fumitani

I know this is the UA forum, but I need IAD experts here

How bad is immigration at IAD on weekdays at 9.40am in Jan.

Talking about foreigners non US citizen lane :confused

Is it possible for me to do a 100 minute turn clear immigration and check back in to my flight with only hand carry luggage?
Arrival 9.40am
Departure 11.20am

Planning on doing a NH to NH turn....

I checked MCT it's 90minutes....

Darby

It's enough time without bags but there is a good chance you will get a secondary inspection from Immigration.

gvdIAD

Shouldn't be a problem.

The int'l arrivals from South America and the Middle East generally arrive between 06:00 and 07:30, and arrivals from Europe are heaviest between 13:00 and 15:00, so there shouldn't be many other people needing to clear Customs & Immigration at the time you arrive.

You'll come into the B concourse and be bussed via mobile lounge generally to the midfield Customs & Immigration facility beneath the C/D concourse (you could also go to the Main terminal and clear C&I there, which may be faster in mid-morning, but let's see what others say). After again clearing security, you'll either need to take the AeroTrain (if you're closest to the C gates) or another mobile lounge a/k/a bus to the B gates. You should even have a decent amount of time to spend in the lounge.

FriendlySkies

Last time I went through IAD, although it was March, both the US and non-citizen lanes were empty. Even using Global Entry, I did not beat many people from my flight.. We got to the gate around 10am, and down to customs by 10:20..

AMRivlin

Global Entry... ($50 for 5 years, total with a Nexus membership)

loneraven

If you're on any status that might require a secondary inspection (e.g. advance parole), 100 minutes is definitely not enough. Secondary inspection alone can take up to two hours.

If you're using a regular visa/visa waiver, it'll be tight but you should be able to make it, barring any flight delays.

I'd check the history of the flight you're on to see if it tends to arrive on time or not, some flights are notoriously prone to delays.

coolbeans202

If the OP is doing an NH to NH turn, wouldn't a delay on the inbound cause a delay on the outbound? Or can they make a delay up on the ground?

Ocn Vw 1K

For further discussion, please follow as the thread moves to the Travel->Washington forum. Ocn Vw 1K, Moderator.

rajsbasi

Arrived in from London slightly late a few days ago at 1135 am was pleasantly surprised and impressed as managed to clear i&c and security in order to board at 1155 for my 1215 flight.

Rampo

Last week I hit IAD immigration/customs around 11am. We appeared to be the only arriving passengers at that time so things moved quickly, even after I was selected for a customs check. I think I was in the meet & greet area by 11:30. It is not something I would count on, though.

T8191

Arrived on 28 Sep on BA217 ... at the stand @ 1355, and got across the Border with my British passport @ 1430. In the past I considered an hour at Immigration line as standard. The CBP officer said that ESTA speeds things up a lot.

It would be nice to see more people manning those 50 desks, though!

IADCAflyer

9:40 is a low period for IAD Customs. You've got two Asian flights - NH and KE - arriving, and thats pretty much it. As others have noted, the EU originators don't start impacting until at least 1:00 pm local.

Should be OK in most circumstances.

T8191

It also helps if you're in F or J so you get off the a/c early, and grab the first seat you can on the moon-buggy instead of moving to the back! Normal courtesy goes out the window when the IAD Immigration line is waiting for me!!

FriendlySkies

Depends. For some international arrivals, you will arrive at a real gate, and then just walk to customs, instead of taking the moon-buggy. Last time I flew into IAD from LHR, we parked at a real gate. Even though I was sitting in C, and used Global Entry, I still had to wait for my bag to come out.. For times like that, I had hoped they would use the buggy..

Annandaler

That would only be on a UA international arrival at one of the C gates.

NH uses B41. Any of the A or B gate international arrivals must use a moon-buggy to get to IAB in the Main Terminal. Star Alliance international arrivals at A or B gates have a choice: non-connecting passengers normally take a moon-buggy to IAB in the Main Terminal; connecting passengers normally take a moon-buggy to immigration/customs in the C concourse.

As mentioned previously, NH and KE arrive about the same time - and several hours after any previous international arrival. But, the Ethiopian flight's scheduled arrival about 8am is often late - and it often takes over 2.5 hours for all their passengers to clear immigration/customs through IAB.