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Successful entry @ LAX on 15/2/2013

H

heisenberg

Registered Users (C)
so after many months of applying and waiting it is now all official for me :) I landed at LAX on Friday 15/2 and successfully gained entry into the US as a Permanent Resident :) and it was way less painful than I thought it was going to be.

2 full flights from Australia landed at the same time so there was a bit of waiting to get to the Customs area but once there I lined up in the U.S Citizens line. which always goes quicker :) the lady who served me was awesome and very helpful. she opened the envelope and read through everything and that was pretty much it - did the usual scanning of 4 fingers and face. she didn't look at the X-rays and told me they are for me to keep in case anyone else down the track needs to see them. she then told me to go sit down at the very end of the area where there were some seats and she would process me after both flights were done. which took no time at all. I was then fingerprinted again - the old style way with ink - and I signed a form. all up it took about 30 mins or so. she then gave me a Welcome to the USA form and I was done :) she explained I had 2 years to relocate to the US - which I am doing in July this year. and to not stay away longer than 6 months. she stamped my passport and said to use that as my Green Card until my real one comes. which she informed me can take up to 12 months but said it would most likely be up to 6 or so.
my suitcase was kept for me near baggage and one of the security guys took me down there to make sure it was still there. all in all the Customs people were awesome and very helpful and nice. I hope anyone here who has there entry coming up has a good experience like I did :) YAY!!!! :)
 
heisenberg said:
so after many months of applying and waiting it is now all official for me :) I landed at LAX on Friday 15/2 and successfully gained entry into the US as a Permanent Resident :) and it was way less painful than I thought it was going to be.

2 full flights from Australia landed at the same time so there was a bit of waiting to get to the Customs area but once there I lined up in the U.S Citizens line. which always goes quicker :) the lady who served me was awesome and very helpful. she opened the envelope and read through everything and that was pretty much it - did the usual scanning of 4 fingers and face. she didn't look at the X-rays and told me they are for me to keep in case anyone else down the track needs to see them. she then told me to go sit down at the very end of the area where there were some seats and she would process me after both flights were done. which took no time at all. I was then fingerprinted again - the old style way with ink - and I signed a form. all up it took about 30 mins or so. she then gave me a Welcome to the USA form and I was done :) she explained I had 2 years to relocate to the US - which I am doing in July this year. and to not stay away longer than 6 months. she stamped my passport and said to use that as my Green Card until my real one comes. which she informed me can take up to 12 months but said it would most likely be up to 6 or so.
my suitcase was kept for me near baggage and one of the security guys took me down there to make sure it was still there. all in all the Customs people were awesome and very helpful and nice. I hope anyone here who has there entry coming up has a good experience like I did :) YAY!!!! :)
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Hey Heisenberg, CONGRATS! How's it feel to be a Yank? :)

Very brave to go through LAX. I hate that airport. Was just there earlier this month waiting for family to get through Customs after they flew in from Oz. It took them two hours. I'm glad that it turned out better for you. We've been wondering where we'd do our first entry. Still not decided yet.
 
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yeah feels very good Vichel thanks :) got to celebrate Presidents Day as my first public holiday on the 18th which was great.

LAX isn't the greatest airport but was really my only option from where I live to get a direct flight. hope your first entry is good too :)
 
Congrats! :)

One question: in another thread, I read you need to go to the non-US citizen section NOT to the US citizen section.
So you went to the US citizen one, and could pass?
Thanks for clarification.
 
hzss12 said:
Congrats! :)

One question: in another thread, I read you need to go to the non-US citizen section NOT to the US citizen section.
So you went to the US citizen one, and could pass?
Thanks for clarification.
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thank you :)

well when we landed there were quite a few people so they had even Australians going into the US Citizens line as they were expecting more flights to come. but I did ask one of the staff about my situation and she told me to go into the US Citizens line.
 
heisenberg said:
thank you :)

well when we landed there were quite a few people so they had even Australians going into the US Citizens line as they were expecting more flights to come. but I did ask one of the staff about my situation and she told me to go into the US Citizens line.
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How is the US ? :)
 
Heisenberg - yay!!!!! You made it :)

So excited for you, what a wild ride. Enjoy every moment of your new adventure. I'm with the others, I hate LAX and always preferred San Francisco, but hey, you go where you need to go.

Enjoy, stay safe and all the best for your future there.

Q
 
thanks all :) not in the US yet - will be in July. just glad all the hard stuff is over and I will soon be living there. great feeling once entry is gained.

and thanks DL :) you will be next ;) I look forward to hearing your story too.
 
So happy for you!
I pray that May will be my turn, I'm truly happy LAX was pleasant as that is where I would fly too, so happy for you!
 
hi all,

I just wanted to update everyone about the last part of this journey :) many apologies this is so late.

When I was recounting my story of my trip to the US in February I mentioned that the lady in customs told me that my GC may take up to 6 months to arrive at the US address I provided on the application. Well a few days after I returned home back to Australia both my SSN and GC had arrived. I was fully in shock lol but so happy. My friends haven't sent them yet as I think they may be a bit nervous about sending such things in the mail lol as am I :) but just wanted to let everyone know it only took just under 2 weeks to receive my actual GC. will post when it arrives for real :)
 
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heisenberg said:
hi all,

I just wanted to update everyone about the last part of this journey :) many apologies this is so late.

When I was recounting my story of my trip to the US in February I mentioned that the lady in customs told me that my GC may take up to 6 months to arrive at the US address I provided on the application. Well a few days after I returned home back to Australia both my SSN and GC had arrived. I was fully in shock lol but so happy. My friends haven't sent them yet as I think they may be a bit nervous about sending such things in the mail lol as am I :) but just wanted to let everyone know it only took just under 2 weeks to receive my actual GC. will post when it arrives for real :)
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Good to hear that, heisenberg, thanks for letting us know. I suppose the "6 months" they tell you is worst-case scenario maybe, so you don't worry too soon and start ringing them about it. Yeah, I wouldn't trust it in the mail. FedEx maybe, or something you can track every step of the way. We'll be on the other side of the country when our GCs arrive so we'll be using some sort of secure and trackable mailing option.
 
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