Average time to go through customs and immigration at the U.S. POE?

[Karen_and_Jay 2]

1. Minneapolis is not a major point of entry. So, number of potential international flights needing to clear customs is less.

Thanks! I was thinking along the same lines, but I don't know how likely that will be! Now I just have to hope our hunch is true!

[Karen_and_Jay 2]

From what I have learned the MSP process is very smooth and quick, the airport is also smaller than some of the other possibilities. What airine is she using?? Delta??

Yeah, we are both flying Delta.

whenever you pass through a US POE you collect your luggage, go through customs and then re-check them for your next/final destination

Really? When I flew to the Philippines last time, I didn't have to collect my bags at the Alaska POE, but maybe that is because I didn't need to switch planes. My China Airlines flight was Manila to Taipei, switch planes, Taipei to Anchorage, get out to refuel, reboard the same plane, Anchorage to Newark. At no point did I need to pick up my luggage until my final destination.

Did this only happen because I got back on the same plane? So I assume I should expect to get our luggage first before going through customs & immigration this time? Can I have my fiancee Karen go through customs & immigration while I wait for our bags to save time? Although I really don't want to do that!

Edited May 23, 2010 by Karen_and_Jay

[Nich-Nick 3,353]

But whenever I've had to get off a plane and re-board another, I've never had to pick up my luggage & carry it to the other plane. When does this happen?

The difference is an international flight. The first stop in the US is POE. You clear immigration (to be allowed in) and clear customs (to declare anything you're bringing in.) So likely your luggage would be where you are bringing in something legal, or illegal, or needing to pay duty on. So your luggage has to clear customs at the POE. Not every airport has a customs area, so everybody does it at the first stop in the country.

[payxibka 10,044]

Yeah, we are both flying Delta.

Really? When I flew to the Philippines last time, I didn't have to collect my bags at the Alaska POE, but maybe that is because I didn't need to switch planes. My China Airlines flight was Manila to Taipei, switch planes, Taipei to Anchorage, get out to refuel, reboard the same plane, Anchorage to Newark. At no point did I need to pick up my luggage until my final destination.

Did this only happen because I got back on the same plane? So I assume I should expect to get our luggage first before going through customs & immigration this time? Can I have my fiancee Karen go through customs & immigration while I wait for our bags to save time? Although I really don't want to do that!

Was Anchorage your POE? or was Anchorage just a refueling stop?

[jimboy435 0]

Sometimes you don't even get your luggage when you are connecting flights.

My POE will be Dulles (DC) and then off to Newark. Both airlines will be United. Do you think I'll have to get my baggage in DC and check them in again?

Dulless takes the most time out of any airports. I came through on the 23rd of May along with my wife & son. it took us 2 hours to get out. So you should give yourself ample time for the next flight.

In Dulless, you take the shuttle to "transfers" and once you clear immigration/customs, you can drop off your bags right outside. YOu have to clear security again though. Best of luck!

[Mae and Jack 0]

We arrived at MSP. The entire processing took 20 minutes. And it took that long because the CO had never done a K1 and had to call a supervisor over to learn the process.

[Karen_and_Jay 2]

Update:

We did have to find our baggage and bring it to the next flight. We got there with more than an hour to spare, but our flight was delayed anyway.

Thanks everyone for the advice!

[Karen_and_Jay 2]

Was Anchorage your POE? or was Anchorage just a refueling stop?

Anchorage was my first stop in the U.S. on that trip, but my final destination was Newark. Doesn't POE mean "first stop in the U.S."?

We arrived at MSP. The entire processing took 20 minutes. And it took that long because the CO had never done a K1 and had to call a supervisor over to learn the process.

About the same as us! The CO had to call over a medical officer to interpret Karen's results, which cause us to worry for a moment, but he said the papers were fine!

[Ying's Lao Gong 0]

On the evening of the 30th we flew to our POE at EWR. It was a much better experience than I expected. We got a pleasant officer at Passport Control who was Indian and perhaps knew the immigration ordeal we had gone through. He asked me how long we had been married and why was our CR-1 package so large. I told him I didn't know it was big or small. He took Tai Tai to be finger printed and told me to collect our luggage and wait downstairs for her. It was a long wait, but only a blink compared to the 6 hour interview process in Guangzhou...our flight landed at 1636 and she exited the USCIS bat cave at 1800. We are very relieved the 450 days of hoop jumping have ended. She seems very happy listening to the Hoot Owls and Frogs far from the city noise of, Fuzhou. Life is good.

[viv85e 3]

depends on the time of day.... you can look at CBP.gov and it will show you the average wait time at a POE during the day

moving thread

I know this is an old thread but thank you for that very helpful bit of information! The stats are immensely helpful while I try to choose the best flight for our return to the US. It offers information you just can't get from POE reviews here on visajourney.