evergrn

Well, okay maybe I'm not certain but I'm hopeful. Hopeful that being in Jpn environment working alongside Jpnese people (although I realize they'll be in their own area) will rub off on their attitude positively.

I don't know about Ireland, but I've done pre-clearance at Aruba and Canada (many times) and I will say that I've never been harrassed at those places like I've been on some occasions at US airports. But that's just been my experience. (Did get harrassed big-time once by US immigration at Vancouver's Amtrak station, though.)

Steve M

It's referring to the often-long line for US citizens and residents that don't have Global Entry. If your personal experience is that those lines are never long, then that's good for you, but a great many people have had other experiences.

exerda

Indeed. I know it's TSA rather than CBP, but I keep thinking of the agents at DEN (ironically upon return from NRT) who hassled me, and when I mentioned how professional the NRT screeners were, said to me, and I quote: "Well, I bet they [the Japanese] have to import a bunch of white people to do their security."

My foreign preclearance experiences have been somewhat mixed, FWIW.

westtexas

Are there any updates on how this is going in Narita now that it has, presumably, actually been implemented?

photaco

US preclearance from Narita is definitely not implemented yet as of this summer (if ever), so what are you talking about? Unless NRT and US Customs implemented it without a bunch of press (unlikely).

jamar

Definitely hasn't been implemented yet, and I think they have a long way to go before implementing it. Also, I think specifying NRT as the Tokyo-area airport to put it at also wasn't such a bright idea; pre-clearance is better for US-side connecting traffic unless the US-side facilities are as good as on the outside (like at YVR/YYZ). I definitely see some merit to the idea; right now it's actually easier to clear the US border if you connect via Canada to the US because preclearance at YVR doesn't require you to grab your checked bags, has Global Entry lanes, and is a not too difficult walk from your arriving gate to the US area.

TravelinSperry

As long as pre-clearance has Global Entry just as it does in the States upon arrival - I see no difference to me.

WilcoRoger

Wouldn't it be simpler for the USA to get their act together and handle their immigration process the way every civilized nation does?

- pre-clearance - right, export your incompetence to other countries

- Global Entry et al. - I simply cannot grasp the idea of it. Issuing some extra documents to your own citizens to handle their return to their own country in a normal way? What is so special in Europe/Japan/etc, etc that they can process their own citizens in about 5 seconds that cannot be done by/in the US? Scan the passport, look at the photo and the pax, say "welcome home" if feeling chatty.

889

The UK seems about ready to charge its own citizens extra for quick entry at some airports:

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/...l-more-quickly

inlandrev

Seems now Narita is off the list and Kansai Airport in West Japan is now on the list.

jamar

Well, that's going to be more manageable, at least. Fewer than 10 flights a day to the US (mostly GUM and HNL, 1x SFO and 1x LAX) means they don't have to dedicate too much space to it (for example, take the end of either wing and seal off for a small and probably uncomfortable preclearance area).

armagebedar

I've renamed the thread given this new development.

joejones

I believe the GUM flights wouldn't be covered -- even if they were you'd only avoid immigration in Guam and would still have to go through customs upon arrival. Most likely this would just be for the flights to the mainland and Hawaii (only five last time I checked, all departing in the evening hours).

My guess is that there would be a remote preclearance facility accessed by bus from the main terminal after security. Pax would get processed there and then board the plane. I can't see them putting pre-clearance inside the terminal. They'd have to sacrifice a considerable amount of gate space for it -- even if they just sealed off the end of a pier, they'd need to take out at least three gates (maybe more) in order to make room for the preclearance area. Together with the gates actually used for the aircraft, KIX would lose something like seven or eight gates, which is pretty substantial.

GUWonder

MCT and check-in cut off times are likely to get worse for customers as a result of airports going from no-US CBP preclearance to getting US CBP preclearance.

There would be a difference for me -- a worse experience at that -- even as I am a Global Entry member.

The check-in cut-off and minimum connect times allowed by the airlines/airport/governments will probably get worse for me with CBP pre-clearance.

The segregated facilities for US-bound premium passengers and even others won't be as wide and good (at least for some time) as joint facilities serving international passengers in the aggregate.

The hourly cost to staff a CBP employee at CBP pre-clearance facilities is, ceteris paribus, significantly higher than it is for CBP employees at US airports of entry. Higher costs make no difference? Worse MCT/check-in cut-off times make no difference? Ending up in worse, segregated airside facilities for a longer period of time makes no difference?

The USG is out there trying to "convince" foreign governments to do this, and that's because the USG wants to push out the US security perimeter to well beyond the US borders. If every country did this US kind of thing and got its way in pushing out the "security perimeter", then we would all be worse off for it.

jamar

When you put it that way, it's understandable. However, that doesn't necessarily mean it's all bad. One plus side to preclearance is quicker US-side connections, because you get dropped off at a gate on the domestic side with little issue. Another is easing CBP congestion at US airports, but granted, that could also be made quicker if the US border inspection process was more similar to Japan's (most of the time when I visit Japan, I don't get any questions from the immigration inspector- it's passport, fingerprints, photo, go, whereas even with Global Entry the primary inspector always asks what I was doing in the foreign country and how long I was there).