Final J1 flight checklist..

blow69

So we are flying off to Chicago next Tuesday(3rd of June) and i just have a few questions

1.Am i allowed to bring a carry-on bag with me? Or do I have to have everything in a clear plastic bag? It's been 2-3 years since I was on a plane so bear with me.

2.We are all 19-20 so it may be hard to get into bars/clubs over there. Can we pack a couple bottles of vodka etc. in our baggage that's stored underneath the plane?

3.Can we buy bottles in the duty-free and bring them on our carry-on bag? (at this stage i'm probably sounding like an alcoholic:D)

4. Do we need any other forms etc. besides the Ds-2019 and obviously our passport to show to officials at the airport. They sound like a scary bunch of people!!

I guess that's it for now......Thanks a lot!


P.S Feel free to hijack this thread to ask any other questions you may have. Chances are I'm forgetting to ask a lot of 'em!

Why amn't I going on a J1?:(

Fast_Mover

I'm actually so jealous of people heading off on their J1's! Yer all gonna have such a great time and make alot of memories/friends. Wish I was heading back again this year, but alas, I'v done my final exams and it's job hunting/real world for me!:(

Neamhshuntasach

1.Am i allowed to bring a carry-on bag with me? Or do I have to have everything in a clear plastic bag? It's been 2-3 years since I was on a plane so bear with me.

You can bring a carry on bag with you as long as it is less than 45 cubic inches. Usually 22 x 14 x 9 i think. The stuff you need to put in a clear plastic bag is liquids and pastes and stuff such as shower gel, after shave, toothpaste etc. And they have to be under 100 ml i think. You'd probably be better off buying stuff like that over there or just have it checked.


2.We are all 19-20 so it may be hard to get into bars/clubs over there. Can we pack a couple bottles of vodka etc. in our baggage that's stored underneath the plane?

If you are 19-20 you will probably 99% of the time not get served alcohol in Chicago. It is a really strict city. My mates 40 odd year old parents were asked for ID. So you'll probably just have to depend on parties and people buying you drink. You should be able to bring bottles of vodka once you plan on checking them in. But there may be limits on how much for custom reasons. i'd sau it to the girl at the desk when checking in because i never mentioned it before and i had a few bottles of tequila 'destroyed' on my behalf because they x-rayed it and opened my backpack and thought they were a security risk or some bull****.


3.Can we buy bottles in the duty-free and bring them on our carry-on bag? (at this stage i'm probably sounding like an alcoholic)

No you can't bring any alcohol on the plane that you by anywhere before departure. If you buy it in duty free you will have to bring it to a counter and you collect it in the US. and depending on what airline you are on you may not get served on the plane either. When i went over to the states for college i couldn't get served on a British Airways flight as they said the law was 21 on the plane as the destination was the US. Maybe i was just unfortunate but i've heard of it happening a few times.

4. Do we need any other forms etc. besides the Ds-2019 and obviously our passport to show to officials at the airport. They sound like a scary bunch of people!!

Not sure what you need for the J1 as i was there on a different visa. Just call up USIT and check. And the officials aren't that bad. Most of them are pretty bang on.

blow69

Cool thanks! Im sure they wouldn't mind if we packed a bottle of tequila/vodka each.

A Primal Nut

I just arrived in Chicago today. PM if you wanna meet up. How many of you are going?

blow69 wrote: »

So we are flying off to Chicago next Tuesday(3rd of June) and i just have a few questions

1.Am i allowed to bring a carry-on bag with me? Or do I have to have everything in a clear plastic bag? It's been 2-3 years since I was on a plane so bear with me.

Yep - but they took an aerosol off me and threw it in the bin - i thought i'd need it for the long plane journey but there ya go. Other than that, the obvious really on what not to bring. If they do find something you didn't know you shouldn't bring, they'll just dump it you won't be rejected or anything (anything within reason).

2.We are all 19-20 so it may be hard to get into bars/clubs over there. Can we pack a couple bottles of vodka etc. in our baggage that's stored underneath the plane?

I'm 22 so not sure although I hear its easy to get a fake but might take a while. As for bringing Vodka, again i'm not sure although I doubt age will be a consideration in that case. Don't know tho.

3.Can we buy bottles in the duty-free and bring them on our carry-on bag? (at this stage i'm probably sounding like an alcoholic:D)

Not sure.

4. Do we need any other forms etc. besides the Ds-2019 and obviously our passport to show to officials at the airport. They sound like a scary bunch of people!!

They are quite scary looking, especially the women, and they aren't particulary polite, but they won't give you any trouble or anything - if everything is in order don't worry.
At check-in before the plane to America, you get an I-94 and some other blue/purple form to do with bringing food into the country. There's a special security check at the Chicago airport for agricultural food. I was holding the blue/purple form in my mouth as I approached security and got barked at. Whereas everyone else's bags just went through the scanner, my bag was also searched and passport checked again. He must have thought I offended his country by putting an immigration form in my mouth. :DI just thought it was funny but best to avoid anything like that.

I guess that's it for now......Thanks a lot!


P.S Feel free to hijack this thread to ask any other questions you may have. Chances are I'm forgetting to ask a lot of 'em!

Once again, give us a shout when u come over, its fairly cool so far, I'm near Lake Michigan and its very nice.

One thing I noticed, and I'm not sure if this is all America or just Chicago, but foreigners and black people do all the work - taxis, cafe shops, restaurants, etc. The only white people I found working was in the hostel and this one guy in a book shop (I was buying a map); he was sitting down at the desk reading a book while a black guy was busy packing shelves.:D

So far, I've found all the people over here very nice and helpful, so don't be afraid to ask people if your not sure of anything.

Neamhshuntasach

I was told that the reason for them getting pissed off about people putting documents in their mouth is down to bacteria. As the mouth is the biggest transmitter of it. I stuck my passport into my mouth for a second while 3 places behind getting checked on my way back from Mexico and the officer asked me if i wiped it clean when i approached his desk about 5 mins later. I just said sorry and that i didn't want to lose it. He was grand about it but made the point about the bacteria and that they don't wear gloves. So it's either that or they person you dealt with is a patriot nut.

The reason why you are seeing a load of black people doing most of the work is due to that they are the majority in Chicago and the city has big class divides. Black people falling mostly into the working class. Whites into the upper class. The non white people are the best craic in the US anyways in my opinion. More down to earth.

blow69

Oh Crap 'A Primal Nut' i forgot to PM you back there a couple of weeks ago.I just remembered when i saw your post. What with exams and everything i can barely remember my name:D
We are flying over next Tuesday the 3rd. Im so excited it's not funny.

I just arrived in Chicago today. PM if you wanna meet up. How many of you are going?

Ya ill do that. There's around 7-8 of us going. Theres 2 groups of us but it's split in terms of which hostel we are staying. But we will be all getting a house eventually...hopefully:)

M450

I'm heading off to Chicago on the 22nd... I actually managed to organise an apartment for 4 of us and it turns out it's in a puerto rican ghetto... or so i'm told!! Think I'll have to keep looking... apparently the best place is around wrigley field/wrigleyville