flying to US from dublin airport

MadsL

popepaisley1 wrote: »

would it take long to drive to the grand canyon? thinking of driving there and flying back to san francisco where our flight departs two weeks after our arrival

800 miles. Welcome to the West.

theyearof2010

Stheno wrote: »

Yes

No. Not all flights are cleared. As far as I am aware, usually the evening Boston/NY flights in the high season are not subject to pre-clearance in Dublin.

MadsL

popepaisley1 wrote: »

san francisco for a few days then in a car and heading south. no plans made. we only booked the holiday last friday week. we got married last friday so we haven't had much time think about what we want to do. id like to drive to the grand canyon but im thinking thats a bit ambitious. we'll see what happens

You have an unbelievably patient wife.

Eutow

popepaisley1 wrote: »

thought we were leaving in loads of time!! good job we read the ticket. im just to used to flying with ryanair where you can breeze up to the gate 5 mins before departure

You have obviously not flown on a plane for at least thirteen years.

Nelly 21

Ah-Watch wrote: »

Sorry to hijack this but are all flights from T2 to USA pre cleared in Dublin, I'm not flying until July so haven't read up on it. Last year I had to fly to Heathrow first so was out of T1 that I flew and then had to clear customs and immigration or whatever in Chicago. Congrats on honeymoon and have a brilliant holiday !

I think if u fly from dub to the us via Europe you clear emigration in the US. We flew dub to NY last year Via london and cleared emigration in NY

Agent Smith

Who's taking odds on them making the flight?

scudzilla

Agent Smith wrote: »

Who's taking odds on them making the flight?

What odds will ya give me on them being on the front page of a national newspaper at some point this week :pac::pac:

ted1

Agent Smith wrote: »

Who's taking odds on them making the flight?

HaHa i just logged on to see if they made it... i have serious doubts

rockonollie

irishfeen wrote: »

Flying the exact same route later this summer - knew US Customs would be strict but 3-4 hrs before departure :eek: ... best of luck OP hopefully your plans workout.

Clearing in Dublin does add time before your departure......but it beats the alternative.

They say 3-4 hours because at times, there can be up to an hour and a half wait to get through pre-clearance (add in check in wait, security and being at your gate 30 minutes early and it could add up to 3-4 hours).........but we're lucky.....it can take up to 4 hours to get processed state-side for folks unfortunate enough to fly from countries that don't have pre-clearance.

rockonollie

theyearof2010 wrote: »

No. Not all flights are cleared. As far as I am aware, usually the evening Boston/NY flights in the high season are not subject to pre-clearance in Dublin.

It's true.....Homeland security staff are only on duty in Dublin until lunch time.....not sure of the exact cut-off....but any flights past 1 or 2pm don't clear in Dublin

bee06

Snickers Man wrote: »

Hope it keeps well for you. US immigration officials? Basically think of the most obnoxious, self important, unreasonable, my-way-or-the-highway nightclub doorman you've ever met, multiply it by a thousand and you're still nowhere close. Give an otherwise unemployable cheeseburger arse a job with a little bit of power and watch it go to their head.

Been to the US many times in my young life but am unlikely ever to put myself through the pride-swallowing zero-guarantee lottery of dealing with their gruesome DHS/immigration people ever again.

Horrible people.

Nice when you get there though. Mostly.

I've always found them to be grand. Had great banter with the guy the last time I went to the NY.

coylemj

Snickers Man wrote: »

Hope it keeps well for you. US immigration officials? Basically think of the most obnoxious, self important, unreasonable, my-way-or-the-highway nightclub doorman you've ever met, multiply it by a thousand and you're still nowhere close. Give an otherwise unemployable cheeseburger arse a job with a little bit of power and watch it go to their head.

Been to the US many times in my young life but am unlikely ever to put myself through the pride-swallowing zero-guarantee lottery of dealing with their gruesome DHS/immigration people ever again.

Horrible people.

Nice when you get there though. Mostly.

I can't believe that I have been to the same country about 6 times and don't agree with one word of that commentary. I have always found them to be at worst impersonal and dull and at best over-friendly like the lady I met the last time I passed through US Immigration in Dublin - "c'mon honey, give us a big smile for the camera" she said as I stood at the line for my photo!

But never aggressive or objectionable.

Americans have a different attitude when dealing with officials in uniform, maybe it's because nearly everyone in uniform in the US carries a gun, maybe it's how they're brought up but they tend in all cases to address police and Govt. officials in uniform as 'sir' or 'ma'am'. We Irish tend to nod our heads and grunt instead of giving decisive and polite responses to questions and this doesn't go down well in certain quarters.

clairefontaine

coylemj wrote: »

I can't believe that I have been to the same country about 6 times and don't agree with one word of that commentary. I have always found them to be at worst impersonal and dull and at best over-friendly like the lady I met the last time I passed through US Immigration in Dublin - "c'mon honey, give us a big smile for the camera" she said as I stood at the line for my photo!

But never aggressive or objectionable.

Americans have a different attitude when dealing with officials in uniform, maybe it's because nearly everyone in uniform in the US carries a gun, maybe it's how they're brought up but they tend in all cases to address police and Govt. officials in uniform as 'sir' or 'ma'am'. We Irish tend to nod our heads and grunt instead of giving decisive and polite responses to questions which doesn't go down well in certain quarters.

I have always found immigration to be very courteous.

TSA on the other hand......

coylemj

clairefontaine wrote: »

I have always found immigration to be very courteous.

TSA on the other hand......

True, some of them tend to bark orders at you but it's just something you have to put up with and you can get little Hitlers doing security in any airport in any country.

The biggest thing to remember in the US is that you normally do not get a second go at the airport scanner so if the alarm goes off, expect to be called forward and frisked, you do not get to take off that watch that you forgot about and allowed to have another go. If you start to walk backwards through the scanner to have another go, some of the TSA people get very upset.

owenc

popepaisley1 wrote: »

booking bus tickets now. still have to pack!! not even booked a hotel yet

Thats a bit mad to be honest...

ProudDUB

Snickers Man wrote: »

Hope it keeps well for you. US immigration officials? Basically think of the most obnoxious, self important, unreasonable, my-way-or-the-highway nightclub doorman you've ever met, multiply it by a thousand and you're still nowhere close. Give an otherwise unemployable cheeseburger arse a job with a little bit of power and watch it go to their head.

Been to the US many times in my young life but am unlikely ever to put myself through the pride-swallowing zero-guarantee lottery of dealing with their gruesome DHS/immigration people ever again.

Horrible people.

Nice when you get there though. Mostly.

This has to be one of the silliest, most over the top statements that I have ever read on here. Methinks the poster has a chip on his shoulder about the US, or authority figures in general and is using this thread to try to scare people. It is in poor taste imo, when all most people on here, are trying to do here is plan a bog standard holiday in American.

Given that tens of thousands of Irish people travel to the US every year on holidays and J1's and business trips, with zero worry or hassle from the USCIS folks, I wouldn't be holding my breath that any one will pay any serious attention to his ridiculous post.

iusedtoknow

ProudDUB wrote: »

This has to be one of the silliest, most over the top statements that I have ever read on here. Methinks the poster has a chip on his shoulder about the US, or authority figures in general and is using this thread to try to scare people. It is in poor taste imo, when all most people on here, are trying to do here is plan a bog standard holiday in American.

Given that tens of thousands of Irish people travel to the US every year on holidays and J1's and business trips, with zero worry or hassle from the USCIS folks, I wouldn't be holding my breath that any one will pay any serious attention to his ridiculous post.

I have found USCIS usually pretty nice. I entered the country 10 times last year and was through in under 5 minutes each time, they were polite and were just doing their jobs, more often there was some small talk while they took care of what they had to do. I had one bad experience out of all my time in and out of the states both as a holiday maker and now as a visa holder, and that was entering from Mexico over the busiest land crossing in the US.
I'm currently in Europe, traveling on my EU passport, and getting in via France was interesting. He should have just looked at my passport and waved me through, instead I got a lot of questions why I as an Irish person was flying from the US via Paris to Poland.

owenc

As a matter of interest. Why do you have to be at the airport so early?

iusedtoknow

owenc wrote: »

As a matter of interest. Why do you have to be at the airport so early?

When you are going to the US from Dublin it is one line after another. All the transatlantic flights leave around the same time (within a couple of hours of each other, so probably at a guess around 3000 people a day) and they now all pre-clear at Dublin airport

1. Line up at checkin where they check your passport, that you have ESTA
2. Line up to go through normal airport security (can be a nightmare in DUB)
3. Line up to go through Immigration and Customs (Can take upto 45 minutes depending on how many booths they have open)
4. Line up for secondary security (can take up to 45 minutes, there are only 2 lines to process loads of people)

owenc

That seems exhausting. We are going to book our flight to Florida and it will be leaving at 9am.

We are flying at the end of June. We have never flown from Dublin airport so we will be excited to see how it is.

So is it basically constant moving through lines and security? When we flew to America from Belfast we just checked in and then went to the secure area and we just sat there for 2 hours. We didn't really do anything.

So really for a 9am flight at the end of June you'd need to be leaving the hotel room at 5am. Oh dear lord that is so early and exhausting especially when America is 5 hours behind and you have all that flying ahead of you!:rolleyes:

Is the immigration easy to get through? I am turned 18 so this will be the first time that I have gone through immigration myself and i'm terrified? I entered the Green card lottery just for the fun of it, what do I say about that or do I just not mention it? I'm kind of hoping I don't have to mention it, I don't want the stress of going into another room and being questioned etc.

iusedtoknow

owenc wrote: »

That seems exhausting. We are going to book our flight to Florida and it will be leaving at 9am.

We are flying at the end of June. We have never flown from Dublin airport so we will be excited to see how it is.

So is it basically constant moving through lines and security? When we flew to America from Belfast we just checked in and then went to the secure area and we just sat there for 2 hours. We didn't really do anything.

So really for a 9am flight at the end of June you'd need to be leaving the hotel room at 5am. Oh dear lord that is so early and exhausting especially when America is 5 hours behind and you have all that flying ahead of you!:rolleyes:

Is the immigration easy to get through? I am turned 18 so this will be the first time that I have gone through immigration myself and i'm terrified? I entered the Green card lottery just for the fun of it, what do I say about that or do I just not mention it? I'm kind of hoping I don't have to mention it, I don't want the stress of going into another room and being questioned etc.

I would say that you should aim to be checking in by 6. It'll ease the stress of all the moving.

Immigration is as easy as YOU make it. I breeze through, as I just shut up, if he asks a question, answer it directly and wait for further direction. Last time I came through Dublin, a muck savage strolled up to the desk, put his arms on the desk and said "how'ra boss" and taken to secondary inspections. Not the way to do it.

When you get to the desk, just say hello, hand him your passport and he'll take care of the rest. Do not volunteer any information, just answer what they ask. They will probably just ask you about your plans, if you have enough money to last the trip and what you'll be doing when you return (Work/college) etc. You'll then be fingerprinted and they'll take a photo of you. You will also be required to identify your bag on a video screen.

After you go through there, there is another security line which is sort of a bottle neck. TBH, this is what usually takes me the most time.

owenc

Ok, so don't mention it then?

My mum kind of said the same thing, just to answer the questions that they ask.

Can you not just go up as a family?

bee06

owenc wrote: »

Ok, so don't mention it then?

My mum kind of said the same thing, just to answer the questions that they ask.

Can you not just go up as a family?

Say nothing other than what they ask you. It's not a big deal for most people really. I've been to the states 5 times (4 by myself) and gone through the process here and in the states and never had a problem. They've never asked me about work or how much money I have either.

lil_lisa

Clearing immigration is soooo much easier on Dublin side than it is on the US side. If you have to clear immigration on the US side you could see 10 times the size of lines. And, after a 5,6,7,8 hour flight, that's the last thing you want to deal with. Its ridiculously nice to get off the plane and just walk into the country with no further passport checks, especially if you have a connecting flight.

AFAIK, families can/should step up to the immigration officer together.

Unless they specifically ask you about the lottery (and there is a 99% chance they won't) you don't have to mention it. Hundreds of people who have entered probably cross their path every week.

Engine No.9

Just out of interest, where is the official site for the visa lottery located? HUNDREDS of bogus ones out there.

lil_lisa

You can check your status (and enter when available) at: www.dvlottery.state.govhttps://www.dvlottery.state.gov/ and find out more information at: http://travel.state.gov/content/visas/english/immigrate/diversity-visa.html.

Note that anything official you read should either be on a .gov website or linked from a .gov website. Almost anything else (yes, even boards.ie ) is not 100% trustworthy and no immigration officer/court will even consider it as anything official.

ProudDUB

owenc wrote: »

Ok, so don't mention it then?

My mum kind of said the same thing, just to answer the questions that they ask.

You're not going for a few drinks down the pub with your mates. The immigration official will decide what you talk about, not you. If he asks you about the green card application, answer his questions truthfully and honestly. If a simple yes or no will suffice, that is all you need to say. Don't complicate things by volunteering up unnecessary information about topics that he hasn't asked you about.

Nelly 21

A lot of the immigration officials don't tolerate any bull! You go up hand your passport and say hello..... thats all. We went over last year and a lady in front of us was given a hard time but she did way too much talking and laughing.... he kept her ages and wasn't very pleasant to her. We went up to him and were there like 2 minutes with him. He asked the basic questions, business or pleasure, what do you work at, when were we last in the US....... enjoy your trip. They'll take your prints on a machine and get you to look into a camera and indenify a pic of your luggage.... thats that!

Don't initiate conversation and just answer your questions. Also family members can go up together. Myself and my husband went one year with my father in law and we all went to the desk together..

Touch wood, I've never had a bad experience with immigration people:)

owenc

Yes thats fine. I'll just do that then, it was basically the same as that the last time at Newark.

athtrasna

owenc wrote: »

That seems exhausting. We are going to book our flight to Florida and it will be leaving at 9am.

We are flying at the end of June. We have never flown from Dublin airport so we will be excited to see how it is.

So is it basically constant moving through lines and security? When we flew to America from Belfast we just checked in and then went to the secure area and we just sat there for 2 hours. We didn't really do anything.

So really for a 9am flight at the end of June you'd need to be leaving the hotel room at 5am. Oh dear lord that is so early and exhausting especially when America is 5 hours behind and you have all that flying ahead of you!:rolleyes:

Is the immigration easy to get through? I am turned 18 so this will be the first time that I have gone through immigration myself and i'm terrified? I entered the Green card lottery just for the fun of it, what do I say about that or do I just not mention it? I'm kind of hoping I don't have to mention it, I don't want the stress of going into another room and being questioned etc.

The plus side is you can sleep on the plane!! Terminal 2 is well set up for pre-clearance but you'd definitely want to be in the airport by 6am. It's probably the busiest time for pre-clearance & security. Yes it's early but surely your holiday is worth it BTW America isn't five hours behind us, the East Coast is...there are multiple time zones across the US.