International travelers - airline ticket question

[ilovedolphins]

When do you pass through customs?  When you are leaving a country or entering it?  When I left St Thomas I had to fill out the customs form and then didn't do anything when I got back to Florida.  A friend just came back from Italy and had to go through customs in New York.  Just trying to see where I would need the longer layover.

[Gardening Grandma]

It probably depends, but most of the time, you go through customs and immigration at the country of arrival.

The hassle factor varies widely.

[Tennesseer]

As St.Thomas and the rest of the U.S. Virgin Islands are U.S. territories, you would go through customs there before boarding your flight back to the states. Keep in mind that would apply with any other U.S. territory from where you visited and/are returning home to the states.

As an American citizen, you go through customs at the point you enter and land/dock in U.S. territory if you are flying in from a foreign country. So if you Iive in say Louisville, Kentucky, and you're returning from a trip to Italy, more than likely you would land first in Chicago and go through customs there. After that, you would then take all your baggage to the airline and its counter in Chicago, check-in there, and fly from Chicago to Louisville.

[whoami]

I went to Italy last month and came back through JFK. You always go through customs/immigration when returning to the US at the first airport you land at. How long it takes depends on the time of day and how long the lines depends on how many international flights are arriving at that particular time. It took less than 30 minutes for us to clear immigration, claim our bags, go through customs and recheck the bags. Bag recheck is usually just past customs. There were no other flights at immigration when we arrived.

I have arrived at DFW from overseas many times. Sometimes its quick but most of the time its not. 

[ilovedolphins]

Do you have to get your checked bags at the first US airport and then recheck them again?

[justme]

I've only flown to/from Toronto and both ways I go through customs in Toronto.

Are you booking the flights separately or are you going to whatever airline and booking straight from where you live to where you're going (which may or may not include layovers)? If you booked each leg separately you might have a problem, but if you book start to finish with one airline I would think they would know where customs is and account for it when they select your flights. Maybe I'm giving them too much credit though.

[Deleted]

Toronto sucks. I mean, no offense, just saying... Will never fly through there again.

[ilovedolphins]

I am booking a flight from my home to my destination.  I am thinking of a cruise so I thought I might try and book airfare through the cruise line if possible.

[Miss Tequila]

Jun 15, 2013 18:08:55 GMT -5 ilovedolphins said:

Do you have to get your checked bags at the first US airport and then recheck them again?

Yes. I typically fly JFK when I'm going to brazil but once I went out of Philly with a connection in Charlotte. When I was returning, I had to claim bags in Charlotte and then recheck. They actually announce this on the plane.

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

Normally you go through customs at your final destination going overseas.  Into the US, you go through customs at your point of entry.  Yes, you have to get your bags and recheck them, but what normally happens is that your bag is already tagged for your final destination, as soon as you go through customs there is a bag drop where they scan the tag.

How long you have your layover depends upon when you land IMO.  For instance, if you have a tight connection, you might want to make sure that there are other flights available to your destination if you miss your first flight.  Another suggestion is that if you are flying to a hub airport to take an international flight, you might want to have a longer than normal layover so if something happens, you don't miss your international flight.  A friend of mine had a scheduled 2 hour layover in JFK, flying to Doha.  His flight out of Detroit was delayed and he missed his flight to Doha and the next one out was in 2 days.  He turned around and went home because it was only a week trip.

I am going to make a plug for a Trusted Traveler's Card if you are either a US or Canadian citizen.  When we came back from Mexico last month, we were able to bypass the HUGE line up at customs and go into the fast lane.  We waited longer to get my bag off the baggage belt than we did going through customs!

[wvugurl26]

Last month I went to Jamaica. I flew Montego Bay to Atlanta and Atlanta to BWI. Atlanta's a busy airport. I had a 2.5 hour layover and I was fine. My grandparents only had a hour and a half and they were pushed for time, ie I had time to eat dinner, they did not.

It took us over a hour to go through immigration, grab bag, recheck bag, do customs and go through security screening again. The bag thing was no big deal. Our bags were ticketed for final destination, we just had to move them from one conveyor belt to another. Immigration and security were the biggest time items for us.

[Queen of Interesting Nuts]

Don't do what I did and forget to get my bags on ATL. Very embarrassing. Customs can be set up differently at each airport. For example in ATL you go through customs on your way out to your next flight. But I have been through customs at the end of my journey.

Edited to add  it seems that as that I am mistaken or can't remember correctly.

[Deleted]

Jun 15, 2013 18:21:43 GMT -5 justme said:

I've only flown to/from Toronto and both ways I go through customs in Toronto.

Are you booking the flights separately or are you going to whatever airline and booking straight from where you live to where you're going (which may or may not include layovers)? If you booked each leg separately you might have a problem, but if you book start to finish with one airline I would think they would know where customs is and account for it when they select your flights. Maybe I'm giving them too much credit though.

And if you're a US citizen, you clear US Customs and Immigration in Toronto if you connect there.  That's a huge exception to the above info.  We connected through Toronto coming home from London and the BA guy told me we'd clear Customs and Immigration in Chicago (our next stop after Toronto).  He was wrong.  Good thing I'd flown out of Toronto before.

[Deleted]

I have to say, DFW and Toronto airports have been the worst I've gone through with regards to customs. LAX has been fine for me (did ok with a 3 hour layover) and JFK too (think I only had a 2 hour layover there). With a cruise line, if you depart out of the US, they get you when you dock and depart the ship back in the US. (we've only done ships based out of the US, so my experience is limited). BTW, we've done Royal Caribbean cruises and have loved them...

[ilovedolphins]

Does it go faster if you only have a carry on bag?

[chiver78]

Jun 15, 2013 20:28:06 GMT -5 @athena53 said:

Jun 15, 2013 18:21:43 GMT -5 justme said:

I've only flown to/from Toronto and both ways I go through customs in Toronto.

Are you booking the flights separately or are you going to whatever airline and booking straight from where you live to where you're going (which may or may not include layovers)? If you booked each leg separately you might have a problem, but if you book start to finish with one airline I would think they would know where customs is and account for it when they select your flights. Maybe I'm giving them too much credit though.

And if you're a US citizen, you clear US Customs and Immigration in Toronto if you connect there.  That's a huge exception to the above info.  We connected through Toronto coming home from London and the BA guy told me we'd clear Customs and Immigration in Chicago (our next stop after Toronto).  He was wrong.  Good thing I'd flown out of Toronto before.

Ireland is an exception too - you clear customs in either Shannon or Dublin, depending on which US city is your next destination.

ilovedolphins - what is the itinerary you're looking at, and which airline? that will help us help you find the correct information.

[Gardening Grandma]

Jun 18, 2013 17:15:13 GMT -5 ilovedolphins said:

Does it go faster if you only have a carry on bag?

Sure. You can go right through customs instead of waiting for the checked in luggage.

[wvugurl26]

Jun 18, 2013 17:15:13 GMT -5 ilovedolphins said:

Does it go faster if you only have a carry on bag?

I guess it could speed it up. By the time I cleared immigration and made my way to where the bag claim was, my bag was there. I picked it up and walked fifty feet and gave it to someone to send on its way. If you had to wait on a checked bag it could add to it. In my case last month, it was maybe 2 extra minutes and I had to open the bag and throw a bottle of booze in.

The longest lines I stood in were for immigration and customs/security rescreening. Other airports might be different, I was in Atlanta.

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

Jun 18, 2013 17:15:13 GMT -5 ilovedolphins said:

Does it go faster if you only have a carry on bag?

Only so much as you don't need to wait for your baggage, you can probably get through customs first.

[simser]

Yes it goes faster if you have a carry on bag. You clear customs and immigration at each "new" country on your itinerary usually- for instance when I went to Bangkok I cleared Japanese customs at narita before my flight to Bangkok. Coming home you'll do it at the first point of entry to the US. When I came back from the Caymans I got off in Charlotte, and that's where immigration was. I think you do immigration, pick up your bags, go through customs, drop off your bags, and then re go through security. Exceptions are airports that have customs and immigration agreements with the US already (Shannon in Ireland is the one I know) where you do all this there. I'd recommend 1.5 hours as a minimum layover (or double your normal comfortable minimum layover)

Whew that was long. Yes, I go on international trips a lot.