120
votes
I just entered the USA without passport control at Atlanta airport
You went through US CBP Preclearance in Toronto before boarding your flight. This is US immigration and customs, with US immigration officers stationed on Canadian soil, and unless something unusual ...
- 86.3k
41
votes
Bringing hiking shoes with dirt/soil to the US?
Cleaning them thoroughly should be good enough.
Here is what happened when we tried to get in with dirty boots in March 2016.
At Charlotte International Airport, we were spotted and stopped by ...
- 58.2k
32
votes
Arriving in Atlanta after US Preclearance in Dublin. Will I go through TSA security in Atlanta to transfer to a connecting flight?
From the TSA's website:
Duty Free Liquids: You may carry duty free liquids in secure,
tamper–evident bags, more than 3.4oz or 100 ml in your carry-on bag
if: The duty free liquids were ...
- 799
30
votes
Accepted
Arriving in Atlanta after US Preclearance in Dublin. Will I go through TSA security in Atlanta to transfer to a connecting flight?
You will almost certainly NOT have to re-clear security - although you can't definitively rule it out.
The vast, vast majority of pre-cleared flights will arrive into their US destination as if they ...
- 123k
30
votes
Accepted
Why am I getting weird security questions with CLEAR?
Officially, CLEAR is only supposed to be available to US citizens and permanent residents:
CLEAR is currently only available to US citizens and legal permanent residents 18 and older with a valid ...
- 82.6k
28
votes
If I am interviewed by US immigration in Canada, will I be interviewed again when I arrive in the US?
When flying from Canada to the US from most major Canadian airports, you go through US immigration and customs at the Canadian airport from which you depart. This is called US preclearance and it is ...
- 62.4k
22
votes
Canada to USA customs preclearance and fruits/vegetables
When you are asked (on a piece of paper or on a screen) if you have any food, fruit/veg, plants or their parts, say yes. Same for meat. When you reach the person, you will be asked in a very bored ...
- 81.2k
15
votes
Accepted
Is your luggage automatically transferred to the next flight if you enter the US on a precleared flight?
In my experience of flying from Vancouver, B.C. to the US I handed my luggage over basically to the TSA in Vancouver and picked it back up again when I reached my final destination in the US (which ...
- 15.7k
15
votes
Accepted
How does US preclearance work in Dublin?
Airplanes are pre-cleared, not humans
What happens with pre-clearance is the airplane docks in an area that is under control of US CBP or trusted partners. The airplane is inspected (cleared), then ...
15
votes
Accepted
Bringing hiking shoes with dirt/soil to the US?
U.S. CBP does care about soil on your shoes, but as long as you've made a reasonable effort to clean them, then it won't be a problem, especially if the soil was not from a farm or some such thing.
As ...
- 13.4k
15
votes
When flying from Preclearance airports to the US, do airlines validate your visa before letting you talk to Preclearance agents?
The airline will validate the passenger's ability to enter the US when the passenger checks-in at the publicly-accessible airline counter. Reasoning in reverse order from my memory of Preclearance in ...
- 25.7k
14
votes
Why am I getting weird security questions with CLEAR?
The sort of questions you are seeing are curated from public records (property ownership records, etc.) and credit reports (mortgage/car payments) and probably other proprietary sources as well. If ...
- 1,717
13
votes
At Dublin airport, is preclearance available for flights to Canada, or just to the USA?
Preclearance is for flights to the US, for all passengers on those flights.
It is not guaranteed to be available for all flights to the US, but it seems to be for most.
There is no preclearance for ...
- 61.6k
11
votes
How does US preclearance work in Dublin?
"like a citizen" should read "as if I were arriving from another US airport" because citizenship has nothing to do with whether a passenger must clear immigration and customs. Only the point of origin ...
- 137k
10
votes
International connection at Seattle-Tacoma airport
Your understanding is 100% correct (can't write anything more than that)
If going back the same way, however, you'll clear US immigration in Seattle, then collect and re-check your luggage at the ...
- 79.4k
9
votes
Accepted
Can I use preclearance for a flight Dublin to USA that connects in Heathrow?
If your itinerary is DUB-LHR-LAX, then that Dublin and Shannon have US Pre-Clearance facilities is pretty much irrelevant. Your DUB-LHR flight, while not technically domestic, is essentially similar ...
- 32.8k
9
votes
Bringing hiking shoes with dirt/soil to the US?
Just declare the shoes as soiled and let customs officials handle the rest.
I live in Australia, we're an island so these things are strictly controlled. If you've cleaned them well they generally ...
- 91
8
votes
Canada to USA customs preclearance and fruits/vegetables
All food must be declared. It is that simple, meaning, it's not at all complicated.
CBP or the Dept. of Agriculture are the ones who make the decision, not you. :(
If the officer allows your ...
- 32.8k
8
votes
Is your luggage automatically transferred to the next flight if you enter the US on a precleared flight?
No, if arriving on a pre-cleared flight and having a connection in the same booking, you don't need to pick up luggage, as you'll already have cleared customs, which is the reason for you otherwise ...
- 79.4k
8
votes
If I am interviewed by US immigration in Canada, will I be interviewed again when I arrive in the US?
In principle you can be “interviewed” for any length of time at the point of entry. Granted, the immigration officers don’t necessarily want to waste their time and resources, but I’ve been ...
- 1,804
8
votes
US Preclearance at Dublin airport before transit in Canada
As far as I can tell, from experience at DUB and their website, this service is only available for flights going from DUB to US airports. You will have to clear US customs at YUL unfortunately.
Link ...
- 4,581
7
votes
Accepted
After passing through US customs at YVR can you get back out?
I remember last time I went through US preclearance in Toronto, that there was a sign that said something like, if you pass through preclearance, you must proceed on a flight to the US the same day; ...
- 22.7k
7
votes
Pre-clearance in Abu Dhabi or Dublin
Preclearance happens for an entire departing flight at a time.
The flight from Abu Dhabi to Dublin will have many passengers on it who are not going to the US, so it would make no sense to preclear ...
7
votes
Accepted
Pre clearance US immigration status
There are no US Preclearence facilities in Doha. You will have to go through US Immigration and Customs when you arrive in Los Angeles.
There was some discussion about starting such a service in Doha,...
- 86.3k
7
votes
Accepted
Re: TSA Precheck. Does this apply to international flights?
TSA Precheck only applies to security checkpoints operated by the US Transportation Security Administration (and, at some US airports, checkpoints operated by contractors on behalf of TSA). At non-US ...
- 86.3k
7
votes
Arriving in Atlanta after US Preclearance in Dublin. Will I go through TSA security in Atlanta to transfer to a connecting flight?
In my experience, when arriving in the US after a pre-clearance flight, you arrive in the post-security area of the terminal, and can catch a connecting flight without going through security at that ...
- 22.7k
7
votes
Clearing US custom at Toronto Pearson YYZ at 5am?
Just 7 days ago from the time of posting this @TorontoPearson tweeted:
Customs open at 3:30 am and counters are open 3 hours prior to scheduled flight times. Hope this helps. Regards.
Therefore, ...
- 19.9k
6
votes
Canada to USA customs preclearance and fruits/vegetables
So you have a sandwich containing a few vegetable like lettuce, tomatoes etc. As a general advisory, you can consult this link for "Fruit and Vegetable Import Advisory".
Will it be an issue? No, it ...
- 4,533
6
votes
Accepted
Baggage claim during connecting flights
Your bags will remain checked, and you won't have to claim them to go through US preclearance at Abu Dhabi. They'll show you a picture of your bags on a monitor and ask you to identify that they ...
- 86.3k
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