Originally Posted by
cxfan1960
In US airports, departures and arrivals are mixed for domestic, but not for international. I never tried transferring from departure to arrival for US international. Does that work?

There's no such thing as "transferring from departure to arrival for US international" in US airports. US does not have passport control for departing passengers. Only passengers arriving from an international flight will go to the arrivals hall for immigration/customs. You have not left the country unless you have actually physically left US territory.