Do you claim baggage before or after immigration?

After clearing immigration, proceed to the baggage reclaim area to collect your bags. If you are on an international flight connecting to a U.S. destination, make sure you claim your baggage before going through U.S. Customs.



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If you checked a bag, you'll have to collect it from baggage claim from the international flight. You'll need to clear customs and immigration. Next, you'll recheck your luggage for the domestic flight.

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Customs and immigration are usually required at the connecting airport for international flights. You don't always have to for domestic flights. In most cases, passengers on layover flights must clear customs and immigration at the first point of entry.

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The TSA checks passengers' identity and whether a passenger has a boarding pass; generally, they are not screening for immigration status.

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Meet the CBP Officer
The officer will review your documents and ask you a few questions about the purpose of your travel to the U.S. If all is in order, the officer will admit you to the U.S. and will stamp your passport with: date and place of arrival. immigration status.

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For international layover flights, you will normally have to go through customs and immigration at the connecting airport. For flights with a layover in Canada or the USA, you will need to go through immigration and fill out the necessary customs paperwork even if you are not staying in the country.

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Airlines typically remove unclaimed bags from the carousel after an hour for safety reasons. If a bag remains unclaimed, the airline will hold it in a secure area and attempt to contact the owner. If the owner is not identified after a few days, the bag may be donated to charity or auctioned off.

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United States (U.S.) law requires airlines operating flights to, from, or through the U.S. to provide the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), with certain passenger reservation data, referred to as Passenger Name Record (PNR) data, which assists CBP in securing U.S. borders, ...

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For international layover flights booked on one airline, two hours is often recommended to make your connection. For international flights on different airlines, the connection time will need to be even greater as you may have to change terminals between the two flights.

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If you know you'll be traveling during a peak time, it's probably still a good idea to plan on the standard two hours for domestic flights and three hours for international flights. If you're heading to the airport at a slower time of day, then you can consider arriving a little later.

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Customs and immigration are usually required at the connecting airport for international flights. You don't always have to for domestic flights. In most cases, passengers on layover flights must clear customs and immigration at the first point of entry.

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If you have checked baggage, you must recheck it between flights:
  1. Collect your checked baggage at the transfer airport. ...
  2. Leave the transit zone and take your baggage to the check-in counter (or baggage drop) for your next flight.
  3. Go through security and customs to the gate of your next flight.


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