U.S. immigration for transit flights

March 5, 2016 2:56 PM

If you fly through a US airport as a transit between foreign countries do you still have to go through immigration? Customs?

Tomorrow my friend is flying Nassau - Orlando - Dulles - Johannesburg. He is wondering if he will have to go through immigration in Orlando and if he will have to get his checked bag, go through customs and then recheck it? He is not a US citizen.
Thanks

posted by pandabearjohnson to Travel & Transportation (6 answers total)

Yes, he will have to go through customs and immigration in Orlando.
posted by kickingtheground at 3:08 PM on March 5, 2016

Yes, he will. He should check if he needs a transit visa.
posted by une_heure_pleine at 3:14 PM on March 5, 2016

If I read my Delta in-flight magazine correctly the other week, there are now a few flights into the US where you don't have to clear customs, at airports that provide a sterile, self-contained transit area for passengers who then leave the US from the same facility. Otherwise, the US doesn't do transit lounges.

For that itinerary, especially with the fully domestic Orlando-Dulles leg, he's going to have to clear immigration and customs in Orlando and recheck the bag and then go through a carry-on security scan. Rechecking the bag isn't the same process as the initial check-in, if that's a concern to your friend: once you're past Customs you put your bags on a conveyor that sends them back in the bowels of the airport, or hand them off to handlers.

And yeah, he'll either need a transit visa or ESTA, depending on whether he's eligible for the Visa Waiver Program.
posted by holgate at 3:22 PM on March 5, 2016

He will probably need ESTA, unless he is from Canada. See here:
https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov/esta/application.html?execution=e2s1

DO I NEED TO APPLY IF I'M ONLY TRANSITING THE UNITED STATES EN ROUTE TO ANOTHER COUNTRY?

Eligible nationals or citizens of countries that participate in the Visa Waiver Program require either a travel authorization or a visa to transit the United States. If a traveler is only planning to transit through the United States en route to another country, when he or she completes the travel authorization application in ESTA, the traveler should select "Yes" to the question "Is your travel to the US occurring in transit to another country?".

When it says "travel authorization" it means ESTA. This is straightforward but he needs to do it now, before he flies. I'm assuming he's in a visa waiver country (see here). If not... well, he would probably need a transit visa, but as far as I can see you have to apply in person at a US Consolate for one of these. Especially because there is a domestic flight - Orlando to Dulles will not have immigration control, so there would be nothing stopping him from waltzing out of the airport in Dulles. I hope this is not bad news.
posted by PercussivePaul at 3:23 PM on March 5, 2016

Another consideration is that if he buys any alcohol in duty free before he boards in Nassau, or on board en route to the USA, he'll need to make sure it complies with TSA requirements for connecting flights.
posted by essexjan at 3:57 PM on March 5, 2016

Actually, the Nassau airport has preclearance. Assuming his flight uses preclearance (I'm not positive all flights do, but I believe this is the case), he'll clear US immigration and customs in Nassau before he gets to the gate there (this takes extra time, so it's a good idea to arrive at the airport early). Once he arrives in Orlando, it will be just as if he arrived on an ordinary domestic flight, and he'll proceed to his gate for the flight to Dulles. His bag should be checked through, but he should confirm this when he checks in in Nassau.

However, preclearance doesn't change the requirement others have described above that he'll need to go through the ESTA process or hold a valid US visa (or be Canadian) if he's going to be allowed to board the plane in Nassau. What citizenship(s) does he hold and does he already have a visa?
posted by zachlipton at 9:20 PM on March 5, 2016