Usual US Port of Entry Questions - Tourist

[aquacharly]

The only question asked last Wed. (JFK):   How long will you be staying here ?

[gripfast]

I remember yung last time andun ako (2008).

IO: hi! how are you?
me: Good sir, you?
IO: Not bad! not bad! oh, don't call me sir. makes me feel old. hehe So, where will you be staying here in LA?
me: Carson with my aunt.
IO: any plans of travelling around Cali?
me: yup! I'll be in LA for 2 weeks then I'll fly to San Jose to be with my other aunt and my grandma. Just in time for Halloween and Thanksgiving.
IO: You know Thanksgiving?
me: of course! turkey, stuffings, cranberry sauce, airport hassles (sabay tawa) and black friday sale!
IO: hahahaha Black Friday Sale it is. oh well, have fun! (bigay ng passport)
me: Thank you sir!
IO: no sir!
me: ooops! Sorry...

The IO was young. Ka-age ko lang yata sya eh.

Oh, by the way...my check-in luggage was questioned because of...tadaaaa...Argentina Corned Beef! hehe my friend kasi asked if I could bring some for him so I did. Buti na lang isang pinoy yung nasa may X-ray machine dun, sabi na lang nya...It's Filipino corned beef. It's different from what we have here. Ayun, pinatuloy na ako.

[nicaa]

^ Minsan it helps noh pag may nattyempuhan kang pinoy. Mga 3x na pala ako naka encounter ng half pinoy na IO at magkaibang POE pa yun (SFO and Honolulu). Minsan nagssabi pa sila about sa life nila nung nasa Phils pa sila like yung isang IO na foreign-looking pero pinoy pala, kwinento pa kung san sya nagaral sa Phils at san sya nakatira, nakakatuwa sya. Pero minsan ha yung pinoys pa dun ang strict dahil alam nila yung ibang gawain ng pinoys na nagpupuslit ng stuff from pinas.

[showermist]

hi! ask ko lang may alam na ba kayo na airport to airport? anong reason?

Pinsan kong lalaki na A to A. Tourist visa sya. Hanggang ngayon he wouldn't tell us what really happened. Pero may Hinala ako--it's about the money Hahaha

[un1z]

^ san ang POE nya sis?

[showermist]

^ LA. Nangyari Lang Ito not too long ago.

[un1z]

wow. kakaintriga naman ang reason sa A to A nya. kase di naman ganun kahigpit sa LA diba.

[lakwatsa]

^^money meaning madami syang dala tapos di nya ni-declare? or wala syang dalang enough?

may nakwento sa kin dati friend ko, yun relative daw nya na A to A pero kasi nag TNT daw yun dati tapos nag work dun so nun bumalik sya nakita sa records tapos ayun 10 yrs yatang ban sa US.

[showermist]

^ it's not really hinala--poor choice of word, sorry-- na pera ang dahilan, i overheard it from a relative who partly contributed pera na its about the money.

the province where he came from din kasi eh nasa watchlist sa mga nagti-TNT.

oo, binalak kasi syang pag TNT-en. buti nga nahuli. hahahhah

he didn't act and dress the part ng isang turista.

[andee_gurl]

Mga sisses,

Question po, I will be leaving for US this December, finally got approved of a US visa. My question is what if I don't have credit cards? Will debit cards/USD cash be enough? Mga 1k USD na pocket money for 2-3 weeks stay okay na ba yun o konti lang? I will be staying at my sister's place naman kasi for the duration of the trip so less expenses sa food and accomodation.

[vain_kixie]

What I like about US IO's is that parang nakikipag chikahan lang sila pero they are already trying to know your profile and squeeze in info from you.

Okay na yan andee_gurl since super useful naman ang credit cards sa states. Basta yung 1k hindi kasama shopping money. Just use your credit card. When I travel I dont take too much cash and just swipe my cards. That way I will be able to track my expenses too.

[matchykoi]

Wow, ngayon lang ulit ako nakabisita. Sorry po. It's MNL- ICN- LA pala. then overnight lang ako sa LA then off to texas. Its for my cousin's wedding. Pag tinanong ng IO, purpose of my visit- will it be better to say "for my cousin's wedding" or "vacation"? Tapos, may 500 dollars ako.is that enough for a three week vacation or ququestionin din ako? Salamat po

[vain_kixie]

Just say 500 in cash and credit cards. They wouldn't really check naman how much money you have unless 10k usd yan. They will question you if you have so much not if you have less.

[matchykoi]

Thanks! And will it be better if sabihin ko na purpose ko ay vacation rather than my cousin's wedding? Ok lang kung isang credit card? salamat po!

[vain_kixie]

Sis chill ka lang. Don't worry they wont check your wallet unless nga may 10k usd kang dala. hehe. Just tell them the truth, you'll attend your cousins wedding and vacation after.


Mabait naman sila eh. Parang nakikipag chikahan lang sila. Though mas matanong sa first timers pero mabait parin.

[matchykoi]

Nakakaparanoid kasi. pero at least nacheck ko tong thread. Salamat!

[vain_kixie]

I completely understand. Ako kahit ilang beses na my heart still pounds pero I try to relax and tell myself "hindi naman ako mag TTNT bakit ako matatakot". I try to be as casual as I could. I say hi, good evening. how are you? sa NYC POE ako dati. Walang tanong. How are you lang din sagot niya. Tapos stamp na siya, gave me six months.

Yung mom ko nga 57 years old na, laging "Im going to disneyland" ang sagot.

Ready mo lang yung ticket mo for coming back. Nung first time ko i remember, they asked for that eh. Pero never give any documents until asked. Parang sa embassy lang, pero for me mas mabait ang aura ng IO sa POE.

Enjoy shopping in the US sis! Aabot ka ba ng thanksgiving? LAX pala point of entry mo. Haba ng pila!! Ang favorite na tanong sakin dyan sa LAX is asan ang boyfriend ko. lol checking if I will marry in the states.

[matchykoi]

Ang cute ng mom m0! disneyland. Hihi! Nope, mukhang di na ako aabot. Pero trick or treat makakahabol ako. Haha!

[miss_o]

mga sis musta naman mga io sa o'hare airport sa chicago? first time kasi namin ni hubby na dun ang poe namin..

[mama squeak!]

^My POE last May was at ORD. I didn't have any problems naman. Ang natapatan kong IO was a young white guy. Two questions lang tinanong sa akin ng IO: how long was my stay and where I was working. That was also my first time to enter thru Chicago. I usually go through either LAX or SFO.