Will I save much time by using the US preclearance facilities in Canada/Ireland rather than flying direct?

1/20/2015 9:33:06 AM

Being a frequent transatlantic passenger to New York from UK I have many experiences of customs and immigration in USA. I have done both scenarios several times. Because of my origin location, flight time is roughly the same:

  • Newcastle – Dublin – New York
  • Newcastle – Amsterdam – New York
  • Newcastle – Heathrow – New York

What I find quicker by an average of an hour is the lack of queue at Dublin for pre clearance checks. Time I would be using in Amsterdam or Heathrow to browse the selection of shops and restaurants before my connection is now spent pre clearing immigration in Dublin.

1/19/2015 6:46:33 PM

I haven’t done pre-clearance in Dublin — but I have done it in Toronto. It seemed to go faster than immigration in New York or Atlanta, based on my (limited) experience.

But I’d still caution against it: If you hit a delay at a transfer point, causing you to miss a flight, it can be frustrating and/or expensive. And adding an unknown such as 2 immigration checks (Ireland from the Czech Republic, and then USA from Ireland) will have the potential to mess up your trip — unless you budget so much time for it that you really won’t save any time at all: You’ll just end up spending that time for certain in the Dublin Airport, rather than potentially in line at JFK.

Credit:stackoverflow.com‘

About me

Hello,My name is Aparna Patel,I’m a Travel Blogger and Photographer who travel the world full-time with my hubby.I like to share my travel experience.

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