Preparing for a quick entrance to the United States begins long before your airplane touches the ground at John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) in New York City. If you're a U.S. citizen or Canadian visitor, download the free CBP Mobile Passport Control app to your mobile phone. This app stores your passport information and replaces the need for you to do any paperwork or wait in the (sometimes very long) line in the entry hall. In my opinion, more often than not, this app is just as good as having Global Entry without the price tag. If you’re a citizen of another country, refer to cbp.gov for full Immigration and Customs details.

Mobile App Checklist

These are the apps you’ll want to download prior to arriving home in the United States:

Apple Wallet with Apple pay enabled for transit - Tap-to-pay for rides is available for the AirTrain exit and in the NYC subway system.
MTA TrainTime (LIRR and MetroNorth) - For purchasing tickets and researching routes and timetables.
CBP Mobile Passport Control - For fast entry at immigration.
MYmta app - For subway train arrival times and route planning.
Google Maps - save an offline map for directions.
Lyft or UBER - ride sharing (requires setting up a profile and attaching a credit card beforehand).

Immigration at John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK)

Once you've deplaned, walk (quickly, if you want to beat the crowd) down the hallways that lead you to a larger immigration hall in Terminal 4. There are lines with signs directing U.S. citizens, foreign passport holders, Global Entry members, diplomats, and Mobile Passport app (MPC app) users to different queues. You do not need Global Entry to get through immigration quickly. Most of the time you’ll queue in the Diplomat line (which is usually empty) and will only be interrupted by crew and military. So, the faster you walk, the better.

Without the CBP MPC app or Global Entry, you'll line up and wait to use a machine that takes your photo and asks the same questions you’d find on your customs card. It’s sort of like the self-checkout lane at the grocery store. Once you have your receipt, you’ll queue again and wait for a border agent to scan your passport and look at the receipt.

Don't lose your paper (or let your phone die) because you need it for one last step. After you go through immigration, collect your bags (even if you have a connecting domestic flight). At the exit, you will join a small queue and will either scan your phone or hand your customs card to the agent as you exit the Customs area. Sometimes, though, they don’t do anything at all except watch and potentially pull you aside to go through your bags.

After exiting, you will be at street level where there is an official taxi line. Ignore people standing around offering rides (even if they’re dressed in a suit) and take a licensed yellow taxi. As an alternative, book a Lyft or Uber. The app will tell you where to go to the designated area for ride sharing pickup.

Circling over Brooklyn while landing at JFK

Cheapest Ways to Get From John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) to Brooklyn or Manhattan

AirTrain to Subway

As of 2024, the subway is the most affordable way to travel into Brooklyn or Manhattan. But first, you need to take a train out of the terminal area. After baggage claim, follow the signs upstairs to the AirTrain. There are three different AirTrains (Howard Beach, Jamaica, and one just circles the terminals) so pay attention to which train you’re boarding. Take the Howard Beach AirTrain (pay $8.25 when you exit) to the subway ($2.90). Though cheap, it’s a long ride and there isn’t a restroom. The Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) is a more comfortable and is potentially more reliable with service however the trains run less frequently than the subway.

Buying a metrocard

In order to exit the AirTrain, you’ll need to pay. If you're new to NYC, go to the MTA ticket machines on your right. Tap the screen and follow the prompts to purchase a new metro card (or refill an existing card with 'value' to add $ credit) with at least $12 on it (you'll need at least $8.25 to pay for the AirTrain).

⭐️ AirTrain to the Long island rail road (LIRR)

My preferred way to travel to and from the airport is the Long Island Rail Road. After baggage claim, follow the signs to the Jamaica AirTrain ($8.25) and travel to the last stop Jamaica station.

After exiting and paying for your AirTrain ride, you’ll follow the hallway to your left to an indoor/outdoor train terminal. You’re now in the Long Island Rail Road (LIRR) station. If you're heading to Brooklyn, you’ll probably take the LIRR 3 stops (about 20 minutes) to Atlantic Terminal. If you're heading to Manhattan, take one of the several trains ending at Penn Station or Grand Central Terminal. There are display boards showing times, tracks, and train destinations when you enter the station.

This is where the TrainTime app comes in handy, because not only can you see a simple route from Jamaica to your destination, you can tap the train you want to buy a ticket for. The app involves creating an account, so be sure to do all this before boarding the train in a hurry. For example, I like to login and purchase the ticket while the airplane is taxiing to the gate on the tarmac. You only activate the ticket in the mobile app once you board the LIRR train.

If you don’t use the app, the ticket machines are on the upper level and look similar to the subway ticket machines. This time, you tap adult one-way, select “Peak” (think Monday thru Friday rush hour into the city morning times) or “Off-Peak” and your “From” (Jamaica) and “To” destination. When traveling to Atlantic Terminal, Penn Station, or Grand Central, select CityTicket Off Peak to pay just $5 one-way or CityTicket Peak to pay just $7 one-way (valid for same-day travel).

Inside the LIRR, there are overhead racks for your luggage. It’s a brief 20 minute ride both above and under ground. There are restrooms on board. A conductor will walk through the train to collect your ticket or scan your activated mobile ticket. After exiting at Atlantic Terminal, Grand Central Terminal, and Penn Station, it’s possible to connect to multiple subway lines within the same building (just follow the signs).

yellow taxi

Pre-pandemic I would’ve said ride share apps were cheaper, but now taxi cabs offer competitive rates (depending on distance and traffic, of course). As you leave baggage claim, the line or queue is roped off straight in front of you.

Ride Share Apps

If you take an UBER or Lyft there are designated pickup areas away from where the yellow cabs queue in front of the airport. Your app will direct you where to go to meet your driver. It can be chaotic so make sure to reconfirm license plate and with the driver that you’re the person they’re picking up.

Rental Car

If you’re renting a car, you’ll get off the AirTrain at the Federal Circle stop and take an escalator down to where the rental car offices are. Make sure you’ve got your offline Google Map downloaded for easy navigation as you leave the rental car agency.