Usual US Port of Entry Questions - Tourist

[un1z]

^thanks sis, feel relieved hehe

[tintoinks]

mga sis, question. first time ko magUS this september. we plan to stay there til january. late honeymoon namin ni hubby, and he has been to the US a few times already. medyo kabado lang ako baka tanungin kami bakit ang tagal ng stay namin sa US. gusto kasi sana namin magspend ng Christmas and new year dun with our family and friends. and gusto ko makaexperience ng snow. hehe! is a 4-month vacation valid? or baka maquestion lang kami? what's the worst thing that can happen?

[k_heart]

mga sis, pag halimbawa sa SFO ka nag entry then you fly to Texas, dadaan ba ulit sa mga officers na katulad ng sa POE?

We'll,no na sis! Although nung 1 time, late last year where we have to board a private plane from
Texas going to LA, may set-up pa na instant immigration counter where all of us passengers na
kasama sa private plane needs to present our US Visa. Hmm, although i think na ang reason
ay valid identification.

[mom_G]

is a 4-month vacation valid? or baka maquestion lang kami? what's the worst thing that can happen?

sis, they usually give 6 months even if you say that you only intend to stay for a month.   i had a doctor friend who told the immigration officer that he intended to stay for 3 months and hiniritan sya ng "what doctor goes on vacation for 3 months?".  binusisi lahat yung luggages nya pero pinapasok pa rin naman

[poshprincess]

hi sis.. question lang, been backreading and it seems that almost everyone carries a lot of cash with them.. will be going to the us for a business trip on the 27th, do i really need to have cash with me? if so, mga how much kaya? di ba pedeng aTM na lang then i'll just withdraw there?

[mama squeak!]

^No you don't have to bring a lot of cash with you. When I was asked how much I had during my trip last year, I told the IO I only had USD300 and credit cards plus an ATM card. Wala naman na ki-nomment.

[mama squeak!]

On our trip last month I was travelling with my husband and mother-in-law. My MIL was on a wheelchair that time. POE is LAX. The only question asked by the IO that was addressed to my husband was whether my MIL will be travelling back home with us. To which hubby answered in the affirmative. Tapos yun na, tatak ng 6 months stay and "Enjoy your vacation!" na.

[poshprincess]

^No you don't have to bring a lot of cash with you. When I was asked how much I had during my trip last year, I told the IO I only had USD300 and credit cards plus an ATM card. Wala naman na ki-nomment.

ok that's good!
i normally atm money out when traveling para di na ko magpapaconvert. lazy much.
thanks mama squeak!

[aquacharly]

It gets easier  and easier.  Last April, I was in NYC.  Last   Wed., we entered thru NYC again.  All that was asked  was: How long will you be staying?  I said 2 weeks max.  The IO said:  there you go, 6 months (after he stamped my passport). 

Even if you bring in over  USD10thou now, no sweat. Just fill up the Customs form on the plane honestly, hehe. -- they do not now even require the 2nd form.  Same thing happened last July   when we entered thru LAX. 

I think the easy entry these days is due to the massive computerization towards more definite identification. If the computers don't blare out a warning, that's you! welcome  to the USA!    Hehe. But if  anybody overstays, or does something they may deem compromising - whtever that is in terms of their national security - madali din ma cancel your visa.  Yes, they can do that anytime, with no warning, with no need to inform you either  -- just read the fine print on one of the docs you file for visa renewals/applications, you will see it there.

[bailey_marithe]

wow, this is 16 pages of useful info... thanks mga sisses!

question lang about bringing in laptops. Just in case na mataunan ka ng hourly random check, do you need to open your laptop? kasi im planning to bring the company laptop with me so i can still check on emails kasi medyo 'mahaba' [textspeak!] vacation ko, 2 weeks LOL. will i be questioned about that?

and for the documents, i dont need to bring Cert of Emp, etc... kasi di ba they will ask you about work, etc.. was thinking if i could bring in supporting documents just in case itanong ang lahat lahat sa akin.

TIA for the replies!

PS - planning to travel this nov for thanksgiving shopping, POE is JFK.

[aquacharly]

^IF matapatan ka ng hourly random check, the focus is on undeclared foodstuff, and pirated dvds & counterfeit products like bags (ewan ko ba favorite ito na bitbit ng mga Chinese mainland/HK  travellers as pasalubong, lol).

I have good news, hindi na Pinoys ang flavor of the day ika nga.  At JFK, I overheard the Immigration officers AND the Customs inspectors warn each other:  there's a planeful of Chinese coming in on the next flight.   lol, sila na ngayon kinukutkot.   Napansin ko, a lot pretend they do not understand English pag tinanong  tanong na, so an interpreter is called in.  As for our flight that lifted off from HK (CX)
, yung mga Chinese nga ang maraming tanong, and na ramdom inspection. 

Cert. of employment? Do not bring such and similar docs coz tourists do not normally bring such docs along with them... so the translation is, mag TNT ka. 
You are travelling for shopping, a vacation... eh baket ka magdadala ng work-related docs di ba?  (Work-related stuff in your laptop is none of their business.  And they do not ask you to open it  kahit na random hourly check ka.)

POE is JFK, lol -- at Terminal 7, if you take Cathay Pacific, the supervising offloader there is a tall stocky Indian guy who is nuts about our dried mangoes.  Abutan mo lang a pack or 2,  he will give you superb service.. as in you do not need to pay USD5 for the cart (don't!  maiksi lang ikot mo unlike in LAX -- sa JFK nakalabas ka na agad.), and he will get your bags, and load these efficiently on the carts for you to push through the Customs Area. 

Per my recent experience, it is now easier to enter through JFK than LAX -- when it comes to Immigration and Customs.  They do not even care if you bring in over USD10thou, basta fill up the Customs Form given on the plane properly.  Sa LAX naku, they will require (as required naman talaga) the 2nd FinCen form.. dami pa tanong.

Thanksgiving? lol, I intend to be back in LA/Santa Monica then, not New York... may be too cold for me by then.     Thanksgiving is a convenient holiday, you can see all your loved ones in just one place. 
 

[mama squeak!]

^Not to mention Black Friday! Shopping galore!   

[dBum]

helpful din to ah. nung first time ko nag-travel sa us mag isa di ko na matandaan lahat ng tanong. ang natatandaan ko lang eh tinanong kung anong trabaho ko dito sa pilipinas, tapos kung kilala ko raw ba yun nauna nyang ininterview ng pasahero saken. sabi ko di ko kilala. tapos sabi pa parehas daw kame apelyido, sabi ko hindi ko alam yon.

dalawa na ba interview ngayon sa port of entry?

[aquacharly]

^No, 1 only.  And it is getting to be shorter and shorter coz of the more efficient computerization. 

The 2nd interview is for persons who have lost valid US visas/passports,  female minors (as in teenagers travelling without adults) -- those have been my direct experience.   
Or, yung duda sila baka mag TNT.
 There was this Pinoy, tourist daw sya.    But they initially thought he was a drug carrier, or currency smuggler (yan tawag pag hindi mo declare like some, ga attache case dala), so 2nd interview and inspection.  The inspector found his Seaman's Book (whatever that is, he said he works on a cruise liner)... airport to airport sya, got "deported" stamped on his passport/visa & if I am not mistaken, had to wait for 10 years before he could apply for a visa again.

As for customs,  the 2nd "interview" is for those subjected to the random check, hourly or basta na cute-an/duda sa yo, and for those bringing in over USD10thou (as declared on the form filled up on the plane).  But as I said,  in NYC my experience as of last April and on this trip... hindi na required to fill up the 2nd form.. requirement yon pero binabale wala na nila.   

[theflygirl]

^Natawa ako sa "nacute-an"...heehee...but it's true! 

[ktsrt]

question... i'm leaving for the US this October and the last time I went there was in 2003.
should i bring my old passport with my old US visas? the passport i will use now was just issued last month

[aquacharly]

^You bring only the current passport and the passport where your valid/current  US visa is. So, you may bring just 1 passport, or at most, 2 if your valid US visa is in your expired passport.  That's all.   
Your history of entries  and exits will show  up on the computer.

[nicaa]

My family and I have travelled in the US a couple of times already. Our port of entries were in SFO, LAX & HNL. Questions were the usual ones, how long are we staying and where are we going to stay. It has been like that since 2004 and until last year (latest US travel).

Now I'm kinda bugged. Next month I'm planning to go to the US with my bf (who is a dual citizen) for 2 and a half weeks only. Port of entry is LAX, then we're planning to visit Texas and New York. What do you think should I state as my purpose of visit? We'll be going there to visit my relatives, my bf's family, and to tour around NYC. Should I avoid saying that I'm travelling with my bf who is a US citizen? My worry is they might think I'm going to get married with my bf. Do you think I should declare that I'm alone on the trip?

Also, I don't have a job right now. If asked, should I say that my parents sponsored my trip?

[xtine]

^If you're worrying about immigration, they won't know that you're jobless.  You can tell them that you're there for vacation.  In my case, I didn't have any problems because they know I was in and out of US (every three years).

[nicaa]

^ Thanks! I'll be alone in the immigration since my bf is US citizen. If they ask me if I'm travelling alone, should I say I'm travelling with my bf? Or travelling alone?