SFO immigration now longer than LAX?
 

Within last six months, flying into SFO (normal non global entry) passport control line has been long, today was 40 min. wait with no APC for US Passport holders in use. Flying into LAX (the new Bradley Terminal) on UA from MEL, SYD and Eva air from Taiwan waits no longer than 5 minutes. Not sure I just arrived on bad (busy) days at SFO since today is a holiday but my 3 flights into SFO have recently had long waits. One SFO change, no customs check (no person there collecting cards/asking questions) so this is better. Not sure what is others experiences?

Is this UA872? I've found the early AM arrival not to be too bad.

Today, yes 872, maybe just flying on a busy day then.(maybe I should get Global Entry)

I've flown into SFO twice in last six months. Less than 10 minutes each time. Not sure you need to extrapolate a few personal experiences into a generality. I could just as easily say SFO is faster than LAX based on my experiences, but I know waits can vary wildly at ANY airport. A couple of flights arriving closer together in time than they should have (late or early arrival) can add 300-600 people in the hall that would normally be more normally spread out.

If eligible, yes -- plus even greater certainty of PreCheck

Mobile Passport app is an alternative to Global Entry if you are qualified, https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/show...ferrerid=22732

Last time I came into SFO on UA838 (early January), the line for regular passport control was backed up into the corridor. With GE, I was airside in about three minutes.

Could it be time of arrival that is the driving factor? Not sure about BR arrival times, but UA flights from OZ arrive very early in the AM and there aren't a huge number of flights arriving at the time. I arrived at TBIT from SYD last summer and with GE and no checked bags, I was out on the street within 10 minutes of doors opened.

I arrived on UA872 TPE-SFO this morning too. SFO immigration was very busy at 0630 am, with multiple arrivals. I would recommend Global Entry, if you are eligible. There was no line for the GE kiosks. :)

I believe UA872 used to be the first arrival of the day to INTL G (and previously sometimes passengers would be held onboard if arriving before customs opened). This resulted in in really short lines, but it now competes with TLV and AKL flights (and I think an AI flight). On the bright side, if you wait 40 mins for CBP, UA may have just delivered your bag to the carousel.

Airport wait times https://awt.cbp.gov/

Yes, Air India, UA from New Zealand and another flight from TPE (BR). What I do not understand why no APC machines in use for US passport holders, there used have this but not now (its now for non US Passport ESTA holders). The baggage was out I guess a long time before I got there, so much baggage that poor guy at baggage claim sort out bags to allow baggage from the next flight to come out.

I thought that was a requirement for having a FT account ;)

Seriously, I got it shortly after they introduced the program and it was the best $100 I ever spent on something travel-related. (and renewal was "free" thanks to the myriad of credit cards that reimburse the fee)

+1. That was my experience as well. After several months of ever-changing procedures post-GE machine (does an agent double check, when is the paper slip collected), things have now settled in a a quick routine. An agent will collect the slip from you as you walk past the officer booths just past the GE machine. Once past that, there is no more interaction, most notably: no queuing after bag claim to hand over the slip. Nice and fast.

I agree that GE is great. And if you fly to Asia on business, get the APEC Business Travel Card. That will save you an incredible amount of time throughout Asia (I'm looking at you, South Korea and Thailand).