Originally Posted by
1KChinito
You realize the next shift does not begin until 3 pm. Unless 7 am shift has not had 6 walk-ins already, you may have to wait until the 3 pm shift. Arriving at 12:30 pm should ensure you a spot at the 3 pm shift.
Good luck and let us know your result.
Just wanted to report back ... I arrived at 12:15, was 4th on the waitlist, and was called in and done / back to my car by 12:45. I honestly don't think there are really "shifts" anymore at SFO, and they are just taking walk-ins when they can (i.e. in between people with appointments).
From what I saw, if you had an appointment, even one that was 2 hours from now, they would take you before someone on the walk-in waitlist. They didn't seem to only accept 6 people per shift - perhaps that just a way of discouraging what could be a ton of walk-ins.
Maybe I was lucky, I don't know, but the whole experience was fairly painless (despite the Customs officer being a bit off putting toward me). I'd definitely recommend going in the afternoon if you can vs. waking up at 3AM and going then. Heck, people report showing up at 7PM and being seen right away, so I don't understand the whole going at 6AM thing.