When it comes to clearing immigration at airports in the United States, a vast majority of people do so upon arrival. However, many people may not be aware that the United States has what’s known as a Preclearance program, whereby you clear immigration prior to boarding your US-bound flight when departing from select airports.
The United States is the only country in the world to have a program like this (probably largely because we also don’t have sterile international transit), so I’d like to take a closer look at the program in this post. Which airports have such a facility, and how does it even work?
My understanding is that foreign countries can apply to introduce Preclearance facilities. If a deal is reached, the cost for these facilities is shared between the US government and the country that applied. The US largely pays for the CBP staff, while the applicant country is responsible for providing the space at the airport for the facility, as well as building the facility.
A great solo travel tip spotted this week on One Mile at a Time.
