LCY-JFK / new visa
 

I have a new L-1 visa in my passport with which I will be entering the U.S. for the first time soon. Is there any reason to believe it would be a mistake to take one of the LCY flights that has immigration pre-clearance at SNN, e.g. BA1?

I assume in principle the exact same process would occur as if I arrived at U.S. CBP in JFK, but a sanity check seemed in order.

It should be OK. L-1 will take a lot longer to process than an ESTA, but at SNN there is time to do it, I think. I would try and get off first, however, and speed walk to the CBP area. Generally speaking even when all passengers are back at the gate there is still a good 10 minutes hanging around before reboarding the aircraft.

AFAIK the CBP offering in SNN is a full one so whether you are travelling on ESTA, L-1 visa or anything else, they should be able to process you through just the same...

Even for an initial entry into the U.S. your interview won't take more than a few minutes. Make sure you present your full accompanying paperwork (your original stamped I129S from the embassy).

Good luck. I wish my first entry had been on BA1 rather than BA187!