Immigration- how long will we wait, anything we should know?

[dreamisawish]

We will be going two weeks tomorrow! I've been through US immigration before, but when I was younger and within my family group where my parents did most of the talking, so I have a few questions;

- How long does immigration take on average at MCO? We are landing midday Monday, which I imagine is a busy day as its a lot of people's first day of holidays, but hopefully it'll be a bit less busy due to it being February.

- Has anyone been within the government shutdown? Has it been affecting wait times at immigration?

- What do they normally ask at immigration? Just so I'm prepared and have all my paperwork ready for them.

and lastly

- are they ok with two people going up to one officer at once even though we aren't related, or should we separate?

I know I'm overthinking, but I like to be prepared for all eventualities!

Any experiences, advice, etc. welcome!

[loldis]

Queueing time is completely pot luck, depending how many other international flights land at the same time, how many desks are open, etc etc. I've gotten through in minutes, and other times have had a very long wait. But because of the shutdown, I would be prepared for a longer wait than normal as they may have reduced desks.

You can go up together if you live together, but otherwise you should go to the desk separately. The family in front of us last time went up together but the eldest daughter had to step back as she wasn't living at home any more. It wasn't a big deal, they all (including the officer) had a bit of a laugh about it and then she went up on her own afterwards.

For questions, they typically ask you the purpose of your visit. I don't think I've been asked beyond that in recent years as they already have most of your information through ESTA and API. They might ask you to confirm some of those facts, I think the only one I've been asked to confirm is job. Although last time (not MCO, but it's the same procedure at every US airport) we were travelling in a group, and he asked me to point out the others as they were the reason for the (birthday) trip. Whole thing took about a minute.

Don't worry too much, it's all very straight forward.

[RickT]

For a normal passenger on a esta at the desk it takes about 2 or 3 minutes per person... Max 5 to 8 mins per family...

The queue to get to the desk can be anything from 5 mins to 90 mins.

[Trusty ian]

The ques are so variable, normally around a 20 min wait for us but last time was only 5 mins , only questions asked was " when was our last visit". As we had been the last year ,I assume all our details were still relevent and didn't have the finger prints or photos taken.
From the plane door to picking up our bags to getting car hire wasn't any more than 20mins. That's a record for us.
We were there when the shut down was in place, didn't seem to make any difference then. On return journey through security at mco there were huge ques but even then they doubled up on the there desks to get the ques moving quicker. No lack of staff ( than was 4th Jan)

[lizzie145]

I waited 2 hours last week:-( they had 3 planes to deal with
All quick when I got there - where was I staying, reason for visit etc. No fingerprint this time

[Kraken]

For the queue time at MCO immigration, the only answer is "how long is a piece of string?" You could be through in no time if your flight arrival does not clash with others. If 4 or 5 international flights all arrive close together, you could be held on the aircraft for anything up to an hour before you are allowed to disembark & join the long queue in the immigration hall.

Your flight can also be too early into MCO too. I've been on the VS75 (normally the first long-haul arrival in the afternoon wave) and we landed just after 14:30. Was off the plane fast and got to the immigration hall to find three desks open. One was for US Citizens & 2 for Visitors. It took close on half an hour to get through. As it got closer to 15:00 the next shift of immigration officers were arriving and logging on - albeit at a very leisurely pace & they were clearly not bothered about the queue.

It is possible that the US shutdown may mean fewer officers are on duty - but I've only read about the TSA (security officers) phoning in sick as they have not been paid, I don't think CBP (Immigration) have been affected - but am happy to be corrected.

[mick]

Originally Posted by Kraken

For the queue time at MCO immigration, the only answer is "how long is a piece of string?" You could be through in no time if your flight arrival does not clash with others. If 4 or 5 international flights all arrive close together, you could be held on the aircraft for anything up to an hour before you are allowed to disembark & join the long queue in the immigration hall.

Your flight can also be too early into MCO too. I've been on the VS75 (normally the first long-haul arrival in the afternoon wave) and we landed just after 14:30. Was off the plane fast and got to the immigration hall to find three desks open. One was for US Citizens & 2 for Visitors. It took close on half an hour to get through. As it got closer to 15:00 the next shift of immigration officers were arriving and logging on - albeit at a very leisurely pace & they were clearly not bothered about the queue.

It is possible that the US shutdown may mean fewer officers are on duty - but I've only read about the TSA (security officers) phoning in sick as they have not been paid, I don't think CBP (Immigration) have been affected - but am happy to be corrected.

See more...

Exactly this - anything between 15 minutes and 2 hours in our experience and as you say it's not just the few UK planes it's the dozens of other international flights that impact on immigration.

As I've said on here when answering this question maybe twenty odd times over the years - one thing I've learnt after 73 years on this planet is that there's no point in stressing about something over which you've no control.

Mick

[mick]

OP

Just to add a bit more to your other questions. Can't help on current government problems or going through with non-family members. With the customs forms it used to be in a relationship living at the same address but they may be a bit relaxed about that.

In respect of questions now that it seems that 99% of Dibbers aren't given the forms now and less and less use the automated kiosks (at MCO at least based on Dibber's responses) you will probably be asked about what food you have.

Maybe about a dozen times we've been asked when we last visited, how long are we visiting and where we are staying. About half a dozen times how many $ we have.

In around 16/17 post ESTA trips we've never been asked any ESTA questions.

Mick

[Thorpy]

To add to all of the above... anything we should know? Yes just follow instructions, and park any temptation for silliness or sense of humour until you're out the other side.

As for going up together, I would if you live together. In fact I would unless other wise instructed... presume to go together, but if told otherwise just go separate, and don't argue about it.

[mick]

Originally Posted by Thorpy

To add to all of the above... anything we should know? Yes just follow instructions, and park any temptation for silliness or sense of humour until you're out the other side.

As for going up together, I would if you live together. In fact I would unless other wise instructed... presume to go together, but if told otherwise just go separate, and don't argue about it.

See more...

Indeed. In all the times we've gone through US immigration I've never encountered a rude or aggressive officer. OK so they're not auditioning for a comedy role on "America's Got Talent" but they are doing a difficult job and, as you say, don't appreciate any smart Alec contributions from us.

Just be polite and confident in your responses and you should expect the same back.

Mick