flying down from ottawa

Hey, anyone flying on may 25th from ottawa, i found tickets at $165.85 total price!! its from northwest and it arrives in orlando at 11:30 am.

 

is it a direct flight or do you have to change planes?? I might join you on this flight...

 

steffie you should soo join me!

Here how the flight goes...

Depart: Ottawa McDonald Cartier International, ON (YOW) Sun. May 25 6:00 AM
Arrive: Detroit Wayne County Metropolitan Airport, MI (DTW) Sun. May 25 7:42 AM

Depart: Detroit Wayne County Metropolitan Airport, MI (DTW) Sun. May 25 8:50 AM
Arrive: Orlando International Airport, FL (MCO) Sun. May 25 11:28 AM

 

Hold up guys. Don't book any flights yet.
The way I understand the visa process, is that you have to go through immigration when you first enter the States. For me, that's 10 minutes away at the Detroit-Windsor border.
If you flew direct, it would be in Orlando. If you take this flight, it's in Detroit, during your hour long layover.
That hour long layover may not be enough to process everything necessary. So while it is a good cost, I don't think it's your best bet. At least wait until we get out visa papers and find out how it works for sure.

 

Last year I cleared customs in Halifax when I flew direct. You could check to see if you'll be pre-cleared; I'm not sure how it works at the Ottawa airport. I definitely wouldn't try clearing customs and making a connection (if you do have to clear in Detroit) with only an hour, because you'll have to get your bags and such. So ya...I'd double check! You might be fine.

The visa papers we get - it's just the DS2019 form that we fill out. When we go through immigration we fill out a white i94 card (I filled out the wrong one last time and had to go back lol). But for us, the process is pretty simple.

 

Especially since you're connecting, I'm thinking Angelica is probably right. I hope you'll have enough time if you decide to go with it!

 

so what you guys are saying that Canadians shouldnt worry?

i have 2 options for flights.. one from Victoria To Seattle To orlando (8 hrs)
or
Comox to Vancouver to Calgary To Toronto To Orlando. (14 hours)

i clearly want the first one, but i will have to go thru official customs when i get to seattle? not just a hang out and wait?

ive never taken a stop over flight in the us before...

 

We clear customs in ottawa, it wouldnt be in detroit. If we r flying to the US we have to go through customs before we r allowed to go into the waiting area to board. So once we board we already have been cleared and accepted, the one hour wait would not affect anything. I fly through the US all the time and thats when they check everything, once you get off you just pick up your baggage or go to your connecting flight.

 

Sounds good then
We didnt always have the customs people at our airport, so sometimes it is different (I guess depending on the size of your airport)

lish I think it depends on Victoria. I've never been there so I don't know if you'd go through customs first or not. Even if you do have to go through customs once into the states for some reason, as long as you have a decent length stopover you're fine. I would definitely want that first flight! Are you ICP?

 

Gilulu, it's not customs you need to clear. You obviously clear customs when travelling through the States.
Going there on a visa and vacationing are different. It's clearing Immigration that's the issue that might take a while.
An hour won't be enough.

 

ya, I haven't decided what I am doing yet- I still think I might just fly out from buffalo and avoid all this, transfering flights scares me a bit, I'd be soooo stressed about making the connection-- the bufalo flight is direct... but I won't arrive til almost 6:00pm, which seems a bit late...

 

And p.s.
there's a US Immigration Office in Halifax. That's why Meg was able to pre-clear.

 

I'm pretty sure it's the same people though...I didn't go anywhere different than anyone else. They work for "Customs and Immigration"...so you give your visa stuff to the immigration officer, when you clear customs. And on the way back, the customs officer (that you give your card declaring what you bought) takes your i-94 out of your passport. They'll ask you what you're going to do in the US - if you were going on vacation you'd say you were vacationing in disney world. Now you can tell them you're going to be working there for the summer

Steph, if that's the flight you want to take, go for it. You'll still be able to go to walmart (thats what everyone does on their first day...and last year we just went to downtown disney that night) because it's open 24/7. Your roommates may have already gone though, and it's always nice to have someone to go with!

 

hehe-- I'll just have to convince them to go again-- or find one of you guys and beg ppl to keep me company I think I probably will end up on that flight-- it is super cheap, only 103$ and no worrying about a connection...

 

the office is customs and immigration in ottawa too, sorry i didnt realize it was two different names. Liek meg said its the same people, so i will have gone through immigration in ottawa.

 

steffie take the ottawa flight so im not all alone, we will have cleared custom/immigration what ever we have to do lol in ottawa and we will get there nice and early

 

They didn't always have a pre-clearance area for us customs but they do now You shouldn't have any problems.
I got there last year around 9am...but we had to wait til 11 before the bus left for vista haha we were waiting for more people from other flights. I hope you guys don't have to wait too long!

 

I am so glad there is a pre-clearence or else an hour would not be enough. I really hope i dont have to wait for too long i will feel so lost!

 

Okay just making sure. Leave yourself lots of time.
I'm from Windsor, and I cross at the Detroit border, and one time my dad (who also had a visa) was held up for like half a day!
They have to make sure you filled out all the forms and stuff and my dad says you get your picture taken and your fingerprints scanned, etc. and then they send all that to CSIS and the FBI and check the databases to make sure you're not wanted in the States for anything.
If you're doing it in Detroit, an hour's not enough.
AND, they might not pre-clear you, if there is an office in Ottawa, because it's not a direct flight. If they pre-clear you, what's to stop you from getting off the plane in Detroit and disappearing into the great abyss?

 

Okay, well i will be pre-cleared in ottawa if not they do not let me board the plane. if anything happens then they will just put me into another flight to orlando, im not worried its still early in the morning and i know people who have done this from ottawa and they were pre-cleared in ottawa in the us immigration/customs.