TheSkywalkers
Difficulty:  | Review Topic: Port of Entry Review
Flew from Dubai to the US through Fort Lauderdale Hollywood International Airport. I did not need to ask around where should I fall in line as there were people guiding you along the way as soon as the sign that says "Passport Control" stops. There were only 2 lines, one is for US and Canada passport holders and the other one is for visitors and that was where I went. The line was long. And the counter that opens next is being announced in Spanish and English. When it was my turn, I approached counter 12, gave the CBP officer my passport and the packet (K1 visa), did biometrics and photo and he told me to come with him to a room. There were already a lot of people inside waiting, he told me to sit down and wait. He went all the way to the back of the room with my papers and then went out. I did not exactly know why I was told to go there but I guess most of the people are being told to do so. If they were to ask me questions about my US entry, I am fine with it. There were families inside waiting and seafarers too. We all have papers but it seems like CBP still has to go through all the papers we have with us to make sure that we are not entering the country illegally. The line to get to the counter earlier was long that I had to wait for 25 to 30 mins til my turn came and I waited for 1.5hrs in the room just to have them go through my papers. Finally, after 2hrs in total of waiting, the CBP officer called my name, and gave me my passport but not before showing me the date that he wrote on it which is May 25, 2017, 3 months from the time that I arrived to the US. He told me "You must get married before this date, so make sure you seal the deal before that. Have a great day." I went on my merry way to get my luggage and mine was one of the last ones in the carousel. I took my luggages and went out but left my CBP from which I filled out on the plane to one of the officers on the way out of the immigration.
Pretty smooth if you'd ask me, it is just the waiting that sucks.
Tip: For those of you who will be having connecting flights through FLL, make sure you have enough time in between arrival and departure (like 4 ot 5hrs at least) as waiting for the whole process to be over is 2hrs or it could be more. So to be on the safe side, allow enough time to transit in between arrival and departure. There were officers who were nice enough to go from room to room asking who has a connecting flight. If you are running out of time, let them know so they can speed it up for you and you won't miss your connecting flight.
Best of luck everyone!
(updated on February 27, 2017)
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Port of Entry Member Review #16302
Entry Date: 2017-02-25