The United States operates border preclearance facilities at a number of
ports and airports in foreign countries. They are staffed and operated by U.S.
Customs and Border Protection officers. Travelers pass through Immigration and
Customs, Public Health, and Department of Agriculture inspections before
boarding their aircraft, ship or train. This process is intended to streamline
border procedures, to reduce congestion at ports of entry, and to facilitate
travel between the preclearance location and U.S. airports unequipped to handle
international travellers. Preclearance exists at most major
Canadian airports. Arrangements also exist with some airports in Bermuda, The
Bahamas, Aruba, two airports in Ireland, and one in the United Arab Emirates.
When travelers from a preclearance port arrive in the U.S. they do so as
domestic travellers but are still subject to reinspection at the
discretion of Customs and Border Protection.
Preclearance applies to U.S. citizens as well as citizens of most other countries
who travel to the U.S. As United States and Canadian laws require that those in
transit must pass through the relevant customs, preclearance also applies to
transit passengers. Reasons for implementation
This process is intended to streamline border procedures, to reduce congestion
at ports of entry, and to facilitate travel between the preclearance location
and some U.S. airports that may not be equipped to handle international
travellers. However, with the notable exceptions of LaGuardia and Ronald
Reagan Washington National Airport, many more US airports now have customs
facilities compared to when the preclearance program first started in
1952. US and other countries who engage in the
practice have been accused of being motivated also by the desire to prevent
the arrival of asylum seekers, who are protected under the 1951 Refugee
Convention's non-refoulement provisions once they arrive at their destination.
Benefits and Drawbacks This is particularly beneficial to those
who have an ongoing connection, as there is no risk of border delays causing them
to miss their connection. Air travelers with further connections have their
baggage checked through to their destination; without preclearance the
baggage would have to be collected prior to customs inspection and then rechecked
onto the subsequent flight. Preclearance also provides considerable
flexibility to the airlines operating in those routes where such program is
available. For example, major U.S airlines and their subsidiaries
routinely operate many daily flights from locations like Toronto or Nassau to
New York City. Thanks to the presence of preclearance facilities in Toronto and
Nassau, the airlines can choose to conveniently direct their flights from
these locations to land at LaGuardia Airport instead of John F. Kennedy
International Airport or Newark Liberty International Airport. This allows them
to save the valuable space at JFK and EWR for their other international
arrivals. Preclearance exists at most major
Canadian airports, theoretically enabling more convenient travel from
those cities to the U.S. The waits at some busy preclearance facilities,
notably Toronto Pearson, can also often exceed the waiting times of
non-precleared flights at the destination and cause significant delays
to departure schedules. With the notable exceptions of LaGuardia and Ronald
Reagan Washington National Airport, many more US airports now have customs
facilities compared to when the preclearance program first started in
1952. Reduced staffing levels by US Customs and Border Protection have been
blamed by airport authorities, whose pleas have been answered with deferrals
due to domestic priorities. NEXUS and similar programs are now being explored
and expanded as a means to try to restore some of the original convenience
to the preclearance process. Legal Restrictions
These facilities exist because of agreements made between the federal
government of the United States and the governments of the host countries.
Travellers who have passed through the U.S. government checks, but whose flight
or ship has not departed, remain in the legal jurisdiction of the host country.
U.S. officials may question and search travellers with the passenger's
permission, but they do not have powers of arrest, although they can deny
boarding. Local criminal laws apply, and are enforced by local officials. Some
countries have laws in place specifically to cover preclearance
issues. Since CBP does not have legal powers on foreign soil, passengers can
only be detained for local laws by local authorities. A passenger can choose to
abandon their flight and refuse search, and unlike in the United States,
officers cannot search them. Most preclearance facilities have a sign
explaining this. CBP Officers in the Preclearance Division are not armed
while on foreign soil. Canada
In Canada, U.S. Border Preclearance is also known by its French name,
précontrôle. Informal preclearance arrangements between the U.S. and Canada
began in Toronto, Ontario, in 1952, following a request from American
Airlines. This was extended and formalized with Canada's passage of the
Air Transport Preclearance Act passed by the Canadian House of Commons in 1974,
the 1999 Preclearance Act and with the 2001 Canada–U.S. Agreement on Air
Transport Preclearance. The preclearance agreement is fully reciprocal, meaning
the Government of Canada has the option of opening Canadian Preclearance
facilities in the United States, but as of 2013 this option has not been
exercised by the Canadian government. The following Canadian airports operate
U.S. preclearance facilities: Calgary International Airport
Edmonton International Airport Halifax Stanfield International Airport
Montréal-Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport
Ottawa Macdonald-Cartier International Airport
Toronto Pearson International Airport Vancouver International Airport
Winnipeg James Armstrong Richardson International Airport
The U.S. operates a preclearance post at Pacific Central Station for Amtrak
Cascades rail service between Vancouver, British Columbia, and Seattle,
Washington. The U.S. operates a preclearance post at
the port of Vancouver. This is particularly valuable to travellers
using cruise liners which visit Alaska or that depart from Vancouver and have a
first stop at other US coastal cities situated along the west coast of North
America. The U.S. operates preinspection posts
for immigration only at the port of Victoria for the Black Ball Line MV Coho
car ferry service to Port Angeles, Washington, and at the terminal in
Sidney for the Washington State Ferries service to Anacortes, Washington.
Per the request of Porter Airlines, a new terminal building constructed at
Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport officially opened in Fall 2010 and
includes both Canada Border Services Agency and provisions for U.S. Customs
and Border Protection border preclearance facilities, however the
latter has been denied by Washington. In May 2012, U.S. Senators Charles
Schumer, Kirsten Gillibrand, Patrick Leahy, and Bernie Sanders sent a letter
to President Barack Obama urging him to fastrack the approval of a preclearance
facility in Montreal's Central Station that will benefit U.S. bound travelers
from having to stop at the train station in Rouses Point, New York for
immigration and customs checks whenever they cross the U.S.-Canadian border. On
March 16, 2015, the United States and Canada signed an agreement that would
allow for such a facility. On March 16, 2015, US and Canadian
officials signed the ministerial-level Agreement on Land, Rail, Marine, and Air
Transport Preclearance Between the Government of the United States of
America and the Government of Canada, which foresees significant expansion of
the scope of preclearance facilities. Under the new agreement, US CBP officers
working at US preclearance facilities in Canada will be able to carry firearms.
Caribbean and Atlantic Ocean Informal preclearance with Bermuda began
in 1960. The Bahamas and the U.S. signed a treaty in June 1974 formalizing the
process. Aruba – Queen Beatrix International
Airport The Bahamas – Grand Bahama International
Airport in Freeport The Bahamas – Lynden Pindling
International Airport in Nassau Bermuda – Bermuda International Airport
Plans were underway for a preclearance facility to be opened at Punta Cana
International Airport located in the popular tourist destination of Punta
Cana, Dominican Republic by the end of summer 2009, however as of January 2014
the facility has not opened yet. In April 2011, a team from the U.S.
Department of Homeland Security travelled to Jamaica for talks with
Jamaican government and tourism officials regarding the prospects of
opening future preclearance facilities on the island.
Ireland Dublin Airport
Shannon Airport The U.S. and Ireland entered into a
preinspection arrangement in 1986. Shannon Airport initially offered only
immigration checks, with customs and agriculture inspections done on arrival
in the U.S.—a procedure more properly known as preinspection. In August 2009,
Shannon opened an addition to its preclearance facility that provided
customs and agriculture inspections as well. The facilities at Dublin Airport,
like those at Shannon, initially offered only immigration checks on select
flights. In January 2011, a section of the recently opened Terminal 2 dedicated
to preclearance opened with full CBP facilities. Both airports now allow
U.S.-bound commercial flights that use the preclearance facilities to arrive at
domestic terminals instead of international terminals, which in turn
allows arriving passengers to leave airports upon landing without further
inspection. Since March 2010, the Shannon preclearance facility is also
available for use by private aircraft; the Dublin facility is only available
for commercial flights. Middle East
Abu Dhabi Airport In December 2011, the government of Abu
Dhabi signed a letter of intent to construct a terminal that, when opened,
would house a U.S. border preclearance facility. On 6 June 2013, the House
passed an amendment offered by Representatives Pat Meehan, Candice
Miller and Peter DeFazio. The amendment prohibits the U.S.
Department of Homeland Security from using any taxpayer dollars to conduct
customs and border protection preclearance operations at Abu Dhabi
International Airport. The amendment was unanimously adopted during floor
consideration of the FY14 Homeland Security Appropriations bill. The US
customs pre-clearance facility at Abu Dhabi International Airport officially
opened on 26 January 2014. A US customs preclearance is currently being planned
at Dubai International Airport. On November 14, 2013, Rep. Patrick
Meehan introduced the Preclearance Authorization Act of 2014, a bill that
would authorize the United States Secretary of Homeland Security to
establish preclearance facilities, conduct preclearance operations, or
provide customs services outside of the United States to prevent terrorists,
terrorist instruments, and other national security threats from gaining
access to the United States. Meehan indicated that the goal of the bill is
to prevent the Customs Bureau from opening a pre-clearance facility at Abu
Dhabi International Airport in the United Arab Emirates: currently just one
airline there flies to the United States. That airline is Etihad, a
state-run airline. Supporters of the bill wish to avoid giving an unfair
competitive advantage that might result from travellers flying on Etihad through
that airport in order to take advantage of the chance to be pre-cleared, an
opportunity passengers on other airlines would not have.
Future Plans Ministry of Foreign Affairs of South
Korea stated that the Government of South Korea plans to establish the U.S.
preclearance system in Incheon International Airport. However, on 15
January 2015, Incheon International Airport announced that it would not
introduce the U.S. preclearance after in-depth analysis concluded that such
establishment could lead to decrease in sales at duty-free shops despite income
from commission fees. In May 2015, the United States
Department of Homeland Security announced that the following airports
will be considered for the expansion of border preclearance scheme — Brussels
Airport, Belgium; Punta Cana Airport, Dominican Republic; Narita International
Airport, Japan; Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, Netherlands; Oslo Airport,
Norway; Madrid-Barajas Airport, Spain; Stockholm Arlanda Airport, Sweden;
Istanbul Ataturk Airport, Turkey; and London Heathrow Airport and Manchester
Airport, United Kingdom. See also
Extraterritorial jurisdiction Immigration to the United States
List of United States immigration legislation
United States Department of Homeland Security
United States Citizenship and Immigration Services
Juxtaposed controls References
External links Preclearance Locations, U.S. Customs and
Border Protection Preclearance at Toronto Pearson: A Vital
Link Connecting the U.S. and Canada Preclearance - map of airports that have
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