USA Boarder Control

[Aus Traveller]

We have a port stop at Oahu due in at 6 am and have arranged a private tour to collect us at 8.30 am. I am starting to worry that we might not be cleared in that time.

Does anyone know how long it takes to get through now that Mr Trump has tightened his rules.?

If that is your first stop at a USA port, you could have quite a delay doing the Immigration face to face on board the ship. We have experienced that a couple of times and it took hours. American Immigration officials did not board at the previous port so face-to-face was scheduled from 7am. On one cruise Immigration wasn't completed until midday. If this is your first USA port, I suggest you line up for Immigration quite a while earlier than they say.

[MicCanberra]

If that is your first stop at a USA port, you could have quite a delay doing the Immigration face to face on board the ship. We have experienced that a couple of times and it took hours. American Immigration officials did not board at the previous port so face-to-face was scheduled from 7am. On one cruise Immigration wasn't completed until midday. If this is your first USA port, I suggest you line up for Immigration quite a while earlier than they say.

 

 

Yes, it can take a long time to process everyone. The ship's tour may look more promising with that in mind.

[oldenslo]

Talk about a storm in a tea cup, detained for an hour.

 

I like how she hangs her hat on the "apology" from the US Embassy that she got "within hours of it hitting their in box".

 

Guarantee it would be a generic "sorry you had a bad experience have a nice day response". As it the Embassy could investigate why/what actually occurred.

 

Some on here seem shocked that people would exaggerate a story to generate some publicity to coincide with a new book coming out.

[By The Bay]

Are you seriously suggesting that Mem Fox had herself detained so she could boost the sales of her new book release?

[MicCanberra]

I think the story just highlights how confused the US security has become with their orders from a impulsive executive making decisions without fully understanding the possible consequences. No one is safe from harassment no matter what clearance has been provided prior to arrival. Passports and Visas may get you on the plane but they won't necessarily get you into the country.

[Blue Elephant]

I think the story just highlights how confused the US security has become with their orders from a impulsive executive making decisions without fully understanding the possible consequences. No one is safe from harassment no matter what clearance has been provided prior to arrival. Passports and Visas may get you on the plane but they won't necessarily get you into the country.

 

 

I continue to be concerned at what my daughter's experience is going to be at LAx in July. Her passport has not been used for the US before - just used for a cruise on Voyager of the Seas for a cruise in December 2015.

 

Anyone have a prediction of how long she will take to get through Customs and Immigration at LAX so she can get on a domestic flight to Las Vegas?

[The_Big_M]

Are you seriously suggesting that Mem Fox had herself detained so she could boost the sales of her new book release?

 

 

Some on here seem shocked that people would fabricate a story to support their beliefs.

 

;p

[Opua Kiwi]

Anyone have a prediction of how long she will take to get through Customs and Immigration at LAX so she can get on a domestic flight to Las Vegas?

I have no recent experience as I avoid using LAX if possible; but if I were to make my own plans and was flexible I would want 4 hours.

 

1 hour possible flight delay; 1.5 hours customs & immigration; half hour to new terminal; 1 hour check in for new flight.

[MicCanberra]

I have no recent experience as I avoid using LAX if possible; but if I were to make my own plans and was flexible I would want 4 hours.

 

1 hour possible flight delay; 1.5 hours customs & immigration; half hour to new terminal; 1 hour check in for new flight.

 

 

Unless it is a connection booked on the one ticket (airlines carries the cost and responsibility if you miss the connecting flight), I would allow 3-4 hours minimum.

[MMDown Under]

I have no recent experience as I avoid using LAX if possible; but if I were to make my own plans and was flexible I would want 4 hours.

 

1 hour possible flight delay; 1.5 hours customs & immigration; half hour to new terminal; 1 hour check in for new flight.

 

I agree. It helps take the stress out of flying, if you make allowances for delay.

 

Check the recommended connection times from international to domestic on the carrier she is flying with.

[joandian]

Of course it could take longer to get through Immigration right now but many times I've had to wait ages for my bags, after getting through Immigration. One time I missed a connecting flight and had to wait another 12 hours on standby for a flight to Houston because I waited 2 hours for the bags to appear. Not fun after a SYD-LAX flight. That was the last time I voluntarily flew through LAX. I will only do that route if there is not other option.

[MicCanberra]

In my experience the US citizen queues move much quicker than the foreigner queues in the US, just as the Aussie citizens queues move quicker than the foreigner queues here in Australia.

[lyndarra]

We've been through LAX 4 or 5 times in the last two years and never taken much more than 30 minutes to clear security and immigration. Maybe we just got lucky although the last time (Jul/Aug 2016) I noticed our tickets indicated the 'express security lane' where you don't have to remove shoes, belts etc.

The worst part with LAX for us has been finding the correct terminal when transiting.

[Ru2on]

I was in LAX in late November, before trump had issued any orders and I was very taken back by the rudeness of their Border Control , most of them were women and they were screaming at people to move on ..hurry up.. keep walking , hurry hurry , come on move people, . There were elderly people trying to keep up a very brisk pace ,no one was dawdling we were all rushing so we didn't get yelled at. It was my first time in the U.S and I was amazed at how rude and haphazard it all felt.

There were lines and lines of empty taped off areas that we had to walk through back and forth like a maze ..if they wanted us to get to them any quicker than we could why didn't they unclip and re shunt the tape so we weren't marching through miles of empty rows while being yelled at.

Was not a nice experience and I felt a little intimidated..glad I come from an English speaking country or it would have been worse

[Blue Elephant]

I was in LAX in late November, before trump had issued any orders and I was very taken back by the rudeness of their Border Control , most of them were women and they were screaming at people to move on ..hurry up.. keep walking , hurry hurry , come on move people, . There were elderly people trying to keep up a very brisk pace ,no one was dawdling we were all rushing so we didn't get yelled at. It was my first time in the U.S and I was amazed at how rude and haphazard it all felt.

There were lines and lines of empty taped off areas that we had to walk through back and forth like a maze ..if they wanted us to get to them any quicker than we could why didn't they unclip and re shunt the tape so we weren't marching through miles of empty rows while being yelled at.

Was not a nice experience and I felt a little intimidated..glad I come from an English speaking country or it would have been worse

 

 

I asked my daughter a bit more about it this evening. It turns out that the tour group is actually meeting at LAX and all the students flights are arriving within about 15 minutes of each other. However, your comments have been really useful for her to know what she might expect.

 

This is a study tour for our Aussie student paramedics to get some additional experience riding with ambulance teams in the US. Not a cruise, although she is addicted to cruising after her Voyager of the Seas cruise!

[MicCanberra]

I asked my daughter a bit more about it this evening. It turns out that the tour group is actually meeting at LAX and all the students flights are arriving within about 15 minutes of each other. However, your comments have been really useful for her to know what she might expect.

 

This is a study tour for our Aussie student paramedics to get some additional experience riding with ambulance teams in the US. Not a cruise, although she is addicted to cruising after her Voyager of the Seas cruise!

 

 

LOL, sometimes we spoil our kids and inadvertently infect them with the cruise and travel bugs.:p

[Gwendy]

I haven't had a boarder for a long time, but if I had one I would want control, US or here in Aus. Just saying.

[MicCanberra]

I haven't had a boarder for a long time, but if I had one I would want control, US or here in Aus. Just saying.

I agree, :cool:

[rumpelstiltskin]

I was very taken back by the rudeness of their Border Control , most of them were women and they were screaming at people to move on ..hurry up.. keep walking , hurry hurry , come on move people,...

Experienced this in Miami, too. They are just so empowered.:rolleyes:

 

TSA is worse than CBP, IMO...& about to get worse.

 

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-03-03/u-s-airport-pat-downs-are-about-to-get-more-invasive

 

Also, this done randomly, supposedly.

 

BTW, this has nothing to do with Trump's policies.

This is just another fiasco to try to cover for TSA ineptitude.

 

Travelers are subjected to CBP upon entering the country, & TSA when leaving the country/connecting to a domestic flight which might require the passenger to go through security again.

 

If you have Precheck on your boarding pass, please take advantage of it. It should expedite your screening with less hassle (I hope).

But be aware that TSA reserves the right to further screen you anyway, even with Precheck.

 

Also, here is a helpful website for navigating LAX:

 

www.lawa.org

[MMDown Under]

More "rigorous pat down" planned is the final straw for me!

 

When I received an unexpected comprehensive "pat down" at US Immigration in Vancouver, by a nice lady, I had to fight back tears, and was shaking afterwards.

Edited March 8, 2017 by MMDown Under

[Aussieflyer]

More "rigorous pat down" planned is the final straw for me!

 

When I received an unexpected comprehensive "pat down" at US Immigration in Vancouver, by a nice lady, I had to fight back tears, and was shaking afterwards.

Sounds awful but isn't Vancouver in Canada? If so why is US immigration there? Or is there one in the US with an airport?

[joandian]

Sounds awful but isn't Vancouver in Canada? If so why is US immigration there? Or is there one in the US with an airport?

 

When flying into the US from Canada, you clear US immigration and customs in Canada and don't have to do it again when you arrive in the US. I guess because a lot of flights land at domestic terminals not staffed by US officials. We had an interesting experience leaving Vancouver on a return trip to Houston, after receiving the new E3 Visas back in 2005/6? They were so new that Immigration knew nothing about them and accused us of using fake visas. We had all our paperwork with us, so had to pull all that out and wait for them to verify that they were actually official Visas from the US Consulate in Vancouver. Just another of our pre-green card experiences. :D

[rumpelstiltskin]

They were so new that Immigration knew nothing about them and accused us of using fake visas.

 

Not America's best & brightest. If they had a brain, they'd be dangerous.

[Aussieflyer]

When flying into the US from Canada, you clear US immigration and customs in Canada and don't have to do it again when you arrive in the US. I guess because a lot of flights land at domestic terminals not staffed by US officials. We had an interesting experience leaving Vancouver on a return trip to Houston, after receiving the new E3 Visas back in 2005/6? They were so new that Immigration knew nothing about them and accused us of using fake visas. We had all our paperwork with us, so had to pull all that out and wait for them to verify that they were actually official Visas from the US Consulate in Vancouver. Just another of our pre-green card experiences. :D

Thanks for the info. I would hope that flying out of Vancouver to a non-US airport, you don't need to go through them. We steer clear of the US these days.

[MMDown Under]

Thanks for the info. I would hope that flying out of Vancouver to a non-US airport, you don't need to go through them. We steer clear of the US these days.

 

Yes, you don't have to go through US Immigration, Vancouver, if you are flying to countries other than the US.