V-Flyer

Thought I'd write a brief note about my recent Miami International experience.

Having been here once before and been a nightmare and read some other troublesome experiences I thought I'd do a brief wrote up of my arrival yesterday on VS5

After what seemed like a 2hr walk to immigration at the furthest gate away, we were amazed that we were out to arrivals in 10 mins of getting to Immigration.

Used the ESTA machines and exit with them and took minimal time. Even customs was no more than 2 minutes.

The quickest I've ever been at an US exit, maybe things are looking up at MIA. It's certainly changed from 4 years ago

Anyway back to to the Fort Laudedale sun

Bye bye

Oh I so hope this to be true ...My last experience at MIA was five years ago and I was pulled for secondary screening . Hours later after a very unpleasant and distressing time I was told I could enter the USA (I still have no idea what that was all about as I'd already been in the USA several times that year without issue).
I vowed that I wouldn't use MIA ever again ( previous experiences there had been tedious in terms of wait times but nothing more than that).
I am however breaking that vow and entering the USA via MIA next month ( simply because it was the most logical entry point for my plans).
I've been back to the USA many times in the intervening 5 years without issue so I'm hoping that I experience the speedy processing that you have .
DL

Thank you for such encouraging news !
I am due there next April & was really dreading it after the long queues I've experienced in the past,

Thank you for giving me hope !

We last landed in Miami airport 3 weeks ago - and immigration was truly awful. We had been there before, so weren't expecting it to be good but, even so, it was miserable. Took over an hour to clear immigration (and that was with being first off the plane!) and after that, another long and winding line to hand in our customs card - never experienced that before :(

Wow! There's 2 very different experiences from OP and Catsilversword........we are due in MIA in 3 weeks and hope we get the 15 minute version this time and not the 1.5 hour experience like our previous visit! Oh and enjoy the Fort Lauderdale sun

As with most US airports it's basically pot luck.

If yours is the only international flight to have arrived recently, you'll be through relatively quickly. But if 300 passengers have just arrived from a country that isn't part of the visa waiver scheme, you're in for a long wait. The automated CBP machines may help although you still have to queue to see an agent after using them, and everyone has to queue for customs.

My advice with Miami airport is try to be one of the first off the plane and then hop on one of the five or six golf carts waiting to take you to customs as they are meant to go back and forth to the customs hall or it could take for ever to walk it.

Gumshoe is right about going through customs - but I'd never had long lines like that, nor had there been those snake-like ropes out to corral people! Hope spur has a better experience

Our A340 arrived with 250 pax and we were sat in front exit row economy which could be worse for exit I guess.

We bypassed the visitor lines (which was also quiet) and went to ESTA area. What surprised me was at the ESTA area there was like 70 machines all waiting for use. But recent trip at Boston was after ESTA you still go to a booth for more finger prints and check. But here u went round to see boarder staff just standing at a pod who looked at your receipt from machine, brief look at passport, stamp passport and out you go. Certainly no Queue.

Customs had 4 lines open with 5 people in each row out in 2 mins.

Maybe I was lucky. Even the exit and monorail to Alamo was easy. Gosh!

Hi

I was dreading flying into Miami again after a couple of nightmare experiences with the immigration, none of which was our fault.

But flight prices for PE to Miami were £120 each cheaper than into Orlando

We were on the same flight and had the same quick exit as spur365.

5 minutes through Automatic immigration kiosks, 5 minutes to collect all of our luggage, 2 minutes with customs.

Then as a bonus the Alamo car rental desk was completely empty so had paperwork processed in less than 10 minutes

Then drove up to Orlando and was checked into hotel by 10.30pm

High 80's in orlando yesterday spent the day roasting by the pool