Pre-Clearance

How can this be? US Customs working on Canadian "Soil" ? Why would
the Canadian Government even allow this?

Is this something new they are trying in Halifax? Intercepting
undesirables before they get to the US. Before we are forced to deal
with them here?

wrote in news:1159267624.217472.39980
@d34g2000cwd.googlegroups.com:

How can this be? US Customs working on Canadian "Soil" ? Why would
the Canadian Government even allow this?

Is this something new they are trying in Halifax? Intercepting
undesirables before they get to the US. Before we are forced to deal
with them here?



It is the norm in Canada. as a result flights from Canada arrive as
domestic flights allowing for easier connections. IIRC there was similar
service in Shannon Ireland.like ten years ago.

--
Joseph Coulter
Cruises and Vacations
http://www.josephcoulter.com/

On 26 Sep 2006 03:47:04 -0700 wrote:

:How can this be? US Customs working on Canadian "Soil" ? Why would
:the Canadian Government even allow this?

Obviously a (D).

:Is this something new they are trying in Halifax? Intercepting
:undesirables before they get to the US. Before we are forced to deal
:with them here?

They benefit Canadians, as they can now fly non-stop from Halifax to any US
airport, rather than just the international ones with immigration and customs
service.

The downside is if one connects in Canada to the US, such as from TLV, one
must get their bags, clear Canadian customs, carry the bags to US immigration
and customs and TSA.

If one connects in Europe one merely clears security at the connection and
need not wait for and carry their bags around.

--
Binyamin Dissen
http://www.dissensoftware.com

Should you use the mailblocks package and expect a response from me,
you should preauthorize the dissensoftware.com domain.

I very rarely bother responding to challenge/response systems,
especially those from irresponsible companies.

wrote:

How can this be? US Customs working on Canadian "Soil" ? Why would
the Canadian Government even allow this?

Is this something new they are trying in Halifax? Intercepting
undesirables before they get to the US. Before we are forced to deal
with them here?

Preclearance is done in 9 Canadian cities, 2 in Ireland, and 4 in the
Carribean:

http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/toolbox/c..._locations.xml

The first airport with clearance outside the US was Toronto, which was
established in 1952, so the program has been in effect for over 50 years.
Preclearance in Nassau began in 1960.

It's beneficial to passengers originating in those countries, as the
flights become US domestic flights, and can therefore fly to many cities in
the US not having full Customs/immigration facilities. It also means that
a passenger can run through the process as part of the check in, where
lines are relatively short, and not have to put up with the longer waits at
the major US ports of entry on the mainland.

Binyamin Dissen wrote:

The downside is if one connects in Canada to the US, such as from TLV,
one must get their bags, clear Canadian customs, carry the bags to US
immigration and customs and TSA.

If one connects in Europe one merely clears security at the connection
and need not wait for and carry their bags around.

Even for international passengers connecting in Canada, there are
advantages:

The processing time at Canadian airports is typically far shorter than
waiting in line at the major US ports of entry. I have heard of waits of
more than an hour for foreigners to get through the lines in places like
Hawaii, Los Angeles, Houston, or Newark. If you have to connect anyway to
get to your final destination in the US, then the hassle can be less when
passing through a Canadian city.

wrote:
Is this something new they are trying in Halifax? Intercepting
undesirables before they get to the US. Before we are forced to deal
with them here?

Nop, it has been the case at major canadian airports for decades. The
original reason was that US customs facilities at US airports were not
equipped to deal with the number of passengers traveling daily between
Canada and USA and it was cheaper to setup US clearance at major
canadian airports than to rebuild certain USA airports. And by doing
this, you not only relieve US customs at the USA airports, but you can
also use domestic USA airports, releiving even more traffic from the USA
intl airports. (for instance, it allows using LGA instead of JFK, DCA
instead of IAD etc.).


There are special agreements with regards to due legal process and
arrest/policing powers. the USA cannot arrest someone at the airport. It
must be done by canadian authorities and the suspect is tries/kept in
Canada. This is why often, they let the guy board and wait for him to
step out of aircraft in the USA to grab him.

The first airport with clearance outside the US was Toronto, which was
established in 1952, so the program has been in effect for over 50 years.

Having recently come through customs in Toronto's tired, shabby T2, I
can believe it. The sooner they tear it down, the better.

R's,
John

John L wrote:
The first airport with clearance outside the US was Toronto, which was
established in 1952, so the program has been in effect for over 50 years.

Having recently come through customs in Toronto's tired, shabby T2, I
can believe it. The sooner they tear it down, the better.

You'll get your wish fairly shortly - it's (thankfully) not much longer
for this world.

When flying to the USA (I live in Toronto) I do my level best to avoid T2.


--

Stephen

This is not normal. Maybe that goes without saying.

(John L) wrote:

The first airport with clearance outside the US was Toronto, which
was established in 1952, so the program has been in effect for over
50 years.

Having recently come through customs in Toronto's tired, shabby T2, I
can believe it. The sooner they tear it down, the better.

Interminable Too was built in the 1970s, so it was not in service in
time for preclearance. It's only 30 years old, and was the style at the
time. It is due to be replaced at some high cost that the travelers
will have to pay for through improvement fees.