US Pre-clearance at Dublin Airport

Dorothy Roxy

I am travelling to the US for the first time in September. I am flying with BA on a Dublin - London Gatwick - Las Vegas flight. Can I use the pre-clearance facility at Dublin airport or will I need to go through immigration at McCarran Airport in Vegas?

naughtysmurf

Dorothy Roxy wrote: »

I am travelling to the US for the first time in September. I am flying with BA on a Dublin - London Gatwick - Las Vegas flight. Can I use the pre-clearance facility at Dublin airport or will I need to go through immigration at McCarran Airport in Vegas?

You will do immigration in Vegas

coylemj

naughtysmurf wrote: »

You will do immigration in Vegas

+1 Pre-clearance in Dublin is only for people who are immediately boarding a nonstop flight to the US. Once you complete the process and go into the holding area, the US authorities consider you to have entered the US and you cannot go anywhere else without losing the clearance.

athtrasna

coylemj wrote: »

+1 Pre-clearance in Dublin is only for people who are immediately boarding a nonstop flight to the US. Once you complete the process and go into the holding area, the US authorities consider you to have entered the US and you cannot go anywhere else without losing the clearance.

There are currently a few flights this doesn't apply to as they depart Dublin after the immigration point closes (which it does around lunchtime). But in general this is true. Ireland is the only country in Western Europe, and one of less than a handful internationally, where you can pre-clear US customs and immigration.

coylemj

athtrasna wrote: »

There are currently a few flights this doesn't apply to as they depart Dublin after the immigration point closes (which it does around lunchtime).

It's not always because the CBP agents have gone home. There are some outbound flights to the US where for various reasons the passengers do not do pre-clearance, like if their flight is destined to land at an international terminal and the arriving passengers from Dublin will be 'contaminated' by mixing with people who have not been pre-cleared so the Irish passengers will have to do customs and immigration on arrival even though they could have been processed in Dublin. In such cases those passengers don't do pre-clearance in Dublin.

For pre-clearance to work, the passengers need to fly direct to the US and disembark at a domestic terminal so they get treated the same as if they were arriving from LAX or DFW.

BuffyBot

For pre-clearance to work, the passengers need to fly direct to the US and disembark at a domestic terminal so they get treated the same as if they were arriving from LAX or DFW.

Nope, not at all. Pre-cleared flights have arrived at the normal international terminals for years. Before Dublin also had customs pre-clearance they had to do that.

Now, of course, that it does have Customs as well as immigration, flights generally tend to go to their respective home terminals as if they were domestic ones but isn't a case of "have" to - gate shortages etc have caused flights to use international gates and have folks ushered through the CBP facilities etc

steve-o

BuffyBot wrote: »

Now, of course, that it does have Customs as well as immigration, flights generally tend to go to their respective home terminals as if they were domestic ones but isn't a case of "have" to - gate shortages etc have caused flights to use international gates and have folks ushered through the CBP facilities etc

With customs preclearance I can't even see that happening. In the US a domestic flight can arrive at any gate and disgorge its passengers onto the departures concourse. But I've heard of occasional mistakes with preclearance flights where the jetty is accidentally set up for an international arrival, sending the passengers the wrong way.

I think I've read now that pre-clearance is available on all flights from Dublin

Any ideas of estimates how long it's likely to take for a flight leaving at 9am on a saturday morning?

Trying to figure out if we'll get away with taking the aircoach, time-wise, or whether we'll have to drive and park....

schemingbohemia

Deleted User wrote: »

I think I've read now that pre-clearance is available on all flights from Dublin

Any ideas of estimates how long it's likely to take for a flight leaving at 9am on a saturday morning?

Trying to figure out if we'll get away with taking the aircoach, time-wise, or whether we'll have to drive and park....

How much in advance would the aircoach get you there? I just wouldn't risk it myself, too many variables.

Check how many transatlantic flights are leaving around that time and that might give you a better idea.

We've since 'settled on' (ie I was ordered) a taxi

Aim to arrive about 6am, three hours in advance of departure.

Good thinking re: checking for other US flights, I'll do that.

Thoie

The Dublin airport app gives an estimate of the length of the US immigration queue if you put in your flight number. If you have a few weeks to go yet, you could take a peek each Saturday morning to see how it's going.

This Saturday