Port-of-entry procedures
- Before landing, the flight attendant will distribute Customs
Declaration Forms & Immigration Forms as mentioned below. Fill these
out on the plane (you will submit them to the appropriate authorities
when you land). Do not hesitate to take the flight attendant's help.
- On the Customs form, you could indicate that you have nothing to
declare & that the total value of all goods you carry is $0.00.
- On the Form I-94, the Port of Embarkation is where you had your
stopover. [Remember this!]
- After seeing your documents, the immigration officer will indicate
length of stay, university, etc. This will be attached to your passport.
You must retain this I-94 form, else you will face trouble in leaving
USA later. The I-94 stays with you all throughout your stay in the US.
It's taken back when you leave.
- Form I-20 ID copy - all transactions regarding your non-immigrant
status will be recorded in this form. This should be retained at all
times (not surrendered when you temporarily leave the US). Your
admission number will be given - memorize it & note it elsewhere.
- Just before you land, the correct local time will be announced. Set
your watch.
- Once you are out of the plane, go straight to the immigration
counter. Rush there to beat the queue. It might take from 30 minutes to
an hour to get done.
- Keep your I-20, passport, admission & aid letters ready. They
might ask few questions like
- is this your first time in the US ?
- Are you a student on F-1 visa ?
- Which University are you joining ?
- The immigration officer will attach an I-94 card on one of the pages
of your passport usually against the visa page.
- Be very relaxed and answer all the questions that the officer will
ask. Sometimes the officer may ask you to present financial documents or
letters from your sponsors. Thus, it is advisable to carry these along
with you in your cabin baggage.
- Then go to the conveyor belts to fetch your luggage. Pick up a
(free) cart to carry the bags.
- Cart your baggage to nearby Customs. If asked, tell the officer that
you are a student on an F-1 visa, school, department and coming to USA
for the first time. Be confident that you packed everything yourself and
that you carry no agricultural produce.
- If asked to open the baggage, do so. In most cases you will NOT be
asked to open your boxes at all & will be simply waved through.
- Atlanta Hartsfield Airport has this queer thing about rechecking
your baggage. At this point, you'll be asked to haul your luggage onto
another conveyor. This is a normal procedure.
- Take the train to the Baggage Claim area.
- The display will show you which carousel carries the baggage from
your flight. (Remember that flight numbers are sometimes cross-listed: A
Delta-AirFrance flight might have it's Air-France number displayed, not
the Delta flight number.)
- If you've requested an airport pickup, look around for Desi faces.
They're us. Hi !
- Please realize that IC volunteers are also students who're spending
their valuable time to pick you up. If you have asked a relative or a
friend to receive you, then please do not keep us as a backup.
- In the unfortunate case that nobody came to pick you up, call up the
guy/girl who was supposed to come. There might be a traffic jam on the
Interstate-85 and 75. (Happens often during rush hour.)
- If nothing works, proceed towards ground transportation and take a cab.
Ask the cabbie to take you to GeorgiaTech, and then give him the directions.
(It is always a good idea to lookup directions from Mappoint or MapQuest for the place
that you're staying at. Keep a printout handy.
- If you have doubts about the person who has come to receive you, you
can ask him/her for identification. (Highly unlikely that you'll need
to.)
- Once you reach your house (or other destination) call home &
inform them that you reached safely. You know you're safe and that
nothing can happen to you. But your parents still would worry. :)
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