Originally Posted by
You want to go where?
My experience is exactly opposite the OP's. I was flying to Hong Kong on a UA flight from Chicago. We had an unscheduled stop in Anchorage for refueling and then due to a technical problem with the plan, we had to overnight in Anchorage. Everyone was required to go through immigration in Anchorage.
One of the issues is that it is not a line you cross, but you must croos multiple lines. In this case, many folks bought duty free stuff and must re-enter a non-duty free area. That needs to be documented and dealt with.
Once you land somewhere, even if you have not cross the custom area, you are bound by the local laws. Not the laws of country of origin. But if you fail to pass custom you have no legal standing - you must return to your country of origin.