Originally Posted by
MarkXS
But if you've checked a full size suitcase, or sporting equipment, or a case of wine, the only way that bag is getting out of Customs is by the TSA checked luggage scanners that then continue the bags on their way to their final tagged destination.
As said above, there has to be a way around that. Forget the hypothetical "gaming the system by dropping a segment" idea. What if you're on a refundable ticket and you determine you need to legitimately cancel the final segment after you've already entered the mid-field immigration area? Still screwed? If you don't take your bag off the belt and over to customs, it's neither going out the front door nor onto the connecting flights. Does it simply end up with CBP in lost and found?