Nobody wants to wait in line after a long international flight but if you’re landing at New York’s JFK this summer, you might not have a choice. Some travelers have reported waiting more than three hours to clear passport control, according to data analyzed by The Independent. RELATED: Don’t Fall For This Scam at Airports
Terminal 1 is one of the worst offenders, with average wait times climbing past two hours during peak afternoon arrivals from Europe. JetBlue’s Terminal 5 and Virgin Atlantic’s Terminal 4 aren’t far behind and things aren’t helped by JFK’s massive $19 billion renovation project, which is also causing traffic backups outside the terminals.
Here’s how to avoid getting stuck in the mess:
- Apply for Global Entry – It’s not instant and only available to certain nationalities, but if you’re eligible, it’s 100% worth it. Here’s how to get it for free.
- Download the Mobile Passport Control app – It’s free and available to U.S. and Canadian citizens, and it speeds things up considerably
- Fly into a smaller airport if you can. Places like Austin and even Chicago O’Hare had much shorter wait times, often under 30 minutes
One more tip: If you’re flying from Ireland, you can clear U.S. immigration before you even take off if you depart from Dublin or Shannon. That means when you land in the States, you just grab your bag and go.
The U.S. needs more Customs and Border Protection officers but until then, your best bet is to plan ahead and dodge the worst of these lines however you can.
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