Originally Posted by
Misco60
Surely, pre-clearance would be a huge benefit for those without Global Entry (who comprise the vast majority of passengers)?
Perhaps I'm misreading your post, but you seem to be saying that you would not like to see pre-clearance at LHR because then every Tom, Dick and Harry would have the same easy entry to the US that you currently enjoy.
Pre-Clearance isn't all it's cracked up to be. At pre-clearance in Dublin, they don't trust that Dublin airport has done its scanning job properly, so out come your liquids and electronics again and off come your shoes. If several US-bound flights are departing at the same time, the queues can be enormous. Global Entry helps with that, of course, but I still find GE on arrival quicker than on departure.
One other nice thing about immigration on arrival is that you clear into a quieter area of the airport. With pre-clearance, you're treated like a domestic flight and disembark into a terminal thronged with hordes of departing passengers.