POE - San Ysidro

[OnlyOzzie 0]

So my wife was approved on her visa... :-) We received the package and its time for her to come home with me :-) She is flying into Tijuana (From Guadalajara) and I am driving to Tijuana to get her. We are going to enter either through the San Ysidro or Otay Point of Entry.

My question is how can I find out the hours that we can enter via the San Ysidro or Otay Port of Entry? I went to the CPB website and it says its open 24/hrs 365 days a year but does that apply for processing the magical brown packet we are to give to the Agent to allow her to enter the US and get her visa or does that mean only for crossing the border? I know they give her a paper (Temporary Visa) then the actual visa is mailed out. But what are the hours that they take the brown packet or is that also 24hrs? Can we enter at any time driving? Once we get to the agent I assume we are sent to inspection to process all the paper work.

Any help is appreciated!! I am so happy she is finally coming home this Friday! :-)

Thanks to all the members here that give a helping hand.... Now that I am done with the process its time for me to give answers based on my experience and contribute to this community!!! :-)

[Ryan H 3,899]

I know they give her a paper (Temporary Visa) then the actual visa is mailed out.

No, they will not give her a paper, they will stamp the page in her passport next to the visa which allows to act as a temporary green card. The actual green card is what is mailed out.

Now to your question, I would suggest calling CBP and asking your questions to them.

[ShirahBet 42]

They should process at any hour, in all honesty... but on a good day, those border crossings are awful. I'm sure you're familiar. I can just remember long crossings in both directions from San Diego when I was growing up. Best of luck!

[Dan C. 18]

My wife is from Tijuana and did her CR-1 POE at San Ysidro. I've been through that border line countless times, and will continue to do so for a very long time.

I'm pretty sure that any time will be OK for them to process the "magic brown packet" -- after all, it's a 24/7/365 border crossing, and she has a visa. They have to process it. My recommendation would be to go during the mid-morning or afternoon on a weekday; there will be less folks crossing at that time.

Depending on when you get to the line, it'll typically take anywhere from 30 minutes (if you're lucky) to an hour and a half (if you aren't) to get to the agent. You'll be brought to secondary inspection next. My wife had to get out of the car and wait in an office with a number of other folks doing their first POE.

I wasn't there, but she told me that there were a couple families doing their POE, and that she waited about an hour and a half for them to process her paperwork. Once they actually got to her, it didn't take too long.

Good luck! Should be nice and easy, all you'll need is her passport, the brown sealed envelope, and patience.