When entering the US on an international flight, and then on to a connecting domestic flight, what is the exact order of the process that will take place? In other words, what happens first, second, third, etc.?
102452
I have secured a visa for the US, be it an ESTA or another visa requiring me to go for an interview. My understanding is that obtaining a visa for the US does not guarantee me entry into the country. Rather, :  Entering the United States A visa allows a foreign citizen to travel to a U.S. port-of-entry (generally an airport) and request permission to enter the United States. A visa does not guarantee entry into the United States. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS), U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials at the port-of-entry have authority to permit or deny admission to the United States. If you are allowed to enter the United States, the CBP official will provide an admission stamp or a paper Form I-94, Arrival/Departure Record.  What happens once I arrive in one such port-of-entry? Will I have to go through customs checks? Will I have to talk to an immigration officer explaining my reasons for visiting the US? What documentation, if any, should I bring? Is the documentation I brought for the interview enough? What if I did not attend an interview since it was not required (for example if I obtained an ESTA online)?
93130
I'm flying this week on Southwest Airlines for the first time. I paid for "Early Bird" automatic checkin and the FAQ mentions something about "A" boarding passes. I have no idea what that means, and I know that Southwest doesn't have assigned seats.  How does the boarding process work and is there anything I should be aware of?
12925
I will be travelling from Udaipur to Bangalore via connecting flights. My first flight will land in Mumbai at 8:15 AM and the second one will depart from Mumbai at 8:45 AM. Both are Jet Airways flights.   Actually these tickets have been provided to me by my employer. I shared my concern with them that the layover time is very short, and the chances of missing flights are high. But they are saying that Jet Airways will make sure that I make it to the second flight. But still I have my doubts.   Can you please tell me if this is a fine arrangement. Thanks in advance.
9391
I am flying from New Orleans to Dulles (IAD) on United Express, and from IAD to Frankfurt on United. I have a short connection (45 minutes) in IAD.   I'm trying to figure out how can I make it:  Will I need to go throughout security and border check since I'm leaving the US? How big is IAD airport? and are there different terminals for domestic and international flights? If so, how long would it take to walk between them?
102838
I noticed for a particular round-trip that the portion from the east coast to the west was scheduled to take over an hour longer than the return trip.  I initially thought this was a mistake due to time zone or daylight-savings time oddities, but that does not appear to be the case.  I know there are a number of variables that can affect flight time (type of jet, winds, even potentially rotation of the Earth itself), so I was wondering if this sort of thing is typical.  This particular instance happens to use the same model plane for both trips and is non-stop, so most factors seem to be controlled for aside from east-west vs. west-east.  Is the longer flight a good candidate to arrive early (or is the shorter flight a good candidate to arrive late)?  Edit: I recognize from  that winds are likely to be the dominant factor, but that still does not answer my question.  I'm specifically asking about the USA and I don't know what sorts of winds are typical (or whether or not it depends largely on southwest vs. northwest, etc.).
112791
I've travelled a lot.  Living in New Zealand or the UK means anywhere is likely a flight, but I've always flown economy.  Twice between LA and Auckland I managed to get the exit row after talking nicely to the check-in girl, but apart from that, nothing.  I've spoken to ticket agents, tried 'check in chicken' (where you wait until the last minute before checking in, hoping there's an overbooking of economy) but have never managed to get an upgrade, while others I know seemingly get them quite often.  What strategy have you used or do you suggest to achieve this?  My next flight is from Melbourne to Tokyo, and I plan on trying all of these ;)  (Related questions on  and  upgrades)
93599
I will be flying from Asheville, NC to Newark with a 2 1/2 hours layover before boarding United airlines to Dublin, Ireland.    Will I need to go through security again?  I will not have checked baggage.  I am an older woman with a bit of difficulty walking.  What is the easiest way to get from one terminal to another?
112609
Persons on the US no-fly list are not only unable to fly to the US (obviously), but to board a flight which might enter US airspace e.g. in an emergency. Is there any way or online resource to find out which flight paths particular flights use, and which flight paths have or do not have the potential to be redirected to US airspace?   Edit for clarification: Thank you all for the resources. I am specifically looking for flights (or information on flights) which will not enter US airspace including (to the extent foreseeable) on an emergency basis. I am assuming that whether or not a flight will or might enter US airspace is foreseeable and part of the organization of commercial flight-paths?
88971
I will soon travel to the US for the first time.  I am not a US citizen, but I will travel together with one.  We will land in ATL and then proceed to a connecting flight. I know I will have to clear customs in ATL.  My ESTA application has been approved, but I read that since I never have travelled to the US before, I will have to clear immigration through a old-fashioned booth with a immigration officer, and I won't be able to use the electronic kiosks.  As my travel companion is a citizen, they'll not be subject to this restriction.  What is the best course of action? Should they queue with me, or should we proceed our separate ways?  I'd like to proceed together, but I don't know if it is allowed.
8834
My flight will arrive Newark at 19:49 Terminal C and my connectiong internation flight will start at 20:35 Terminal C. There is no change in terminal, I just have to change the plane. Is this enough to manage? I am worried because layover is just 45 mins.
41712
Getting on a flight seems to be so inefficient.  I can understand allowing first class on first and their platinum class/silverstar/etc members.  They are loyal members and allowing the few individuals who meet this criteria on first seems fine since it is only a small group of individuals.  But then there is a total breakdown in the system.  First, they do it by group.  But whatever group you may be doesn't really have any bearing on where you sit.  In addition, everyone clumps up near the counter. Then before everyone on the flight has stowed their luggage, they call the next group, which leads to people being stuck in the jet bridge. If there was an emergency in the jet bridge that didn't allow people to travel back to the terminal, it would seem so much worse compared to having most people in the terminal or airplane already.  My question is, why do airports and airline companies do this?  Have there been studies that show this method is superior to doing it by row?  My assumption would be filling the plane from the back to front would be the best method. This way there is no delay for passengers to be seated quickly.  Everyone in the back is putting their bags away which doesn't hinder others from getting to their seat, since people getting on would always be farther forward then those who have already boarded. And it would prevent people from clumping around the terminal door.
8847
I was just wondering if you have two passports (a Chinese one and an Australian one), and you booked your airline ticket with the Chinese one, will you have to show both of your passports or just one?  The thing is, on my Chinese passport, it has my birth name, but then when I became an Australian citizen, I legally removed my Chinese name and replaced it with my English name. So I don't know whether I should just show the passport officials the one that I booked the airline ticket with.
38560
A flight I was flying on 24th December was delayed in 3 steps, initially 1 hour, then an additional 55 min followed by an additional 15 min.   The last delay occurred 5 minutes before the departure time post the 55 min delay.    Was I entitled to anything for this or not?  This was for flight AI 951 from Hyderabad to Dubai  (possibly irrelevant info follows)  When I received the notification for the 2nd delay, I asked if refreshments would be provided (to avoid buying the insanely priced airport food) and was told to wait near the gate where they will announce the refreshments. 1 hr 40 min into the delay they said they won't provide anything since the delay is less than 2 hours, and I couldn't really go and buy anything at this time since it would have been only 15 min before departure.   When the additional 15 min delay was announced, they said that there is not enough time to arrange for refreshments and hence will not be providing them.    The primary reason I ask is if I should or should not expect refreshments to appear in such situations in the future…  It wasn't pleasant being hungry for so long.
61682
Hopefully a quick question - I am a US citizen currently residing in the UK on a visa. I am traveling to the US for 2 weeks with my wife, who is a British citizen. We do not yet share a last name (due to just not filing the paperwork yet and just being married recently).  She does not have any visas apart from the standard ESTA and there are no other further requirements, such as money, which we would need to worry about.  I've read online that since we are a family we should join the same line together when coming into the US border at the airport. However, because we don't share a last name, would this still apply? Should we just use our own appropriate lines? Would there be any issues with using our own lines?  If we do use one line only, which line?  US citizen or non-US?
63638
I am not a frequent traveler but it's been like this with all the flights I have been on. Here is the most recent example:  Below is my boarding pass    As you can see Gate Closes at 20:20  Here is the departures board at 18:32, clearly it says that they will announce the boarding gate at 20:10  ?!    I was hoping they will do that earlier but at 19:41 it's still the same    In fact they announced it at 20:11 but since I was freaking out and had to leg it to the gate I didn't have the time to take a photo.  You might think 9 minutes is enough, well below are the times required to reach the gates from the closest place to them     And that's for a healthy young person, no way my grandmother could be able to be at the gates within 9 minutes.  Is there a specific reason? it's not like they allocate the gate dynamically! The staff must have known about the gate hours ago as I don't expect the pilot to drive the airplane from the garage to the gate within 9 minutes?
114237
I am flying from Los Angeles to Bangalore. I have a flight option from LAX to Minneapolis and from there to Paris. I have only 45 minutes at Minneapolis before my next flight. Is this too risky a schedule? I am not an American, so I guess I would need to cross emigration too?
24111
I am arriving from Frankfurt(FRA) to Newark(EWR) and I must pass the Customs and Border Control before catching the next flight to Baltimore (BWI). Both flight are on the same ticket by United Airlines (UA51 and UA4775)   Is 2 hours and 45 minutes enough time to catch the next plane, or do I have to expect longer waiting times and should go for a different route? I'll be traveling before the AirTrain starts operating. What is the best way to get from Terminal B to C?  I have heard that there is a transfer shuttle bus that connects the terminals such that you don't need to leave security area. What is the schedule for this bus? I'm not sure about the procedure for arriving from abroad. As far as I understood, I'll need to:  Collect my check-in luggage  Pass border control and customs (Immigration) Transfer from Terminal B to C Check my luggage into Domestic Flight Go through Security Check    Is there a way to optimize this procedure to save time? Can I re-check my luggage in terminal B?  What are my options if I miss the connection? Just go to the UA counter and ask to reserve the next possible flight?