Rumour: US Customs preclearance for Sydney

[docjames]

This is great if your end result is LA, but would it mean pax would be willing to reduce the mct at LAX by any significant amount?

 

[harvyk]

This is great if your end result is LA, but would it mean pax would be willing to reduce the mct at LAX by any significant amount?

Not a chance.

It isn't just customs at LAX which can be slow. It's security as well. I highly doubt that the TSA would be happy with people being deposited directly airside if it was not the TSA who checked the pax. (Unless someone who has experienced pre-check wants to chime in otherwise)

 

[UP4014]

I think the destination country would most definitely want their own people checking and clearing people through.

 

[Himeno]

Not a chance.

It isn't just customs at LAX which can be slow. It's security as well. I highly doubt that the TSA would be happy with people being deposited directly airside if it was not the TSA who checked the pax. (Unless someone who has experienced pre-check wants to chime in otherwise)

A requirement for preclearance is the screening for those precleared flights follow TSA rules.

 

[get me outta here]

Just got a ‘pre clearance’ in SYD and still got the usual questions at LAX. Pre-clearance took part as I waited to check-in and at first I thought it was some sort of tourist exit questionnaire. And, I got a sticker in the back page of the pp, “Security Do Not Remove”.

 

[RooFlyer]

That's been part of the procedure for a while now.

 

[get me outta here]

Oh OK. I didn’t get it in May.

That's been part of the procedure for a while now.

 

[RooFlyer]

mmm .. I got it in SYD in mid April .

 

[serfty]

Oh OK. I didn’t get it in May.

I got it in January, March and June.

 

[Himeno]

Just got a ‘pre clearance’ in SYD and still got the usual questions at LAX. Pre-clearance took part as I waited to check-in and at first I thought it was some sort of tourist exit questionnaire. And, I got a sticker in the back page of the pp, “Security Do Not Remove”.

That's not preclearance. That's security questioning. It's been happening in Europe for US bound flights for years. It seems to have infected Australia as well in the last few months. At least they are putting those stupid stickers on the inside passport cover instead of all over the outside like in Europe.

 

[Sdtravel]

Those things mean nothing. It makes no difference to the questions you get at the other end. I don't think they even check when you get stateside if you have the sticker.

Sydney preclearance would be great. As mentioned though as long as we are able to enter US as domestic pax without the need to clear security again.

 

[RooFlyer]

Those things mean nothing. It makes no difference to the questions you get at the other end. I don't think they even check when you get stateside if you have the sticker.

Sydney preclearance would be great. As mentioned though as long as we are able to enter US as domestic pax without the need to clear security again.

I got my questions and stickers while in the J check-in queue. I thought the sticker was just for the benefit of the check-in agents - that is, they devolved the check-in security questions to separate people, and the sticker was just so the check-in people knew that you had been through the separate stage. Maybe wrong in that.

 

[kpc]

Strange...last week at the AA checkin desk at Syd, got asked 0 security Qs. Meanwhile+1 at the Qf checkin, got asked a few security Qs...

 

[TheBOSman]

One major benefit of Preclearance is also that you arrive same as a domestic passenger would in USA. I can verify this happens, having flown YVR-DFW-BOS as an example; I did not have to reclear security at DFW and arrived the same had I arrived from any American origin airport. Preclearance would definitely reduce MCT required for connections, since you would arrive airside and also any checked luggage would be checked through and you would not need to reclaim it and recheck it at the port of arrival as you do now. I'd guess, at LAX, it could be cut down to 45-50 minutes, whereas now I believe MCT International to Domestic at LAX is either 1:50 or 2 hours.

Preclearance also requires security at least equal to the standards of TSA. Without this, the Preclearance does not happen. As another verification, last month I flew YYT (St. John's, Newfoundland) - YYZ (Toronto Pearson) - IAH (Houston Bush). I went through Canadian security at YYT. However, to access the Preclearance area at YYZ, I had to proceed through security again before advancing to the CBP immigration and customs agents, as the USA does not accept regular Canadian domestic security as reaching the standards required. There are separate checkpoints with different standards before the Preclearance terminal area as compared to Canadian domestic security.

Hope that helps .

 

[get me outta here]

I wonder what the point is as no one seems to take any notice of it and it seems to have no status. However, maybe it depends who deals with you if you make bad comments and get pulled out of the line.

That's not preclearance. That's security questioning. It's been happening in Europe for US bound flights for years. It seems to have infected Australia as well in the last few months. At least they are putting those stupid stickers on the inside passport cover instead of all over the outside like in Europe.

 

[harvyk]

I wonder what the point is as no one seems to take any notice of it and it seems to have no status. However, maybe it depends who deals with you if you make bad comments and get pulled out of the line.

Those “Trump questions” as one check in agent called them came into being on Sunday the 22nd October last year. At the time it was just supposed to be a sample of pax rather than every pax. I remember the date well as that was the date of my QF15 fiasco. I was meant to fly out on the Saturday, thus missing the questions by a day, however since the flight was cancelled when I checked in again on Sunday all the agents where talking about this new procedure for “Trump’s America”. At the time it was only for a sample of pax, therefore once the quota had been reached all other pax where simply waived through. (Therefore if you did want to travel there for bad reasons, just don’t be too eager to check in too early). Obviously they realised that loophole and changed it to all pax.


My trip there last month, I found the questions I was asked to be very similar to the questions I would normally be asked at CPB. When I turned up at the CBP just wanted to know I was doing, and how long I would be there for. I believe I said no more than 3 words to the officer before they stamped my passport and waived me in.

 

[Himeno]

My trip there last month, I found the questions I was asked to be very similar to the questions I would normally be asked at CPB. When I turned up at the CBP just wanted to know I was doing, and how long I would be there for. I believe I said no more than 3 words to the officer before they stamped my passport and waived me in.

When I got to the CBP agent at LAX on July 4, she didn't care about this trip and only asked me questions about my last trip there...

 

[harvyk]

When I got to the CBP agent at LAX on July 4, she didn't care about this trip and only asked me questions about my last trip there...

I think they've got pretty free reign to ask just about anything. I remember one trip where the CBP officer spent most of the time asking me what HKG was like (since I had a recent HKG stamp in my passport), and a few trips before that I had a good conversation with the CBP officer about the Cook Islands (again a recent at the time passport stamp)

I suppose in some ways a person who is there to do wrong probably has practiced their story a few times, but coming up with a fake cover story for previous trips on the fly would be much harder.

 

[Sdtravel]

My first time i went to the US i had left my HK ID card in my passport case and got to play 20 questions with the CBP about it.
Do you live in HK? No
Did you used to live there? No
Are you from China or Hong Kong? No
Are you a HK citizen? No
Why do you have a HK ID card?? I have right of abode from my parents.
OK.

I now ensure that when i go to the US i leave my HKID at home.

 

[Himeno]

I think they've got pretty free reign to ask just about anything. I remember one trip where the CBP officer spent most of the time asking me what HKG was like (since I had a recent HKG stamp in my passport), and a few trips before that I had a good conversation with the CBP officer about the Cook Islands (again a recent at the time passport stamp)

The previous US entry at BOS last Oct was:
CBP: Why are you here?
me: visiting friends and holiday
CBP: how do you know these friends?
me: Internet
CBP: How long have you known them?
me: 16 years
CBP: Visited them before?
me: yes
CBP: Where do they live?
me: <mention name of nearby minor city using local pronunciation>
CBP: <big smile> welcome to America.