Originally Posted by
jpmoore40
Excuse my ignorance but it seems a bit odd that we have to go through immigration and customs when we would not actually be entering the country - we would be staying airside the entire time.
Right, but in US airports there is no control on exiting "airside" only on entering airside. You just walk right out. So if they let you into the airside area, where the shops and lounges are, you'd be free to ener the US of A with no controls at all.