Question:
Doing a return flight Munich to
Wash/Dulles to Los Angleles next
month. We do the Customs and Immigration
in Washington don't we? How does
that work? Once we pass through
do we place our luggage on another
conveyor or do we have to check
it in again at the counter?
Answer:
Yes. The US requires that all passengers
regardless of nationality pass through
Immigration and Customs regardless
of final destination at the first
point of call.
How does
that work? You get off the
plane, hand your filled out declaration
card (and I-90 for non-citizens)
to the agent. Assuming you are passed
through, you pick up your bags off
the belt, go through the appropriate
lane (declare or nothing to declare),
hand your card to the agent and
pass out into the transfer hall.
Once we
pass through do we place our luggage
on another conveyor or do we have
to check it in again at the counter?
There will be a transfer desk /
belt where you put your check bags
back into the system. You then get
to go through a security screen
and back into the departure gate
area. I just went thru this on our
return from Europe..
Yes, you pass
thru passport and customs at your
first port of entry, Dulles. After
passport control, you pick up your
luggage and haul them past a customs
officer who probably waive you on,
and then you stand in a line to
hand it off to a baggage handler.
However, if you are changing airlines,
as we did, you may have to haul
your luggage to a special place
to be delivered to your next airline.
A baggage handler took us outside
the airport to a curbside conveyor
belt for this purpose... Although
we later got our luggage back when
our next flight was cancelled..
another story.
When you clear
customs and leave the customs facility
there is a baggage re-check counter
where you can re-check your bags
onward. Then you go back to security
and out to your connecting gate.
Don't put your luggage on the conveyor
until you've checked in at the counter
in the transfer hall. If you're
scheduled for a long layover, the
agent might be able to put you on
an earlier flight, something that
can't be done without changing your
luggage tags. You might even be
able to change to a different airline
at that point.
The Lufthansa
flights arrive at IAD about 1330
or 1630 during the busiest times
in the afternoon at immigration
and at the check in lines. I've
seen the Lufthansa flights at the
same time all the European flights
arrive, so the lines at immigration
can be pretty long, especially for
non-US citizens. Once you clear
customs I'd suggest you get your
luggage back on the conveyor as
soon as possible and get through
the long security lines. Lines at
the check in counters at IAD in
the afternoon and early evening
(or pretty much anytime during the
day) can be very long.
