US Entry and Departure

[agedpom]

Thank you all fir such interesting conversations.
It seems that, with a few exceptions (mainly MIA) all has improved on the incoming side, but there are still sp,e problems when joining a flight.

 

[Kiwi]

MIA is part of the US?

Yes but really Havana North.

 

[Kiwi]

In my experience they speak better English in SJU than in MIA.

As an aside, one of the beauties of Puerto Rico is there are no immigration formalities when heading back to mainland USA.

Was in SJU a couple of weeks ago. Spent 3 days there. I agee that they speak better English than in Miami. Also not having the formalities to go through is great.

Another good thing at a few bars are the all night happy hours. $4 plus a tip a coughtail is a good deal.

 

[HKGNZL]

Flying into Washington DC Dulles on an international flight for the first time. Wonder what customs like there?

 

[amaroo]

Our arrival into MIA from YUL the other day was fantastic......having US border agents complete all the I&C formalities in Montreal was bliss.

The agent that processed us had just been transferred to Montreal from the Midwest......great initiative.

 

[harvyk]

Another +1 for SFO and -1 for MIA...

10 minutes from plane seat to kerb and this was with an international arrival (in PE), and that included picking up my checked bags.


MIA on the other hand seemed like the most disorganised place I'd ever encountered, even worse than LAX.

 

[thehound]

If you arrive in J to either SFO or LAX, are there designated business/first lanes to clear customs/immigration? Or does it depend on carrier giving you an express pass or something similar (I'll be flying either to SFO/LAX with SQ next year to move to Canada)?

 

[drewbles]

If you arrive in J to either SFO or LAX, are there designated business/first lanes to clear customs/immigration? Or does it depend on carrier giving you an express pass or something similar (I'll be flying either to SFO/LAX with SQ next year to move to Canada)?

There are no priority arrivals queues in LAX or SFO no (well none of the terminals i've come in to at least).

 

[amaroo]

There are no priority arrivals queues in LAX or SFO no (well none of the terminals i've come in to at least).

+ 1 in LAX last month....arrived in F and it took about 1.5 hrs Got stuck behind a plane load of Koreans.....the PA calls requesting airline reps to counter X were continuous.

 

[fewings85]

I arrived into MIA from Panama n August and agree with mentioned above Miami is horrendous. A few weeks earlier had landed in LAX via Virgin and it was fairly slow, and last late December landed LAX and departed LAX via SIA and only when leaving tom brady was it abit slow going through the stages.

 

[serfty]

... and only when leaving tom brady was it abit slow going through the stages.

tom brady? You've been watching too much NFL - that'd be Tom Bradley International Terminal or TBIT.

 

[Corespec]

My worst experience was the pre-clearance out of Toronto flyingto Chicago. So much stuffing around, compounded by Air Canada's electronic check in system being unable to read my partner's passport (United & Delta had worked beautifully several times previous) that we were the last two on a flight that had all but closed.

 

[fiscal]

Arrivals
Worst - MIA by a country mile - 2+ hours on arrival
JFK - Hit and Miss - 1 hour most times
Orlando - best we have been into - only 45 mins

Departures
Does not make much difference unless you get some TSA pettiness - avoid eye contact

 

[themaiz]

Mostly I enter the US via LAX these days, and I have a love/hate relationship with TBIT. No, actually just hate. There's no love, even though the new departure side terminal is really swish and such a huge improvement on the old stark uninviting mess.

My dislike of LAX is the unpredictability. A typical transit is 60-120 minutes to get through TBIT after a QF flight. But it could be any number from 20 minutes up and is more likely to be high than low. Getting through UA, DL or VA process is about the same, but with even more walking.

• Best run: under 30 minutes from a junque-class seat to kerb (with bags tagged QF SG).
• Most spectacular achievement: 55 minutes from plane dock through immigration, bag collection, quarantine, around to terminal 3, change flight, check in, clear security and knock on door of Alaska Air lounge. Better chance of first division in Tatts than that happening again.
• Most stupid error: eating an apple as I left the plane. Unlike Oz, there are no honesty bins. You can't dispose of anything. You must declare the uneaten apple core. I know this because a security guard chased after me and made me go back to the men's room to retrieve uneaten apple from a garbage bin. Added an hour to my exit. Irony: you know those pizzas that they serve-mid flight on QF? Because they are cooked, you can take as many of those into the US as you like.
• Nicest experience: I had a post-op knee and QF suggested I should ask for a wheelchair to meet me on arrival. Although it was only marginally faster than on foot (due to the circuitous route taken by my "driver") I was treated to great comfort and panache.
• Typical transit: I allow 60-120 minutes to get out of TBIT after a QF flight. Getting through UA, DL or VA process is about the same, but with even more walking.
• Most idiotic feature: the electronic signage in TBIT which only ever displayed the demo program.
• Worst experience: on a trip in 1997 I forgot to give back one of those green cardlets (to this day it's still stapled into my old passport). SIX YEARS, and maybe 20 entries LATER (by which time I'm carrying a new passport) I was dragged from the line into secondary immigration, where I was grilled for three hours about the missing chit. Eventually they worked out what had happened - nobody had collected the chit. I was told, as a result of this misdemeanor, to expect a secondary grilling every time I reentered the US from then on. It's never happened again.
• Most annoying: Doesn't matter which line: Mrs TheMaiz is a US citizen so we have a choice of path and it takes just as long.
• Plain asinine: As an Australian citizens I can't qualify for the new swipe-and-go card, even though I held its predecessor (the Port-Pass) for years.

One answer is to avoid the US completely until they work out how to do speedy immigration.

 

[Kieran2274]

My dislike of LAX is the unpredictability. A typical transit is 60-120 minutes to get through TBIT after a QF flight. But it could be any number from 20 minutes up and is more likely to be high than low.

• Most spectacular achievement: 55 minutes from plane dock through immigration, bag collection, quarantine, around to terminal 3, change flight, check in, clear security and knock on door of Alaska Air lounge. Better chance of first division in Tatts than that happening again.

One answer is to avoid the US completely until they work out how to do speedy immigration.

Nice summary themaiz ​- particularly like the above quoted 'Tatts' joke, and can't disagree with your summary either.

 

[straitman]

One answer is to avoid the US completely until they work out how to do speedy immigration.

I'm not sure I will live long enough to to see them sort this which means I would never go to the US again (in this lifetime)

 

[Hvr]

I've done seven minutes from plane door to taxi rank at JFK.

HLO, F on CX and I ran towards immigration once off the plane.

 

[RooFlyer]

•Worst experience: on a trip in 1997 I forgot to give back one of those green cardlets (to this day it's still stapled into my old passport). SIX YEARS, and maybe 20 entries LATER (by which time I'm carrying a new passport) I was dragged from the line into secondary immigration, where I was grilled for three hours about the missing chit. Eventually they worked out what had happened - nobody had collected the chit. I was told, as a result of this misdemeanor, to expect a secondary grilling every time I reentered the US form then on. It's never happened again.

When I was studying in Canada in the '90s, I and car full of party goers drove into the USA for a big night out. As an Aussie, I had to do the immigration / green chit thing, All the others were Canadians and got waved through (as was the custom then).

On the way back I was, err, a bit the worse for wear and the entire car got waved back into Canada as Canadians (again, as was the norm).

When I surfaced in the morning I realized that I still had the green chit in my passport. PANIC! I was out of synch. Would I be grabbed on my next entry to the USA; would the Canadians then kick me out too?

No, nothing happened. Absolutely bizarre they should react years after the event in your case.

BTW, on J or F, I can get from the plane door to kerb-side at LAX in under 20 minutes, easy. Just fast walk, and most importantly, choose your immigration queue carefully - no Mexicans or Koreans in front of you, if possible.

 

[themaiz]

I'm not sure I will live long enough to to see them sort this which means I would never go to the US again (in this lifetime)

True, although as my mother-in-law (who lives in Florida) would say: "what, you call this living"? Sometimes I think not going to the US again would be a bonus. But then I think of Fry's and Amoeba, I fold, and commit to another 28 hours in Y.

 

[jastel]

Had 2 totally different experiences at LAX.

First trip QF A380 Business Class 3rd out of plane door, 3 hours later just getting to front of line, angry little black lady screaming at everyone, move up, you go there etc etc. You would move up once every 5 minutes.
There were two Aussie diplomats in line with me and THEY didn't even get special lines and missed their connection. As we got to the front a white supervisor type lady asked what flight we were from, we told her, she said "But you landed 3 hours ago". She then started issuing orders in Spanish and suddenly the line started moving. Finally got through and then had to find my bags as they had all been moved somewhere else.
There was No customs hassle just waiting in line.

Next trip QF A380 Business again, same flight but months later, was bracing for the worst and literally the hall was deserted, again in first bunch off the plane, straight to immigration, easy through, collected bags and kerbside waiting for Hilton bus in 10 minutes.

Luck of the draw I think.