Originally Posted by
William Carroll
I am taking my dad to Vietnam for vacation and due to my poor scheduling I am arriving from Vietnam landing in LAX and then heading straight to Mexico for a wedding.
Will I need to go through customs and back into the international terminal, or can I stay in the international terminal and just proceed on to Mexico? I am trying to figure out how long of a layover I need.
My dad is continuing on to PDX to go home, any idea how long it will take for him to get through customs? Neither of us have global entry and I do not think I have time.to get it.
We leave in February. I really appreciate any help someone can give, I have never done anything like this and am kind of lost.
USA does not have the concept of "
airside transit".
You must formally enter USA with all your checked & carry on baggage. Passport, immigration, customs etc
Even passengers on the same flight such as Air NZ's AKL-LAX-LHR flight have to do this.
A very few USA airports have air side luggage transfer, but 95% sure LAX is not one of those.
I expect the Mexico flight will be separate ticket the Vietnam flight, so allow plenty of time. With separate tickets if the first incoming flight is late and you miss the next flight all the risk it with you.
https://www.cbp.gov/travel/advisories-wait-times
https://awt.cbp.gov/