FLT CREW OF MD80 ENCOUNTERING ATC DELAYS DIVERTS TO ANOTHER ARPT AND DECLARES MINIMUM FUEL. UPON ARR AT ALTERNATE; FLT CREW ENCOUNTERS FURTHER ATC DELAYS AND APCH CTLR ULTIMATELY DECLARES A FUEL EMER TO EXPEDITE THEIR LNDG.

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FLT FROM ZZZ TO ZZZ1. NO ALTERNATE REQUIRED AND DISPATCHED WITH APPROX 25 MINS OF HOLDING FUEL. APCHING FIX; WE WERE GIVEN A CLRNC TO DO TWO 360 DEG TURNS. FOLLOWING THAT CLRNC; WE WERE GIVEN DIRECT ZZZ2 VOR AND 2 MORE TURNS IN HOLDING. RELEASED FROM THAT FIX TO NEXT FIX AND THE ARR. APCHING INTXN; WE WERE TOLD TO HOLD AGAIN WITH AN EFC OF APPROX 30 MINS. AFTER ONE TURN IN HOLDING; TOLD THEM WE WERE UNABLE TO HOLD AND REQUESTED DIVERT TO ZZZ3. AFTER BEING GIVEN A HDG AWAY FROM THE FIELD; I DECLARED MIN FUEL. AFTER STILL BEING GIVEN THE VECTOR AWAY FROM THE FIELD I RESTATED TO THE CTR THAT I WAS MIN FUEL. WAS THEN GIVEN VECTORS TO ANOTHER ARR. APCHING INTXN AND AFTER REQUESTING VECTORS TO RWY 31L; I WAS TOLD WE WERE 15 IN LINE FOR RWY 31R AND I AGAIN INFORMED THE CTLR WE WERE MINIMUM FUEL. HE SAID UNLESS WE WERE EMER FUEL WE WERE STILL 15 IN LINE. THE APCH CTLR ULTIMATELY DECLARED US AS EMER AND THEN GAVE US CLRNC FOR A VISUAL TO RWY 31L. PLEASE STRESS TO THE CTLRS THAT BY DECLARING MINIMUM FUEL; WE ARE SAYING THAT WE CANNOT ACCEPT ANY FURTHER DELAYS. ULTIMATELY; WE LANDED WITH APPROX 4 MINUTES OF FUEL BEFORE WE WERE IN AN EMER FUEL STATUS.