M4r7y

So tomorrow I'll be picking up my passport and envelope of documents so I can move to the United States. Thanks to everyone for the advice they've given me here during my own individual process.

I have one more question about the whole process, although I dunno if anyone will have the answer for me. When I move to the United States, it will be easiest for me to fly out of Birmingham International, but it requires a temporary layover in Dublin. As many of you probably know, there is a US Preclearance area in Dublin airport, as it is American soil. I figure if I connect through Dublin, I'd need to do the POE stuff there as it's American soil, but I'm wondering if that would complicate matters, since my immigration paperwork would need to be forwarded on to the United States. Is this method too messy to do? Would it be easier just to do all the POE stuff when I'm physically in the United States (I know technically I'm in the USA when I'm in that preclearance area, but you know what I mean) and therefore leave from Heathrow for a direct flight to Washington Dulles?

I'd love to know what you guys think.

ian-mstm

It's not actually American soil, although it is a protected area. The airport, including those areas used by US immigration, is still under Irish control and Irish law.


No... quite doable.


From an immigration point of view there is no advantage one way or the other. It's entirely your choice. However, you'll have to contend with far fewer other immigrants if you do preclearance in Dublin... so that might be a real time saver for you.

Ian

M4r7y

Thanks for that. I just thought of another question. How long does the whole POE process take to do when you're first arriving with your immigration paperwork?

tom169

Depends on the volume.

Some on here have reported it taking hours... For me it was the time taken to get my luggage off the carousel - aka no delays.

I walked up to secondary, they greeted me, handed back my passport and waved me into the USA.

However, as you're intending going via preclearance it may be different. I've never gone via Dublin.

M4r7y

I'm only thinking about it right no. If there's the potential for it to take a long time, I probably wouldn't do that and use an alternative method, like get a direct flight to Washington-Dulles from Heathrow instead, and do the whole thing there.

steveq

We "entered" the USA on our O-1 visas at Dublin, it took a couple of minutes

ian-mstm

If you go via Dublin, you likely have only the people on your plane who need to get through US immigration - and most of those will be VWP tourists. If you fly to Dulles, you'll have not only your plane, but 50 others... all trying to get processed by US immigration at the same time. You could be stuck in immigration hall for hours!

As for the paperwork itself - about 10 minutes. However, if there are a lot of people who need processing then you could be waiting for hours before you're even seen by an officer.

So, as I said... entirely your choice!

Ian

scottyvisa

I immigrated on my K1 through Dublin and it was great, although I did have a 5 hour layover so no rush or stress. It took about 2 minutes to get through primary then perhaps another 10 in secondary. I then sat and drank Guinness for 4 hours :-)

M4r7y

Thanks everyone for your input. It's given me a lot to think about.

Somewhat off the subject, but I'd rather ask here than create another thread; do I have to pay the USCIS Immigration fee before I head to the United States, or can it be done after I get there? I searched for the term via the forum's engine, but I didn't get any real clarity.

tom169

I'm not sure what USCIS immigration fee you're on about?

You have the visa and passport in hand, so your next step is jump on a plane.

M4r7y

https://www.uscis.gov/file-online/im...nd-dos-case-id

This one, Tom. I thought I had to pay this for my green card to be produced.

tom169

Ah, sorry. My visa category was excluded from this requirement, hence not realizing.

https://www.uscis.gov/file-online/uscis-immigrant-fee

This says do it before travel.

M4r7y

Yeah, I read that. The link I shared also said you could do it afterwards too, and since there are so many differing opinions, I thought I'd get some feedback on that, too. It's all good.

tom169

So from reading, my interpretation is that there is nothing stopping you from entering the country and not paying. You will still be a permanent resident.

However, the stamp in the passport that you get on entry is only valid for one year when you enter.

So, to have proof of your permanent residency after that you'll need to have paid the fee and received a green card.

You will need this proof for having a driving licence, job etc.

I'd recommend avoiding delays and just paying it before you land. There seems to be little disadvantage to this.

Hopefully someone who has taken your route or knows more will reply.

M4r7y

Yeah, I see the advantages. I can pay it off before I go. I get another month's pay after I leave the UK, so I thought about using that and paying it while I was in the United States, that's all.