OnMyWayID
Difficulty:  | Review Topic: Port of Entry Review
We did the POE at FLL coming in from Sprint airlines on a Friday at 6:00pm. We only had a 90 minute layover and the plane was 15 minutes late getting in putting the window at one hour 15 minutes.
FLL is different that most POEs because it was not designed to be an international airport.. You go through immigration, then get your bags from claims, then have them go through a security checkpoint, then you have to take them back to the airline desk for check-in, then go through airport security to get to your terminal.
We were the first off the plane and did the five minute walk to get to customs/immigration. The airport is set up for very long lines so we snaked our way through the visitors (no problems withe the USC using the visitor lines) queue setup and were the only ones in line when we finally made it through the queue ropes.
There were other people at each of the other visitor sections being helped but as the USC queue was longer none of the other USCs snaking through the queue had made it to the start of the line yet.. One of the men in the USC booths motioned for us to come over and I said "She is a first time entry resident" and he said "no problem" so we went over to him. A very friendly guy, he asked her if she spoke english to which she replied "no" and he switched to spanish.. he scanned he prints and took a close up picture of both eyes. He processed both of our information (stamped my passport) and then said "OK, lets get this processed, follow me" and he took us back to a room with about a dozen other people..
We were in the room for less then five minutes when another guy came in and asked her to sign two papers (or one paper in two places, I don't remember) and then he left and after about another 2-3 minutes he brought her passport out with the visa stamp. He said it was good for one year but that we should receive a card well before that (though he said it would take several months). He then said "good luck, you're done".
We then left for the baggage claim area. We had gone through the process so fast that the bags had not yet started to come out for our flight.. When they finally did we had to get them scanned which meant another line. We handed the guy our paperwork and he said "ah! a CR-1.. fun day for you!" we laughed and he said to go to line A as it was faster and that she did no need to go through the B line for visitors... this took only a few minutes.
Next we had to take our bags back to the Sprint check-in desk. There was no line and check-in was only a minute or two but the walk to the check-in desk and then back took another five minutes or so...
Next is security to get back into the terminal area.. There were quite a few people and it took about 15 minutes to get through.. They are fast but nothing you can do when everyone arrives in bunches...
With that we made a bathroom pit-stop and then found our terminal. Our plane was already boarding so we got in line and were off and back in the air in another 20 minutes.
A somewhat monotonous process but it is nice to go through immigration before getting your bags and each step went quick and everyone we dealt with was very friendly and positive.
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Port of Entry Member Review #15053
Entry Date: 2011-11-18