pretzelbite

Hi, all.
 
Here is a deep dive into my experience of my journey from Serbia into the US. I will try to be as detailed as possible and provide as much help and advice as I can, but please keep in mind that this was my experience as of 26 June - 11 July. Use this as a reference for your own plans. To read about my journey flying into Serbia from the UK, please read this post from when I first arrived in Belgrade.
 
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Let me start by saying that Serbia's attitude toward coronavirus changed DRASTICALLY in my time there. When I first arrived, everything (and I mean everything) was open and running like normal. By the following week, the city was protesting new curfew rules, which eventually turned into rioting/police brutality. The curfew didn't happen due to the response from the public. I'll refrain from making any comments on politics in Serbia, and I can't predict what'll happen next, but more restrictions are a very real possibility that you should take into consideration.
 
I won't go into too much detail on this, but I had to leave my airbnb halfway through my stay due to a cockroach problem... I then went to a hotel in the middle of the city and the protests erupted right outside. I THEN moved to an airport hotel for the final two days, which was not a pleasant experience due to it being in the middle of nowhere with barely any amenities.
 
My journey began by getting a ride arranged by the hotel to the airport. You cannot check in for the flight with Air Serbia online due to a new rule about only citizens of the country you're traveling to being able to. So, I walk to the check in desk and tell the guy where i'm staying in the US. He checks my passport and visa. Asks his colleague if a K1 visa is ok. They say "yes". Asks me if i've visited the schengen area in the past two weeks. I say "no". I am given my boarding pass. I'm checked in.
 
Next, in Belgrade airport, you walk up the stairs and through a passport control area where they give you an exit stamp. I was a little surprised that I hadn't gone through any security, but found out later that the security is at the gate. The problem with this is that they don't allow water bottles through, so you're going to be without access to much water for a while other than what they give you on the flight (which is minimal).
 
At security, they once again checked my visa and once again ask if I've visited the schengen area in the past two weeks. I say "no", go through security and i'm at the gate. The place is pretty packed with varying amounts of mask discipline from other passengers. Can't do much about it other than remaining as careful as you can be. Be aware that you'll be wearing a mask this entire time other than when airport staff ask you to pull it down when checking your passport pic.
 
My flight got delayed by about an hour, which wasn't great for the nerves because they didn't announce anything during the wait and I had to make a connecting flight in JFK and had no idea how long immigration would take.
 
They announce boarding. I go on the plane. The plane is reasonably full, but most people had space around them. The plane takes off. So far, so good...
 
The flight is just like any other long distance flight except that you don't get much service. The food was a cold mix of this cheese, turkey slice and cornbread combo. Bit weird. I only had a little. You're asked to fill a form (BRING YOUR OWN PEN, I BROUGHT TWO BECAUSE I KNEW THE PERSON NEXT TO ME WOULD ASK AND I'M NOT GONNA SHARE. I LET THEM KEEP IT AFTER USE). It's like the usual landing card for the US (address you're staying at in the US, passport number, flight number etc.) except there's a section asking about COVID symptoms and a section asking "IN THE PAST 14 DAYS HAVE YOU BEEN TO ANY OF THE COUNTRIES OR GEOGRAPHIC REGIONS LISTED ON THE BOTTOM OF THIS FORM?". The list will have these countries.
 
Flight is 9 hours and 15 min. It'll say it's a 10 hour flight online, but they regularly get there in 9hr 15min. I was already sitting quite close to the front, but before we land, I moved to the very front so that I could be first off. The plane lands. The airbridge is delayed. I'm standing next to the door nervously willing it to attach. Around 10 min pass before the door opens and I bolt it. I overtake the two business class people who were let off first and run with all my stuff to beat the lines. It took about 5 min. When I get there, it's empty. I spot the border agent and walk over.
 
I tell them i'm entering on a K1 visa. They ask me if I have the visa packet. I get it out of my bag and give it to them. They check my passport and the form that I filled out on the plane. They open the packet, call over a CBP college, hand them the packet and tell me to go with them. All very friendly. I walk with the CBP agent to a room off to the side where they place my passport and packet on a raised desk with about 5 people on it and ask me to wait until my name is called. Around 5 min pass before they call me over. They say "you're staying at xxxx, right?" which is respond yes. They do something with my paperwork. They ask me "you know the rules, right?" to which I say "yes" even though i'm not sure which rules they're specifying, but they clear it up with a "you have 90 days to get married". I tell them i'm really looking forward to it. They hand me back my passport with a green slip inside of it and tell me "congratulations". I thank them. I did it. The emotions I felt were immense that I almost missed having to hand that green slip to the guard on the way out. The whole process took no more than 15 minutes and was very straightforward.  
 
I made my connecting flight easily. I landed at my destination some hours later and met my fiance. We drive to our apartment. We begin our lives together. We made it.
 
Thank you to everyone on here who helped out and was following my story. It's been an incredibly challenging time and i've experienced some of the lowest points of my entire life. The anxiety and overthinking involved is unbearable at times. To the people reading this who were in a similar situation, you have my full empathy and respect.
 
I can now confidently say that this guy did indeed fly.

I. MADE. IT!!!!
 
Sending this message mid air via my connecting flight. I'll go into more details about everything soon, but just had to share my success with everyone here!
 
FINALLY!!!

Well, if you follow my fun itinerary you will stay in your accommodation for 14 days and get fat. Honestly, I don't think this is a time for "fun holidays in Serbia". The pandemic is rampant, there are protests all over the country... I mean, to each their own, but I certainly couldn't/can't enjoy myself under these circumstances. Plus, the virus situation here is bad, the less you travel around the better for you and anyone you come into contact with. I am here out of the absolute necessity, and I just hope that I can last another week without my flights getting cancelled/travel disruptions. I got affected by Trump's travel ban back in March, I was supposed to start work in April, so I am absolutely desperate to get to the US because I'm going completely broke. 
 
Situation is serious. Just because you can do something, doesn't mean you should. But I understand that every person has a different limit of what they are and aren't comfortable with. So you do you. But whatever you do, remain vigilant, responsible and safe. 

Guess who made it to America? Me! 
So yesterday with Turkish airlines I went Zagreb- istanbul- Chicago. 
Both planes super full and busy. I was meant to fly to Miami but that one got cancelled. 
Now I’m laying in my hotel in Chicago, traveling to Florida tomorrow morning. 

Now something about entering and if it was difficult. So I entered with ESTA, the reason to see my boyfriend and staying at my own house that I own in Florida. 
First in Zagreb they kinda checked it, said it was fine. At Istanbul they did a completely different check, never seen anything like it. Checked all passports, bags and people right before the gate. There they first weren’t sure about my situation but called someone and also let me pass. Now to the actual important one in Chicago. I was so nervous. I went up said “Hi” when he looked at my passport I said “I have quarantined in Croatia for 14 days, stamp is on page 9 and here are some papers to also proof it.” He looked, asked me questions like why I was entering, how long I’m staying, where am I staying. He was confused because he said “Croatia is Europe right?” And I said “but not Schengen” so he went somewhere to ask. I was so nervous but he quickly came back, stamped it and let me go. 
So overall I was maybe standing there 5 minutes max. 
So guys be calm. You know legally you are in the right and if someone doesn’t know they just need to go check or call someone. But you’ll be fine. 
 
you guys can make it too!

I was going to fly Croatia- Miami on Friday. However the flight with Turkish airlines got cancelled. 
I will now fly tomorrow (Wednesday) to Chicago. This makes it exactly 14 days of me being here. But with the weeks of waiting, the quick last minute changes- I am mentally so tired. 
 
please cross your fingers for me, that I’ll have no issues tomorrow. Thursday I’ll fly to Tampa from Chicago. 
I am prepared for having bad luck at the passport check and have someone pull me aside or question me. But of course I’d be appreciative if that didn’t happen and after weeks I would just have some luck.

Hi! Looking for some advice:
 
I want to enter the United States July 31. F-1 student traveling from the Netherlands. My initial plan was to leave to Serbia on July 16 and take a direct flight out of Serbia to New York. However, with COVID cases rising again, I don’t know what would be the best option now.
 
I plan to spend my two weeks inside, but am worried about potential lockdowns or borders closing. Could anybody advice me on what my best options country-wise would be now? Turkey, Serbia, another country? As I have noted that cases in Turkey have also been rising! Thank you in advance, having read the comments on this thread has been very encouraging. 

Oh my lord! This just made my day as I’m going to do the same at the beginning of July. So glad to hear that it works with an ESTA too! 
 
Happy for you! Thanks for sharing!!  

Guys we made it. We are back in Chicago. The only issue we had was while check in Cancun. She needed to call CBP to verify we can enter, then she gave us our boarding passes. In the US we had to fill out a health questionnaire and that was it. Mexico (tulum and cancun) were really chilled. 

Hi everyone! I wanted to share my flight experience to meet my (USA) fiance (NL) in Belgrade. Hopefully this can help some other Americans flying because I was really nervous!
 
            After getting dropped off at DEN, I had to check in for my flight with an agent because I wasn’t allowed to online or on the app (which gave me a mini panic attack). He then proceeded to work on the computer for what felt like 10 minutes, making me nervous again. He said ‘Sorry, I was just checking that there aren’t any travel restrictions’. Of course, I was super prepared with a bunch of printed documents and showed him the US Embassy website saying that there were no travel restrictions for Serbia, the IATA website confirming, and my chat online with American Airlines again confirming. He said ‘okay great’, and handed me all 3 of my boarding passes.
            The DEN airport was not crowded at all, and there was zero wait for security. However, my flight was completely full and I was sitting in an aisle seat that had all 3 people. Everyone was wearing a face mask though, per AA’s rule.
            The DFW airport was another story, though – it was very busy!! I found my gate, which was less busy, and started waiting for boarding. They called me and several others up for a ‘documents check’. I walked up and was internally panicking in line the entire time. The agent asked me if I was a German resident, which I answered no, I’m only transiting to Serbia. She asked to see my ticket onwards to Serbia, made some notes in the computer, and then I was good to go!
            The flight to FRA was pretty empty, and I luckily got my own row! They offered food and drink service just like normal, and required masks to be worn on the flight. Entering the FRA airport, staff had thermal scanners that were used on passengers exiting the plane to check temperatures. I then had an excruciatingly long layover in FRA, and boarded my flight to BEG with northing more than a ‘American passport is okay, right?’
            Serbia’s customs were very easy as well. The agent did not treat me any different than the EU citizens, and simply stamped my passport. Overall, an easy trip restriction-wise! Belgrade has so far exceeded all expectations by being beautiful and lively, although you would think Coronavirus doesn’t exist with the way that people behave.
 

Hi at all! If anyone is interested in coming to Belgrade, I would like to recommend the hotel I am staying in right now. It is the Seven Rooms Suites. It opened in January of this year, everything is brand new and very modern. The rooms have air condition and a fridge. A huge shower. TV with over 800 channels (a lot of international channels), the Wifi works great, no problems at all!!! The hotel is in the city center, but it is very quiet, as the rooms do not look out to the street. The staff is really, really friendly and helpful, they pick you up from the airport at any time and bring you back to the airport at any time. The price for one night is cheap, I paid 33 Euros for one night. If you any questions, let me know!!
Good luck to everybody!! I will be leaving Serbia in 4 days!

Glad to see you found a way!
I am about to leave for the airport to catch my flight to New York! Wish me luck 😊 I will update on how everything went. 
I stayed in an area called Vracar and mainly moved around my neighbourhood and everyone seems to wear a mask In this part of the city. But yes bars cafes and restaurants are packed with people and everything is open. 
belgrade is very nice and the people are very nice! Also food is good. 

Hi everyone, remember me?
 
I'm now sitting in an air bnb in Belgrade, Serbia. After the heartbreak of being denied boarding in Manchester to Mexico last month, the relief of getting even this far is huge.
 
Some info on my experience for the journey from Heathrow to Belgrade for those interested:
 
Very easy, very quick, no questions asked. I had no bags to check; was straight through to security (recommended). No temperature checks, no health forms to fill out, no landing card needed. If it wasn't for everyone wearing masks, it would seem "normal". Flight was pretty full. Thankfully had an empty seat beside me.
 
Arriving in Serbia:
 
Again, very quick and easy. Went a little something like this at passport control:
- I give them my passport
- They ask how long I'm staying
- They ask where I'm staying
- They stamp my passport
- I leave the airport
 
Nothing else to it.
 
And now, I wait... People in Belgrade generally don't care about COVID. Everything and I mean EVERYTHING is open like normal. Barely anyone wearing masks. A little worrying, but what can I do? I'm being careful. Belgrade seems like a really nice city, I like it.
 
If anyone has any questions, feel free to ask me. 

Hi, I’m happy to hear from more and more people that they are entering the US successfully. So I will be driving from Switzerland to Croatia on Wednesday the 24th of June. I hope I can fly from Zagreb to Istanbul to JFK July 9th, if not I’ll go to Serbia too for a day and hopefully enter that way. Having a lot of back up plans. I’ll enter with ESTA and I own a home in Florida. So I hope that will be no problem. 
I just have two questions - 1. can I enter any airport in the US or does it have to be a certain one. I know there is a list of airports however I don’t understand what does are for and when you are only allowed to enter the US over those airports? I hope you understand what I mean. So with a german passport, spending 14 days in a non banned country are the only specific airports I can enter? 
2. When I stay in Croatia and can’t get a flight from Zagreb, will there be no issue flying to Serbia and directly flying to the US? I don’t need to stay another 14 days right? 
 
I did talk to the boarder in Croatia since I will be entering by car and they will write and stamp something showing when I entered Croatia. 

Hi guys! I got into the US yesterday, no problems at all and a very nice officer in Charlotte, North Carolina. Everything went smooth. I still cannot believe that I am finally with my fiancé 😍 he surprised me with a welcome party today, which was a lot of fun. I am so happy and grateful for everyone one here who shared their experiences and for everyone that was in Mexico “with me”, grateful for our little WhatsApp group, with some of the cool people I met on here!! Definitely happy I met miss @Ela S. on here, and can’t wait to meet up soon, now that we live 12 minutes apart from each other! Also grateful I met a girl called Mona on Facebook, and that we got to spend 9 days in the hotel in Mexico together! I have never met anyone on the internet before, very old school so this threat as well as Facebook really helped me to connect with others that went through the same crazy experience!! DEF the riskiest Trip of my life, and as my new sister in law pointed out, it’s INSANE that I got into the US even though all the borders are closed!! That takes a lot of courage, and I am glad and forever grateful for everyone who was supportive and wished me luck!! Best wishes to everyone on here for the future!! DEF excited to hear, how everyone likes their new life in the US!!💐

CBP Preclearance at Dublin: https://www.cbp.gov/border-security/ports-entry/operations/preclearance "Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Preclearance is the strategic stationing of CBP personnel at designated foreign airports to inspect travelers prior to boarding U.S.-bound flights. With Preclearance, travelers then bypass CBP and Transportation Security Administration (TSA) inspections upon U.S. arrival and proceed directly to their connecting flight or destination"

Haha yeah some airlines and countries do that. And it's not only to us, but also to US citizens. Last time my fiancée came to visit me and had to go back to the states, she got asked a lot of questions of why she was out of the country and stuff. So we're not alone in that lol. 
 
I hope you can reunite with your boyfriend soon and enjoy being happy together!

I made it to the USA from Mexico yesterday. On the whole a really easy trip, the only hicup was getting so stressed I thought I was coming down with a fever, luckily it was all in my head. 

My POE was Dallas, no queue at immigration but I had to wait in a side room for about 30 minutes while they processed the passengers that arrived before me. Surprisingly there was no health check on arrival. 

Thank you to everyone on this forum, without you I would still be sat in the UK waiting for trump to open the borders. Best of luck to all those still quarantining and all those planning similar trips. 

Last time when I entered the states in December I flew with Aer Lingus with a layover in Dublin. They have CBP before you enter the plane in Dublin. It was weird, I was so nervous because of these questions and then I was only asked where I’m going to. That was it lol.  
But I will definitely be prepared and I am for sure only telling the truth. I genuinely just want to see my boyfriend even if it’s just for a week or two.
Thank you once again for making me feel more secure with this way to do it and all the best for you and your fiancé. 

Breath, relax your mind and believe that all is already working well... because it is, you will see
Feel the empowerment that these last few weeks gave you, start picturing the happiness of going through CBP smoothly, being with your fiancee in US and the laughter after all this is done! 
Best of luck and keep us posted!!!!

Hi everyone. We made it in the USA last night! We spent 15 days in Mexico and took a flight yesterday on American Airline, 1:30 pm flight to Miami, Florida. Airport staff was nice. We had to fill out a health form. I filled it out online after fumbling through getting WiFi at the desk and getting the app to work. My fiancee and her son filled out a paper version and they finished before me.
 
The flight went smooth. We arrived in Miami at about 5:45 pm Miami time. Since I had my American passport I went to the machine for entry processing, but not sure if I did it right because my receipt was X-ed out. My fiancee, her son and I went to a CBP counter and handed our passports. Mine was returned. My fiancee's and her sons were kept and we were escorted to a room where we sat while someone was handling their paperwork. After about some 15 minutes an officer called out my fiance's name and her son. He asked when is she getting married. Asked if the guy sitting there (me) is her fiance. He then asked where did she come from. She replied Mexico and he asked how long she was there. She said replied 15 days. He said congratulations and handed her the passports and told us which exit to through. We arrived at the baggage claim and our luggage was already pulled out and sitting on the floor. We got the rental car and drove 5 hours to Gainesville.  
 
I want to thank everyone before us for the bravery they demonstrated in going through a similar journey through Mexico. I was sick to my stomach in fear and anxiety before we took our respective airlines to meet in Mexico City. When we arrived all my fears were removed. We enjoyed our stay in Mexico City. In the evening we would go out on a long walk in Polanco along a walking path that stretched for many streets under trees and along plants and benches. People were very nice and helpful. I felt more protected from coronavirus there than I do here in the USA. In Mexico City you enter a store and get your hands squirted with sanitizer, store employees wear a masks and in the grocery they take your temperature. My fiancee went to shop for wedding shoes on Thursday and in the shoes stores you enter a basin and soak your feet in them before you enter the store. She did find her wedding shoes! A very beautiful and comfortable pair made in Spain. Overall, the experience was great. 

Oh my lord! This just made my day as I’m going to do the same at the beginning of July. So glad to hear that it works with an ESTA too! 
 
Happy for you! Thanks for sharing!!  

I. Am. Here.
 
Thank God. But it wasn't as I expected. I got the biggest spook of my life. Right before landing the flight attendant told me to wait at the door so I could be the first one to leave. When the hatch opened 4 guys from CBP were ready to escort me. The head of the squad asked me how long I've been in Mexico for. I showed him the stamp in my passport and that's all he needed to know. We then joked about how scared I was and talked for a little bit; very nice people. I just had to go through second immigration just to confirm my arrival. This is Orlando airport btw.
 
BUT what counts the most is that I'm here. Thank you all for your inspiring messages and stories and I wish the rest of y'all good luck. So; if the CBP squad is waiting for you just know it'll be fine. 

I'm in! I had the passport check in Dallas, got asked a bunch of questions, as I was entering with the ESTA, but as I was with my fiancée it was kinda easy. I got asked my reason for traveling, how long I am gonna stay, where did I came from and how long I stayed in Mexico, what do I do for a living and where, and then a bunch of small questions related to that. After that we were free to go and I was able to travel to St. Louis withot problems and here I am! So I'm glad to say that it is safe to enter with the ESTA to visit during this times as long as you stay away the 14 days from the banned countries. 
 
I wish everyone else trying this the best of luck, I'm rooting for all of you!

Ah that's annoying. Germany has the same advisory but my insurance still pays despite that. I made them type that out exactly so I have written proof in case I need it 😅

Hi! I just wanted to let you all know that I traveled to Belgrade, Serbia yesterday and it was one of the easiest trips I have ever taken. The airport in Dortmund, Germany was almost empty. Everything was closed. The only people that were there were ones that wanted to flew to Serbia as well. There were no other flights. Check-in, security and passport control were super easy. Everybody was really friendly and some people even made jokes. Everybody was in a good mood. Nobody asked me any questions. The plane was full, every single seat was booked. But people were wearing masks the whole time. Most people were sleeping, it was very quiet. We landed on time. The airport in Belgrade was empty too. After 15 min I was through passport control and had my luggage. Again, no questions asked, everybody was friendly. I got to my hotel and relaxed. So far I am impressed with how everything went.