Usual US Port of Entry Questions - Tourist

[mama squeak!]

Why do you ladies have to over think these things? It's just making you anxious, nervous, etc. As long as you have no plans of overstaying or going on TNT, no need to be afraid of these IOs. Kung bakasyon lang talaga ang sadya nyo then no reason na nerbyosin kayo kung tatanungin kayo kung ano purpose nyo sa pagpunta.

Remember the job of these IOs is to make sure legitimate ang purpose ng visit/entry nyo. Kung matanong sila, well that's their job. Meron at meron talagang rude ang dating but what can you do? As long as wala kang masamang gagawin, maski pa pagbaligtad-baligtadin ang tanong sa inyo, isa lang naman sasagot nyo, the truth! "I'll be visiting Disneyland" "I'm going shopping!" "I'll be visiting my long-lost relatives, whatever."

Unless meron ka pang ibang pakay then it will show (unless you're an inveterate liar) and the IOs are trained to spot inconsistencies and lies. Then that's the time to be afraid!

Chill lang! 

[m_lim]

^pero from my experience ha- nung sinabi ko na shopping talaga ang pinunta ko doon, dun pa ata ako napasama!

hubby ko was there for 2months (pinadala ng company nila for work so legal papers niya). aba! nung nalaman ng IO, sabi ba naman saken, bakit ko pa daw ni rason ang shopping, di ko nalang sinabi na bisitahin ko pala si hubby kaya ako pupunta doon.

eh sa loob loob ko, bakit ko naman siya bibisitahin kung pauwi narin naman siya. eh sa talagang shopping ang pinunta ko.

di nalang ako kumibo baka mayabangan pa saken. kainis!

[m_lim]

sabi ng hubby ko- baka kasi mukha kang walang pang shopping! LOL!

[aquacharly]

Actually tama si MAMASQUEAK.  kahit anong ka weirdohan sagot mo, basta confident ka, basta you stick to your guns kahit balikbaliktarin  ka --  no sweat, you will get in.  Nagsasalat lang sila -- kung ma rattle ka -- ayan, they will give you more attention.  Just tell the truth. 

There was 1 48-hr trip I made to LA - at ano daw gawin ko this time? I said, am here only for 48hrs to check on a vacated house, and to pick up my repaired Piaget.  End of interview but stamped  date 6mos away.   

Wala akong katakot takot sa Immigration nila.
1st I don't bring stuff that are prohibited. And  I no longer bring cash over $9999.
Mas  lalo wala ko balak TNT or overstay there kasi don ang papel ko: cleaner, cook, errand girl, Lavandera, baby sitter, driver, assembler of delivered furniture, etc.  --  ayoko ng buhay Total Performer.  Mas ok buhay Senyora dito, sungit pa ko.  Hahaha.   
If I get harassed at Customs --- I just ask: Are you discriminating against me?  SOS, Lolz, mabilis talaga ako pinalalabas. 

[mooncake and leaves]

^pero from my experience ha- nung sinabi ko na shopping talaga ang pinunta ko doon, dun pa ata ako napasama!

hubby ko was there for 2months (pinadala ng company nila for work so legal papers niya). aba! nung nalaman ng IO, sabi ba naman saken, bakit ko pa daw ni rason ang shopping, di ko nalang sinabi na bisitahin ko pala si hubby kaya ako pupunta doon.

eh sa loob loob ko, bakit ko naman siya bibisitahin kung pauwi narin naman siya. eh sa talagang shopping ang pinunta ko.

di nalang ako kumibo baka mayabangan pa saken. kainis!

maybe because it's unusual. imagine, going through all that trouble just to shop? kahit ako ang IO magtataka ako. IMO, if you were not detained/sent back, you were simply asked a bunch of questions, that's not exactly napasama. they don't like talking to you more than you guys do, you can bet on that. but they have to if something looks odd.

but i think it's normal to be nervous especially if it's your first time. know though that the US wants tourists. if you ask me, the hard part's over kasi once you've been granted your visa. what i think people who are traveling to the US soon really need to worry about are delays and cancellations, though i hear they're reconsidering the furloughs. but just to make sure-- wag ipit na ipit ang schedule, get travel insurance and make sure, if may connecting flights, get a long enough layover. at least until all this sequester crap has settled down.

[m_lim]

^siguro nga sis. kasi yan ang sinabi ng OI, ang haba daw ng biyahe ko para lang daw sa shopping. siguro taka siya bakit sa Chicago ang punta ko.

tama, dapat huwag ipit ang sched lalo pag may connecting.

sa tagal ng tanong saken, namiss ko connecting flight ko. kaya 7hours pako nag antay kasi nagkataon may storm that day. que horror!

[nicaa]

SIS NICAAAA. haha i was referring on my reserved ticket pla. but this time, sure na.. POE is LAX. i wish sa JFK na lang POE ko. I wish nalaman ko agad. Bigyan niyo naman ako lakas ng loob. hndi ba? rare lang naman yun na A-A? anxious na ako.. hindi ba strict sa LAX? what do you think? complicated ba? TIA 

Hindi sila matanong sa LAX A-A ka lang naman kapag may dala kang mga bawal na items like yung mga minention ni sis aquacharly.

[eldeluvio]

Hi!

I'm new to this site, and I've been following one thread, kaso when I wanted to reply there, it said na to consider posting a new thread because it had been more than 60 days na..

Ask ko lang ano mga experiences niyo travelling to the US? especially sa POE? It will be my third time to go there.. the first time was 2012, June to August, I visited my sister to see how she is and meet her fiance. The second was 2013, April to October, so almost 6 months, reason was, pinapunta ako ng maaga dahil nagpatulong sa akin ang ate ko mag run ng errands before her wedding in August.. and then after that, napatagal ako dun kasi after the wedding lang talaga kami nakalamyerda. I'll be going again last week of April til the last day of July, kasi her birthday is on the 27th so I wanna be there for that din.. masaya kasi magparty with her and her friends.

Dati I had no problem travelling and not be paranoid, kaso may mga nagbanggit sakin ng mga horror stories about being sent back.. May possibility ba na I will be sent back? I'm a freelance graphic designer, yung ang lagi kong sagot kung bakit ako nakakaalis for months ng walang trabahong naaagrabyado..wala naman silang reklamo about it (yung mga IO na nag interview sakin before).

Should I be worried the next time I fly back there? I love april kasi, Spring dun!

Thank you in advance!

[mulan-wushu]

january 2014, POE ko LAX yung IO na nagtatatak ng passport, tanong lang sa akin work at hanggang kelan ako magstay tas tatak na kagad. pero nung sa customs na, yung ibibgay mo yung papel sa mga ide-declare mo, in-interrogate pa ako na bakit daw ang tagal ko magstay, ano pangalan ng tutuluyan ko, ano ginagawa sa trabaho ko, todo interrogate to think na may tatak na passport ko at good to go na dapat ako. napagtripan yata ako kasi mag isa ko lang nagtravel.

[livia]

well im going back this april 28 and i spent 6 mos too last year ..i feel stressed but my second time around and im hoping it will go smoothly .. im thinking positive i'll be travelling alone too.. how about you @eldeluvio when are you going to america?

[livia]

@mulan-wushu is it your first time going in US last january?

[eldeluvio]

hi mga sis! so i just got to Philadelphia na, LAX is my POE... medyo mataray sakin yung immigrations kasi bakit daw ganun lang pera ko and three months! pero wala na siyang nagawa he let me in and gave me 6 months kahit bago ko makita passport ko sabi niya 3 months lang.

Don't worry livia. You'll be fine! sorry di kita ma-PM di pako pwede for pm's

[vain_kixie]

Tinanong kami ng hubby ko din how much cash we brought with us. Sabi ni hubby: umm 20 dollars. Ako ang dala ko lang loose coins mga 5 dollars in quarters (tira tira from the past) kaya di na ako sumagot. Wala naman talaga kaming dalang cash anong gagawin ko sa cash inside the plane diba. Sabi lang ni officer: that wont buy much. 6 months stamp on me. Hubby is US citizen so i lined up with him sa citizen lane. I thought they will grill me pero it was easier pa to enter with my hubby than me entering when i was still single (laging tinanong ako re boyfriend). This time all questions was for my hubby.

[mama squeak!]

^Ako naman I only had $8.00 cash, the rest credit cards na.

I just arrived SFO with my parents. Since electronic I-94 na we only had to accomplish the customs form, I am just wondering bakit hindi nag-stamp ng valid duration stay yung IO this time. Usually they stamp kung 3 or 6 months like when I arrived here last October lang. Not that we're planning to overstay but has anyone experienced this? First time it happened to me kasi.

[Kristalle]

Sabi di mahigpit sa SFO. I haven't been through that POE though. LAX lagi since we live in the LA county area. Oct. din me last year sis and stamped 6 mos. din sya. Ano kaya ibig sabihin nyang nangyari sayo, meron kaya? Are they testing people if they will overstay or what?

[mama squeak!]

My experience with SFO IOs mas mabait sila or should I say magaan ang feeling ko pagkausap sila. I've entered thru LAX, ORD and JFK (NYC being the recent one last Oct) pero madalas talaga ako sa SFO since that's where my family lives. Never pa naman ako nasungitan or na-grill in all the POEs I mentioned, I guess one's travel records/history help a lot. And syempre one's positive and confident demeanor din pagkaharap na sila.

I don't know lang if it's a new thing now. I checked my parents' passports and the IO only wrote down their US visa numbers and when they were issued on their entry stamps. Sa akin as in entry stamp lang and nothing else. I'm pretty sure though everything's recorded electronically but I find it surprising lang na the validity stay wasn't stamped.

[theflygirl]

Ours naman was stamped till Oct... We entered April 15. Yes, same feeling here. Easy lang pag sa SFO. The only other POE I've tried before was SEA but I don't remember the proceedings as I was still a young kid back then. Nitong last entry namin at SFO, just the usual "are you going to Disneyland?" question cos I've all my 4 kids with me.  To which I answered, no plans yet. Haha. (but we did end up doing a road trip to Anaheim) And my young ones making kulit asking the IO how come their fingerprints weren't taken. He just laughed and explained to them clearly the age cut off and all.

[dulcette]

question,

i want to get roundtrip tickets for a two-week stay (just to make things believable sa immigration) -- though i don't really know how long i'd be staying, it could take up to 5 or 6 months para di naman sayang yung stay ko.

how much would it cost to have that return flight rebooked? and if i plan on rebooking, kaya kaya ng 5 months after the flight date? i have no experience re: rebooking, always been on time w/ my flights

[xtine]

^Depende sa type of ticket you will purchase and depends also on the airline, merong + rebooking fee then you have to pay for the difference if let's say your new flight date is much expensive than the previous one.  There's another fee which is the service fee.

Try to do mock booking sa airlines, meron din doon fine print as to magkano ang fees na pwede nila icharge sayo, different airlines and ticket conditions can be a factor kung may babayaran or wala.

[dulcette]

^ but dont i have to pay the base fare again? planning on flying korea or china air -- yung mga international flights kasi sa cebpac they charge ulet yung base fare + rebooking + surcharges