BA1A

Get back on the stairs and wait!

ozzie

You can get express clearnace if you are a citizen of an APEC country and get one of these cards:

http://www.apec.org/apec/business_re...s_travel0.html

This has saved me many many many hours on my trips to the US. It's nice being able to use the diplomatic / crew lanes.

justin_krusty

If you can get an APEC Business Travel Pass then you can go though the aircrew line. Unfortunately UK citizens do not qualify (the Asia-Pacific part might give that away) but could be useful if you have a AU/NZ/SG/HK passport as well, as some here do.

Edit: ozzie beat me to it!

vla

Or simply aim for the BA 185 arriving EWR at 1140. Everyone's a VIP at immigration and customs.

BAAZ

Or in my experience, most BA flights from LHR to JFK in fact - AFAIK there are only a couple which arrive just after other airlines'. I used to go regularly to JFK in J and would regularly be in a cab 15 minutes after stepping off the plane.

Incidentally, presumably there's no rule about using blackberries in flight safe mode, as strictly speaking they're not then acting as mobile phones? (Otherwise where would they stop - PDAs? diaries? GameBoys?)

So in theory, if you switched your blackberry on but left it in your pocket to replicate your emails, then after a suitable period took it out of your pocket, switched it to flight safe mode and then started using it, it wouldn't be a problem. Not sure about that, though...

Teece

I'd love to see you having that argument with the understanding, flexible and cooperative immigration officials.

OPebble

Don't even think it let alone do it! Not unless you fancy the latex treatment.

BA1A

Switch your BlackBerry on, put it in silent mode. Let your emails replicate and then just read them in the taxi/car/limo/bus once you clear immigration. Just don't be tempted to look at it whilst you are in the queue

hsmall

Presumably our own dear BIA only applies this rule to non-EU persons as the sensible rule for others is that you can use mobile phones in the queue but not at the desk.

ajax

But that would go against the cardinal rule that the US Department of Homeland Security can do no right.

Try landing in LHR T2 five minutes after the Aeroflot flight has landed.

So BIA have one rule for EEC citizens and another rule for non-EEC citizens? Well, gee, that's only fair when it happens in LHR, not when it happens for US citizens in the US.

p.s. I don't see what this thread has to do with BA. It seems like the bi-weekly moan about US immigration more than anything else.

BA1A

Almost as bad as those people that breeze through the Iris machine whilst talking away on their mobiles phones, eh Teece

knifeandfork

I'd echo this. Even if you don't beat the 9W 288 from BRU, you're still normally through in under 15,

LeisureFirst

I realize I am not as frequent a traveller as you, but I've never had a big problem at JFK. And two days ago it appeared that we arrived just after an IB flight. There was no wait at all at immigration (exiting BA115 in F) but a huge number of IB pax waiting for their bags which started to come through just as I exited immigration, and about ten minutes before the BA bags started to appear.

mr_red_dwarf

I was out there last week. Out sat, Return Thursday. Immigration Q was fairly long but to be fair they were pretty quick in getting through the lines.

Coming back on Thursday must admit that security was a bit farcical. Best bit is removal of shoes (which ok I agree with) but total lack of room after the Xrays to enable everyone to have room/seat etc to put shoes back on.

First time thru JFK and whilst ok not particularly brilliant or efficient .... as usual yanks tell a good story but rarely deliver..

Food in the sleeper restaurant was I thought fine...

SchmeckFlyer

I personally find it unacceptable for either premium or non-premium passengers.

Has anybody ever waited in the non-EU queue at LHR T4 when it gets busy? I once waited with friends, who did not have EU passports, for over two hours; staff could not have been more untoward or rude, including the immigration officers. But it's not always like that, and the "fast" track immigration queue, when open, is not terribly fast anyway.