How much time needed to get through customs at the JFK?

[BigCityDave 0]

Hey everyone,

My girl has an already purchased ticket reservation from American Airlines and we are trying to get her a flight on June 2nd. The particular flight she wants is only going to give her 2 hours at the JFk. We would like to know if that is sufficient.

Just wondering who here has been through the JFK on a K1 Visa and how much time they would recommended.

Thanks for the help.

[sara..... 371]

Hey everyone,

My girl has an already purchased ticket reservation from American Airlines and we are trying to get her a flight on June 2nd. The particular flight she wants is only going to give her 2 hours at the JFk. We would like to know if that is sufficient.

Just wondering who here has been through the JFK on a K1 Visa and how much time they would recommended.

Thanks for the help.

hmmm i dont know if that will be enough time to catch a connecting flight we are always told when we ticket round trip to allow three hours to get thru immigration and make it to our connecting flight and we are usa citizens so i maybe speaking out of line here but i think that four hours is a better idea than two......

[pushbrk 13,386]

Hey everyone,

My girl has an already purchased ticket reservation from American Airlines and we are trying to get her a flight on June 2nd. The particular flight she wants is only going to give her 2 hours at the JFk. We would like to know if that is sufficient.

Just wondering who here has been through the JFK on a K1 Visa and how much time they would recommended.

Thanks for the help.

It might be but I always recommend at least three hours layover at any POE. Flights often arrive late or several Jumbo jets arrive at the same time. Time to clear immigration is a ####### shoot. Is there a later flight she can catch if she doesn't catch the scheduled one? Why did she buy a ticket before the visa was in hand?

[lena_mourad 0]

Hey everyone,

My girl has an already purchased ticket reservation from American Airlines and we are trying to get her a flight on June 2nd. The particular flight she wants is only going to give her 2 hours at the JFk. We would like to know if that is sufficient.

Just wondering who here has been through the JFK on a K1 Visa and how much time they would recommended.

Thanks for the help.

I definetely would allow at LEAST 3 hours, four is better. JFK's immigration lines for citizen and non-citizen are always HUGE. Allowing more time will reduce your stress too of the possibility of missing your connecting flight. I've usually had 2 hours in between connections and I BARELY make it. Plus, you MUST pick up your baggage in JFK because you switched countries, and that takes up more time too. Good luck!

[william_wallace 8]

Wow. The interview I see is for the 29th May and shes flying on the 2nd June. Cutting it short to get the visa in hand I think.

[BigCityDave 0]

Hey everyone,

My girl has an already purchased ticket reservation from American Airlines and we are trying to get her a flight on June 2nd. The particular flight she wants is only going to give her 2 hours at the JFk. We would like to know if that is sufficient.

Just wondering who here has been through the JFK on a K1 Visa and how much time they would recommended.

Thanks for the help.

It might be but I always recommend at least three hours layover at any POE. Flights often arrive late or several Jumbo jets arrive at the same time. Time to clear immigration is a ####### shoot. Is there a later flight she can catch if she doesn't catch the scheduled one? Why did she buy a ticket before the visa was in hand?

Her ticket was purchased back in September of 2007. This is when she was trying to get a Tourist Visa.

Also, she can just go to the embassy and receive her Visa the day after the interview. Its an option between her going there the next day or waiting a few days for a hand carrier.

Edited May 23, 2008 by BigCityDave

[pushbrk 13,386]

Hey everyone,

My girl has an already purchased ticket reservation from American Airlines and we are trying to get her a flight on June 2nd. The particular flight she wants is only going to give her 2 hours at the JFk. We would like to know if that is sufficient.

Just wondering who here has been through the JFK on a K1 Visa and how much time they would recommended.

Thanks for the help.

It might be but I always recommend at least three hours layover at any POE. Flights often arrive late or several Jumbo jets arrive at the same time. Time to clear immigration is a ####### shoot. Is there a later flight she can catch if she doesn't catch the scheduled one? Why did she buy a ticket before the visa was in hand?

Her ticket was purchased back in September of 2007. This is when she was trying to get a Tourist Visa.

Also, she can just go to the embassy and receive her Visa the day after the interview. Its an option between her going there the next day or waiting a few days for a hand carrier.

Then it sounds like the itinerary can be changed. I'd be changing it.

[eric_and_teresa 10]

Will you be flying with her? If not, most likely she will have to wait on the "visitors" line, which is usually a VERY long line. On my last visit to the U.S. it took me 1.5 hours to go through customs in Houston traveling with a B-2. There was something wrong with their system and the line was huge! Some of the passangers missed their next flight, thank God I had a 2.5 hours layover there!

Its better to have at least 3 hours, taking into consideration that JFK is a very busy airport.

[minnietheminx 0]

Last time I flew through JFK it was a nightmare. I was going through the Delta terminal (terminal 3????).

My flight touched down at JFK at 1.30pm. My connection was at 6pm. I only 'just' made it (albeit due to a lot of running in inappropriate heels-- yep, Im not one to travel in comfort .

This was because there was 4 international flights arriving at the same time as mine. This made the immigration line 2 hours long. Once I collected my baggage there was apparantly a staff shortage in the baggage re-check area. The lines to get through customs were therefore HUGE, and to re-check your baggage even longer.

I would therefore plan plenty of time going through JFK. Obviously the staff shortage was an oddity and on the date in question passengers may breeze through........you just have to be aware that there is a chance that the whole process may take a lot longer than anticipated.

Edited May 23, 2008 by minnietheminx

[aki 3]

based on my experience, i havent spent much time in the immigration and customs. no hassles. i didnt spend 15 minutes inside the airport. maybe i was lucky then. 3 minutes for the passport verification and stamping then went to the secondary room for my I-94 and they did some encoding. about 8 mins or less, i was out of the room and got my luggages and passed the customs without any problem. we even arrived 30 mins. early of our sched arrival. (via AA)

but like what everyone says here, it is still advisable to have at least 2-3 hours allowance in between flights.

[pushbrk 13,386]

based on my experience, i havent spent much time in the immigration and customs. no hassles. i didnt spend 15 minutes inside the airport. maybe i was lucky then. 3 minutes for the passport verification and stamping then went to the secondary room for my I-94 and they did some encoding. about 8 mins or less, i was out of the room and got my luggages and passed the customs without any problem. we even arrived 30 mins. early of our sched arrival. (via AA)

but like what everyone says here, it is still advisable to have at least 2-3 hours allowance in between flights.

Actually, everyone else has advised 3 hours minimum, not 2-3 hours.

[Damian&Kelly 16]

I found a site that gives you the average wait times for customs at some of the busiest airports maybe it will help ya out

http://apps.cbp.gov/awt/

[william_wallace 8]

I found a site that gives you the average wait times for customs at some of the busiest airports maybe it will help ya out

http://apps.cbp.gov/awt/

Very handy that. Good for future reference

[NCWife 0]

It is recommended to change your itinerary for a connecting flight that gives you at least 3 hrs of waiting time in between. I even asked the CO after my interview about this and she recommended the same. It was a strange question to ask her but I can't help it.

So I bought a one-way ticket with a 4 hr waiting time in Atlanta..... I would rather wait for my flight if I come out from the immigration/customs early than running around with my bags like a mad woman trying to make it for the next flight!! I had an experience missing my flight because of delay of the previous flight and it was not fun!

Cheers

Edited May 24, 2008 by CL79

[pushbrk 13,386]

It is recommended to change your itinerary for a connecting flight that gives you at least 3 hrs of waiting time in between. I even asked the CO after my interview about this and she recommended the same. It was a strange question to ask her but I can't help it.

So I bought a one-way ticket with a 4 hr waiting time in Atlanta..... I would rather wait for my flight if I come out from the immigration/customs early than running around with my bags like a mad woman trying to make it for the next flight!! I had an experience missing my flight because of delay of the previous flight and it was not fun!

Cheers

No, it's not fun and depending on the itinerary, the result of missing a flight can be pretty severe. On my last trip home from China, the domestic flight from NNG to CAN took off late, so arrived to late to catch my CAN to LAX flight. The result was a 24 hour delay with overnight in CAN. The next night, the flight from CAN (Guangzhou) to LAX arrived too late to catch my LAX to SEA flight, the last one of the night, so another overnight in LA. I arrived home about 40 hours late due to tight connections. My step-daughter had a 2.2 hour connection in Beijing she missed, again because of a 35 minute late arrival. The result was 10 additional hours in Beijing. We're hoping her 3:20 layover in SFO will be enough on her return trip next week. At least there is a later SFO to SEA flight she could catch the same night.

If I missed my flight in Dhaka, the next flight was in three days. The result would have been a cancelled vacation and visit from my daughters I hadn't seen in a year. Take these things seriously.

Edited May 24, 2008 by pushbrk