JFK K1 POE experience

[gcox457 0]

Hi all,

My Sweetie is now home with me and we've been enjoying each other's company (at last!!) for this past week. I've finally got a few minutes of computer time to share my observation of the POE experience at JFK last week for the archives.

We both filled out separate customs forms...since I wasn't sure if we could technically share one since it said "one per family". The CBP officer at the passport control booth mentioned that normally she wouldn't process the 2 of us together because of the separate customs forms, but she would do so in our case (guess she was feeling generous).

She stamped my passport...welcome home...yay. Then we get to Kseniya's stuff. Oh...K-1...here we go. Passport is read and re-read about 3 times. Get out the "brown envelope". There's all the paperwork from our visa application...and the CBP officer reads through all of that stuff about 3 times, taking special care to read the pages with the huge read stamps that said "APPROVED" extra slowly. She didn't ask to see the X-ray, although we had it ready. After all of that, we are sent to the far left of the area to talk to another CBP officer. We walk all the way down...and he seems a lot friendlier than the previous lady. We tell him that Kseniya is K-1, and ask where to go from there. He sends us down a "hallway", which was just a cordoned-off area that was still open-air with respect to the luggage reclaim area. I ask if I can go with Kseniya...he answers "only if you want to". After being on a 10-hour plane ride...that was far more hilarious to me at the time than it probably seems to you reading it.

Anyway, we walk, and walk, and walk some more...finally get to the far end of the luggage area, in the far left corner of the room, where there is a information desk with 2 more CBP officers. Kseniya hands over all her stuff (passport, etc) to one of them, and they direct us to have a seat in the waiting area (just airport terminal-style chairs a few feet away from their desk) and hang out while they process the paperwork. After about 10 minutes, they call us up...and I ask if they had given Kseniya a EA stamp...and yep...sure did. "Welcome to America" for Kseniya, and there are two very happy campers.

We get our luggage, breeze through customs without a second glance...and it's off for the rest of our trip (which turned out to be quite an adventure..though I'll save that story for another time).

No "interrogation" in the back room was called for in our case...we were both amazed on how easy it was.

Anywho...hope that helps a bit for anyone planning on going through JFK. "Your mileage may vary", but I found the whole experience very easy, professional, and smooth.

Cheers!

-Gary

[pri 0]

that was pretty smooth enjoy your wknd and Welcome to the US of A

[raymaga 25]

Congrats and glad to hear you are both enjoying your reunion!!!!

[moondancer627 0]

Congratulations on your reunion. Glad entry into the US went smoothly....

Enjoy the new journey....

Moondancer

[arwensun1965 0]

That was pretty smoothe, hope mine goes just as well at Seatac on Wednesday.

Janice

[Dixie_Peach 1]

That was pretty smoothe, hope mine goes just as well at Seatac on Wednesday.

Janice

good luck Janice!

Hi all,

My Sweetie is now home with me and we've been enjoying each other's company (at last!!) for this past week. I've finally got a few minutes of computer time to share my observation of the POE experience at JFK last week for the archives.

We both filled out separate customs forms...since I wasn't sure if we could technically share one since it said "one per family". The CBP officer at the passport control booth mentioned that normally she wouldn't process the 2 of us together because of the separate customs forms, but she would do so in our case (guess she was feeling generous).

She stamped my passport...welcome home...yay. Then we get to Kseniya's stuff. Oh...K-1...here we go. Passport is read and re-read about 3 times. Get out the "brown envelope". There's all the paperwork from our visa application...and the CBP officer reads through all of that stuff about 3 times, taking special care to read the pages with the huge read stamps that said "APPROVED" extra slowly. She didn't ask to see the X-ray, although we had it ready. After all of that, we are sent to the far left of the area to talk to another CBP officer. We walk all the way down...and he seems a lot friendlier than the previous lady. We tell him that Kseniya is K-1, and ask where to go from there. He sends us down a "hallway", which was just a cordoned-off area that was still open-air with respect to the luggage reclaim area. I ask if I can go with Kseniya...he answers "only if you want to". After being on a 10-hour plane ride...that was far more hilarious to me at the time than it probably seems to you reading it.

Anyway, we walk, and walk, and walk some more...finally get to the far end of the luggage area, in the far left corner of the room, where there is a information desk with 2 more CBP officers. Kseniya hands over all her stuff (passport, etc) to one of them, and they direct us to have a seat in the waiting area (just airport terminal-style chairs a few feet away from their desk) and hang out while they process the paperwork. After about 10 minutes, they call us up...and I ask if they had given Kseniya a EA stamp...and yep...sure did. "Welcome to America" for Kseniya, and there are two very happy campers.

We get our luggage, breeze through customs without a second glance...and it's off for the rest of our trip (which turned out to be quite an adventure..though I'll save that story for another time).

No "interrogation" in the back room was called for in our case...we were both amazed on how easy it was.

Anywho...hope that helps a bit for anyone planning on going through JFK. "Your mileage may vary", but I found the whole experience very easy, professional, and smooth.

Cheers!

-Gary

congratulations! so happy that the poe was a smooth transition! happy reunion!