Thanks for your detailed info. Much appreciated!
Just one more question. Are IMMIGRATION and CUSTOMS the same thing? or they are different procedures at the airport when I arrive?
And, seems that I need to get the boarding pass by myself at LAX for UA flight. So, I check-in the baggage first, then go to T7 to get the boarding pass, is it all right to do it in this way?
How much time do I need to go from TBIT to T7? Can I walk to T7?
Thanks again, pgtravel and kef0913!
Originally Posted by pgtravel
When you arrive at TBIT, they will direct you downstairs to immigration. After you pass immigration, you'll claim your bags at the carousel right there, and then you'll go through customs. You shouldn't have any trouble finding your bags.
Once you pass through customs, you will see an area for baggage re-checking. I am almost positive that United has a counter there so you won't have to carry your bags any further. You definitely don't want to take them all the way to T7 on your own.
Are all your flights on one ticket? In other words, did you buy one ticket ICN-LAX-IAD or did you buy an Asiana ticket from ICN to LAX and then a United ticket from LAX to IAD? If you bought one ticket for the whole itinerary, you should be able to get your United boarding pass in ICN. That's part of the benefit of traveling on Star Alliance carriers. If not, it's not a big deal, because you'll have to go down to Terminal 7 anyway. You can check in there and then go through security.
And don't worry - these aren't weird questions!