Thanks for the input everyone!
Funny story...my last trip to LAX in October resulted in my being detained for 5 hrs because my fingerprints were too dry after the 14-hr flight, to be detected by the scanner. So, prepare for hiccups. No impact to future trips etc, but just a big hassle.
Actually, funny you mention this... I was travelling with a friend who used to have an F-1 student visa and then, after study, took a B-1/B-2 visitor visa. Wecaught a flight that was one of the first morning flights to arrive at LAX and she got taken into secondary processing (apparently previously having an F-1 visa complicated things the CBP agent told us as he let me through). She told me that despite being the only one in the waiting room, it added an extra 30 minutes to processing (the interview itself was only 5 minutes).
I think I had a similar window .. 7am arrival with a 10:30 connection. When I landed there were 3 or 4 other planes that landed at the same time and the immigration lines were horrendous. Happy to say that I made it through on time!
I've had that exact situation happen a few times! Caught the UA flight from Sydney that arrived at 5:30AM and there was a DL flight from Sydney, a UA flight from Melbourne, and a QF flight from Sydney arrive close to each other! Did you find that you were cutting it quite close to time (and were you selected for secondary)?
As an aside, my connecting flight is with Delta, so thankfully I can just exit TBIT at the ground/arrivals level and walk one terminal. That traffic loop at TBIT is horrendous - sometimes times I've found if moving between Terminals 1/2/3/TBIT it's quicker to get off a shuttle at T1 and walk to the other terminals...
Remember if you have a connection, it is not just time in the queue for immigration. You will need to collect your baggage and check it in again (depending on exact airline/connection this could just be dropping it at a counter as you exit customs or having to go and do a bag drop at the airline counter), possibly change terminals, and go through security again to get on the domestic flight.
Thanks Susie for this... Originally when I was planning it through I had in mind 20-30 minutes to deplane, 1 hour to clear CBP, 10-15 minutes to get baggage and exit the terminal, 10 minutes to walk over to Delta, and then 20 minutes to check in, then 30 minutes to clear TSA; making total time 2 hours and 45 minutes.
I'm starting to think this might be a bit too optimistic now... I researched AWT when I was planning this out last week (hence 60 minutes to clear as I think it was the max wait time from memory), but that doesn't include if there's secondary processing (which seems to have happened to some in this thread)... 30 minutes to clear TSA in the morning peak might also be a bit too optimistic given that I'm planning to fly weekday AM peak (I think wait times are in the App now, too). The worst time I've had for TSA waits was probably 45 minute to an hour...
I might just book the 1:40PM flight!
