New York City - EWR Terminal C Customs Times on Mondays (BOG-EWR)

I will be flying in from the weekend special in Bogota this Monday at 3:55 PM. As I have a meeting in Central Jersey at 6:30 PM, I am wondering what types of lines I should expect.

Thankfully, I am traveling without any checked bags, so I can just bypass the baggage carousels. Although I am guessing my 36-hour to visit in itself may warrant additional questions from customs.

By the way, anyone else going on the weekend special?

I've taken that flight a handful of times and there's never been a long wait at Customs.

I don't think a 36-hour visit is that strange, in the realm of things. "Cheap ticket, and I needed to pick up some frequent flier miles."

They don't care considering the number of business travelers and folks with family somewhere. You may find a rookie who cares but the rest ask a few random question to see if you are nervous or uncomfortable and let you through.

You mention your flight is arriving in Terminal C. Just as a word if caution, there is a chance your flight could also arrive into Terminal B. While this matters little to you, as you are not connecting onward, I wanted to bring it to your attention. Decisions on Arrival Terminals are usually made between 60-90 minutes before arrival, based on numbers of other arriving flights.

Regardless, I would say customs/immigration processing times usually run 30-60 minutes for US Passport Holders in Terminal B 30-45 for Terminal C, and 60-120 minutes for non-US Passport Holders in Terminal B, 45-90 for Terminal C.

So a bit of an update!

Our flight was the only one that was in Customs at the time. I picked 7D ahead of time, so I was the first one in economy off the plane. Within a few steps, I was ahead of the first class passengers on the way to customs. Passed through the first round with no problem (the officer thought it was cool that I only went for a day, spent only a bit of money and airmiles, and was one country closer to my goal of 30 before 30).

However, since I only traveled with a backpack (I was only in Bogota for 36 hours), I was subjected to a longer round of questioning when trying to leave the baggage claim area. I was taken into a side room and met with a third Customs officer who first asked if I had ever been arrested before and proceeded to ask if I knew how much of a drug smuggling capital Bogota was. He laughed when I said I have seen enough episodes of "Locked Up Abroad" and the "US Customs" show to know how bad of an idea that is. I even said they could go through my bag. I guess that was enough for him and he let me go, but after describing why it was suspicious I was traveling so lightly.

Thankfully, I still made my meeting, and left with a better understanding of how nerve-wracking a job they must have.

Thanks for the update :) - glad everything worked out, even with the questioning session.

So a bit of an update!

Our flight was the only one that was in Customs at the time. I picked 7D ahead of time, so I was the first one in economy off the plane. Within a few steps, I was ahead of the first class passengers on the way to customs. Passed through the first round with no problem (the officer thought it was cool that I only went for a day, spent only a bit of money and airmiles, and was one country closer to my goal of 30 before 30).

However, since I only traveled with a backpack (I was only in Bogota for 36 hours), I was subjected to a longer round of questioning when trying to leave the baggage claim area. I was taken into a side room and met with a third Customs officer who first asked if I had ever been arrested before and proceeded to ask if I knew how much of a drug smuggling capital Bogota was. He laughed when I said I have seen enough episodes of "Locked Up Abroad" and the "US Customs" show to know how bad of an idea that is. I even said they could go through my bag. I guess that was enough for him and he let me go, but after describing why it was suspicious I was traveling so lightly.

Thankfully, I still made my meeting, and left with a better understanding of how nerve-wracking a job they must have.



My suggestion: sign up for GlobalEntry (http://www.globalentry.gov) if you are eligible.

Regardless, I would say customs/immigration processing times usually run 30-60 minutes for US Passport Holders in Terminal B 30-45 for Terminal C, and 60-120 minutes for non-US Passport Holders in Terminal B, 45-90 for Terminal C.I guess I've gotten lucky, then. In the past 7 years or so it's never taken me more than 25 minutes (B/C).

And many of those times I was traveling with a non-US passport holder, who I had to wait maybe an extra 10 minutes for.