Pre-clearance and Baggage

1. What does pre clearance for customs mean?
2. What happens at US preclearance?
3. What airports have US customs preclearance?
4. How does CBP Preclearance work?
5. What agency is in charge of pre-clearance?
6. Why does Ireland have US pre-clearance?
7. Can US immigration check your phone?
8. Does Cancun have US customs preclearance?
9. What do I have to declare at US Customs?
10. Where do you clear customs on international flights?
11. Do you clear customs in Bermuda?
12. Do you go through US Customs in Aruba?

What does pre clearance for customs mean?

Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Preclearance is the strategic stationing of CBP personnel at designated foreign airports to inspect travelers prior to boarding U.S.-bound flights.

What happens at US preclearance?

US Preclearance Facility. ... The benefit is that having cleared USCBP, passengers arriving in the US are treated as domestic arrivals, allowing them to avoid immigration queues upon arrival and pick up their bags and go.

What airports have US customs preclearance?

Brussels Airport will soon have preclearance for U.S.-bound travelers.
...
U.S. Customs Is Bringing Preclearance to These Foreign Airports

• Ireland—Dublin and Shannon.
• Aruba.
• Bahamas—Freeport and Nassau.
• Bermuda.
• United Arab Emirates.
• Canada—Calgary, Toronto, Edmonton, Halifax, Montreal, Ottawa, Vancouver, Victoria, and Winnipeg.

How does CBP Preclearance work?

When CBP at a U.S. airport denies a traveler entry into the country, the airline foots the bill to fly the passenger back to the country of origin. When CBP preclearance prevents a passenger from boarding, the airline immediately has saved the cost it otherwise would incur had the passenger flown to the U.S.

What agency is in charge of pre-clearance?

United States border preclearance facilities are prescreening border controls operated by the United States Department of Homeland Security at airports and other ports of departure located outside the United States under agreement between the host country and the federal government of the United States.

Why does Ireland have US pre-clearance?

US Preclearance in Ireland allows US-bound passengers to clear all US entry controls (immigration, customs and agriculture) prior to departure, such that on arrival there they have the same status as passengers arriving from a US domestic airport and thus face no further entry controls.

Can US immigration check your phone?

A US appeals court has ruled that Customs and Border Protection agents can conduct in-depth searches of phones and laptops, overturning an earlier legal victory for civil liberties groups.

Does Cancun have US customs preclearance?

No US CBP preclearance in Cancun (or anywhere in Mexico).

What do I have to declare at US Customs?

You must declare all items you purchased and are carrying with you upon return to the United States, including gifts for other people as well as items you bought for yourself. This includes duty-free items purchased in foreign countries, as well as any merchandise you intend to sell or use in your business.

Where do you clear customs on international flights?

You will have to clear customs and collect your bags at the first airport in the US that you land in. In this case, even though I was on a single Oneworld itinerary, I had to claim my bags in New York, recheck them and re-clear security for my domestic flight.

Do you clear customs in Bermuda?

All passengers travelling to the United States from Bermuda will go through pre-clearance in Bermuda. As a result, passengers will not have to go through immigration once landing in the US and will arrive as if they are travelling on a domestic US flight.

Do you go through US Customs in Aruba?

Aruba has US pre-clearance for all passengers traveling to the United States. This means that you will go through passport control in Aruba at the U.S. Customs & Border Protection facility and once back in the US you don't have that hassle.