JFK as point of entry

[smilingjake]

Has anyone used JFK in New York as their point of entry into the U.S ?

If so, any comments or experiences. I have always used Liberty in Newark, however, I see that I can schedule a direct flight to JFK from Kiev.

My fiance has little travel experience and I sense a lot of worry on her part about making a connecting flight.

I think the direct flight to the mainland would be beneficial. It also quite a bit cheaper. I would hire a service to drive me to the airport and be there for her arrival

Jake

[Vaughn]

Jake,

Many people try to avoid JFK - for whatever reason. I've been familiar with the
airport layout since the days it was still called Idlewild - so it's comfy for me. It
IS nice you plan to meet her there, she may need navigational, not to mention
emotional, support.

As a POE, you're going to hear some horror stories, but for my wife and daughter
it went smoothly.

[viking]

Depends which airline you use. Some, like Delta, have thier own immigration services in their terminal. Others may use the international terminal, which can become very overcrowded and congested. I have done both, but of course I am not an immigrant and it easier for me. Having said that, the basic flow is the same. Get off the plane, walk to and go thru immigration, pick up bags, and then go through customs ( which seems to rarely check luggage).

I was with a friend who was waiting for his fiancee to arrive at JFK. He seemed more anxious than she was when she finally walked thru the doors. In doing some reading on visajourney about experiences at various airports, most people say that JFK was a pretty decent POE.

[ConnerVT]

Depends which airline you use. Some, like Delta, have thier own immigration services in their terminal. Others may use the international terminal, which can become very overcrowded and congested. I have done both, but of course I am not an immigrant and it easier for me. Having said that, the basic flow is the same. Get off the plane, walk to and go thru immigration, pick up bags, and then go through customs ( which seems to rarely check luggage).

If the entry is the first time with a K-1 visa, you forgot a step -- After passing through the usual passport/immigration check, they then need to head to the immigration office to complete their entry into the US.  Depending on how busy things are, this can take another hour (or more) of waiting...

[Blues Fairy]

I entered at JFK and had no trouble passing the passport control, both on tourist visa and on K1.  The only nuisance is the long line since lots of international flights arrive there.  I also had to wait quite a while where they stamp work permits. 

ConnerVT, no special trip to immigration office to "complete the entry" is usually necessary unless there's something suspect about the papers.  And still it's nothing too scary; most immigrants provide explanations and come out unscathed.

[roykirk]

My wife came in to the U.S. three times, including her last time on K-1.  The first two entries were on a B-2 tourist visa and she came in through LAX.  She was out the other side in less than 30 minutes both times and received hardly any questions.  On the third entry, she came in through JFK on her K-1.  After passport control, she was sent to the office, along with about 10 other people from her Aeroflot flight.  All were K-1 or K-3s.  She was there for 2.5 hours waiting to get her papers checked.  She said they were polite enough to her, but the worst part was that I was waiting outside customs for that entire period thinking that she didn't come on the flight or was being detained or something.  Her Russian cell phone wouldn't work at that point and they don't allow you to use them inside there anyway.  She had no way to call me to tell me what was going on. 

The same thing probably could have happened at LAX too, but my general impression was JFK was just a complete zoo.

[ConnerVT]

Her Russian cell phone wouldn't work at that point and they don't allow you to use them inside there anyway.  She had no way to call me to tell me what was going on.

If this was in the past couple of years, she most likely was in Terminal 1, where even a US cell phone would of been marginal, if even functional at all.

Anyone who arrive on Delta can forget cell phone coverage completely.  International arrivals are down in what I affectionally call "The Gallows", dug below ground where cell phone signals and sunlight dare not penetrate.

My interesting experience at Terminal 4 at JFK was when my MIL came to visit.  Even though she had a connecting flight from JFK to Vermont, I had flown down to meet here at JFK, and we were to fly to VT together.  She was instructed by us to head out of the terminal after completing her Customs check, and we would re-enter the terminal together after we met where people wait for arriving passengers.

It didn't work out that way.

I actually saw her heading towards the door to me, but she was cut off by an airline employee who redirected her back upstairs towards the terminal.  Not being an English speaker, she couldn't explain why she wished to exit the terminal. 

The next time the doors opened (as another traveller exited), she was gone.

Now my dilemma.  Being in the bowels of Terminal 4,  I couldn't call my wife to tell her what instructions to give my MIL if she called.  To call, I would have to leave my vantage point and run up the road (towards sunlight).  But what if she was able to return to the original plan, and I was gone?

I had befriended an older FSU gentleman while I had been waiting, and he offered to keep an eye for her if she came out.  I quickly ran the half mile up the hill to make my call.

"YOU LOST MY MOTHER!!!  HOW WILL WE EVER FIND HER IN NEW YORK CITY!!!", was the first response I got from my paniced wife.  Obviously, things weren't going well for me.

After calming her down, and explaining she wasn't lost in NYC, but just in the Delta terminal, I gave her instructions on what to do if her mother called.  I then ran back down the half mile hill (much easier) to check if, by chance, she may have come out where we had planned.

After thanking my new friend for his help, I went back up the hill, and headed into the terminal.  After speaking with the agent at the ticket counter and getting little assistance, my phone signalled that I had missed a call from my wife.  I headed to window in search of a signal.

My MIL had found someone to make a call for her, the kind person did not understand Russian, but figured out the situation well enough to call my wife, and help my MIL locate her gate.  And that is where I found her, after passing through TSA security and heading into the terminal gate area.

So I guess the moral of the story is never rely on a cell phone to work where you need it to when at the airport.

[Vaughn]

"YOU LOST MY MOTHER!!! 

THAT's gotta be the funniest thing I've read in weeks....

ConnerVT, thanks for the heads up on unreliable cells, and for that story ~

[Chicagoguy]

For Roykirk....

It might have been the fact it was an Aeroflot Airline flight.

[aikorob]

Nata's experience was virtually the same as Roykirk related when she entered on her K1---took about 2 hours because she said people manning the desk were unsure about her visa----on the positive side, JFK is reportedly the only POE that will still give you a work authorization stamp.

On her last trip, she arrived from Kiev on Delta, and I flew up to meet her there---the flight back to ATL was on Delta also, so when she cleared customs, she went directly upstairs----just as Conner reported. If your party is connecting on Delta, better wait by the elevators in the middle of the terminal upstairs.

Ditto on the lack of cell coverage