coming from Ukraine and has the same fears. She's never flown alone or been out of her home country and she has to change planes in Amsterdam.

I assured her thousands of people do this every year and she'll be fine. Once I told her she could ask for a translator if needed her fears went away. It's also no different than the first time I flew to Ukraine to meet her. I had no idea what to expect at the airport or Urkaine customs, but we all figure it out soon enough. After she thought about this logically she felt better because she realized I had a valid point.

I assume she'll be coming on a K1, if so the POE will make life really easy on her as she won't have to prove intent to leave the USA like non immigration visas do. She'll have zero problems and she'll laugh at how easy it really is after it's all done.

[TracyTN 237]

Thanks for all your insite. Believe me if i could go there would in a heartbeat. but took 2 weeks the 2nd week i started the new job. The flight I would get her would be one that lands in japan then from there stright to detroit but never leaving the plane just adding fuel and food. She is very worried they will not understand her not speaking good english. Her english is good and we never have a problem understanding each other. Hope this will go smooth and she will come here.

If she doesn't have to change planes on the layover, then that should help a whole lot. What airline is she flying? Most of them are pretty good about helping first time flyers, and lots of them are bilingual anyway. She really doesn't even have to speak much once she is on the plane, and the folks at her departure point will surely speak the same language. Then she is off the plane in Detroit where you'll be waiting.

Tell her, too, that once she lands in Detroit, follow people who are on her flight if she is unsure of where to go.

[387 0]

My wife was the same, never flew that far from her homeland and can't read or speak english. I told her to find someone that speak the language and have them help her and thats what she did. They help her from the departing city all the way to arrival and help her with all the papers and walk her through POE. She told me later that she would have gotten lost at the layover if she was by herself because you have to take a train to a different terminal. The people that help her out came here on a K1 before.