Updated November 4, 2026

US Preclearance airports: where you clear US customs before flying

US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) operates 16 Preclearance locations across 6 countries (Canada, Ireland, Aruba, the Bahamas, Bermuda, and the United Arab Emirates), where more than 600 CBP officers and agricultural specialists inspect over 22 million travelers a year before they board their US-bound flight.

Because you complete immigration, customs, and agriculture inspection at the departure airport, your flight arrives at a domestic US gate and you can head straight to your connecting flight or the exit without clearing CBP again.

All 16 US Preclearance locations, terminals, hours, and expedited lanes

CBP lists 16 active Preclearance locations across 6 countries on its Preclearance directory. By our count from CBP's Preclearance, Mobile Passport Control (MPC), and Global Entry pages, 15 of the 16 sites are commercial airports that support the free MPC app, 14 offer Global Entry Enrollment on Arrival (EoA), and 1 site (Victoria, British Columbia) is a maritime facility at 470 Belleville Street rather than an airport.

Notice the operating hours in the table below. Check the hours for your departure airport and arrive well inside the open window, because your admissibility inspection must happen before you reach your departure gate.

What happens at a US Preclearance airport?

When you fly out of a Preclearance airport, you go through the exact same US immigration, customs, and agriculture inspection that you would face after landing at a US airport. The only difference is that your admissibility into the United States is decided before you step onto the plane. For a full breakdown of the standard inspection steps, see our guide on arriving in the US and what the CBP officer checks at entry.

First, CBP verifies your identity and travel documents. CBP uses facial comparison biometrics through its Traveler Verification Service (TVS), matching a live photo taken at the inspection point against a gallery built from your passport, visa, or prior border encounters. At the same time, the system runs real-time checks against law enforcement and travel databases (TECS, NCIC, APIS, IDENT, and ESTA). The officer or kiosk determines your class of admission and how long you are allowed to stay.

Second, you make your customs and agriculture declaration. CBP stations both officers and agriculture specialists at Preclearance ports to intercept prohibited food, plants, and agricultural products and to check dutiable goods and currency. Depending on the lane you use, you will answer declaration questions in the MPC app, on a legacy Global Entry screen, or orally to the CBP officer.

Third, CBP records your Form I-94 Arrival/Departure Record electronically. Foreign visitors arriving by air no longer need to fill out a paper Form I-94. CBP gathers your arrival information automatically from electronic travel records. If you need to prove your legal visitor status or employment authorization to a school, employer, or government agency, you can view and print your I-94 online at the CBP I-94 website using the "Get Most Recent I-94" option or through the CBP Link mobile app. You can also ask for a paper Form I-94 during your Preclearance inspection, though CBP notes that all requests for a paper I-94 are handled in secondary inspection.

How to use Mobile Passport Control, Global Entry, and NEXUS at Preclearance

You do not have to stand in the standard primary inspection queue if you qualify for one of CBP's expedited processing options. Both the free Mobile Passport Control (MPC) app and Trusted Traveler Programs work at Preclearance airports, though each has specific rules on documents and eligibility.

Mobile Passport Control (MPC) is a free mobile app available at all 15 airport Preclearance locations. It requires no background check, no interview, and no paper declaration form. MPC is open to four groups: US citizens, US lawful permanent residents (LPRs), Canadian B1/B2 citizen visitors, and returning Visa Waiver Program travelers with an approved ESTA. Up to 4 hours before your air Preclearance processing, you open the app, take a self-photo, and answer the inspection and declaration questions. If you are traveling with family or a group, you can include up to 12 people in a single submission on one device so your group can speak to the CBP officer together. In the Preclearance area, enter the marked MPC line, show your physical passport, and take a final confirmation photo with the officer.

Global Entry (GE) kiosks and facial comparison portals operate at 15 Preclearance locations across six countries (CBP's Airports with Global Entry list also names Grand Bahama International Airport alongside the active Nassau site, while Billy Bishop uses modernized NEXUS kiosks). Instead of scanning a passport and fingerprints, Phase 1 Global Entry facial comparison technology captures your photo, matches it against your profile, determines your class of admission, and issues a printed receipt (or clears you through a receiptless touchless portal where officers review your data on a tablet). If a receipt prints, you hand it to the officer at the exit point and give an oral customs declaration.

Important document rules for Global Entry and NEXUS members at Preclearance:

• Leave your Global Entry card in your wallet at the airport. CBP's Trusted Traveler Programs Handbook states that a Global Entry RFID card is only for land borders and sea travel, and is not valid for use with Global Entry or NEXUS border processing technology in an airport environment when entering the US. Bring your physical passport or LPR card.
• NEXUS cards work at airport kiosks only in Canada. NEXUS members can use Global Entry border processing technology at any airport, but only the Global Entry machines located in US Preclearance areas at Canadian airports accept a physical NEXUS card. At Preclearance airports outside Canada (such as Dublin, Aruba, or Abu Dhabi), NEXUS members must use their passport.
• Non-citizens must keep visa details updated in person. If you are a Global Entry member who is not a US citizen or LPR and you get a new visa or a new work visa petition, CBP requires you to visit a Global Entry enrollment center in person to update your file before using the kiosk, so the system calculates your class of admission and admission date accurately.
• Head of the line privileges apply if kiosks are down or refer you. Under CBP's handbook, if Global Entry technology is out of service or prints a referral receipt with an "X" directing you to Passport Control, Global Entry and NEXUS members receive "head of the line" privileges at primary, in secondary, and at the exit control point.

Completing your Global Entry interview at Preclearance (Enrollment on ArrivalImpacts and Rules

If you applied for Global Entry (which costs a non-refundable $120 fee for a five-year membership) and your Trusted Traveler Programs dashboard shows "Conditionally Approved," you do not need to book an appointment at an enrollment center. You can finish your interview while clearing customs at 14 participating Preclearance airports through Enrollment on Arrival (EoA).

When you enter the Preclearance hall at an EoA airport (Aruba, Bermuda, Calgary, Edmonton, Halifax, Montreal, Ottawa, Winnipeg, Toronto Pearson, Vancouver, Dublin, Shannon, Nassau, or Abu Dhabi), follow the signs to the designated EoA primary inspection booth. A CBP officer will conduct both your primary admissibility inspection and your Global Entry interview at the same window, verify your documents, and capture your ten-print fingerprints and photograph. Once the officer approves your file, you are cleared to board your flight and your Global Entry membership is active immediately.

Have these documents in hand for an Enrollment on Arrival interview at Preclearance:

• Your valid passport (if you travel with more than one passport, CBP instructs you to bring all of them so they can be added to your file).
• Documents showing proof of residency, such as a driver's license with your current address, a mortgage statement, a rental payment statement, or a utility bill (not required for minors).
• Your machine-readable Lawful Permanent Resident card, if you are a US permanent resident.
• A parent or legal guardian present at the interview if the applicant is a minor age 17 or younger (plus certified copies of legal custody documents if custody is not clear).

What happens when your Preclearance flight lands in the US

Because every passenger on a precleared flight has already been inspected and admitted by CBP officers and screened to TSA standards prior to boarding, your flight arrives in the United States the same way a domestic flight does.

CBP highlights three practical differences when you land:

• You skip CBP and TSA lines on arrival. You do not go through a Federal Inspection Service hall or re-screen through a TSA security checkpoint upon landing in the US.
• You walk straight to your connecting gate or the street. If you have a domestic connection, you walk directly from your arrival gate to your next departure gate, which lets you book tighter connection windows at US hub airports.
• Airlines can fly directly into domestic-only terminals and gates. Since operations began in 1952, Preclearance has allowed airlines to use less expensive US domestic gates and open direct routes to more than 160 US airports, regardless of whether those airports have a CBP port of entry.

Secondary inspection and refusals at a Preclearance airport

Just like at a US airport port of entry, a CBP officer or kiosk at a Preclearance facility can refer you to secondary inspection. In CBP's Trusted Traveler Programs Handbook, referrals happen for several routine reasons: a customs or agriculture declaration referral (marked "DR" on a Global Entry receipt, which sends you to Baggage Control), a random compliance examination to maintain program integrity, an admissibility or document verification check, or a request for a paper Form I-94.

If an officer at a Preclearance port finds that a non-citizen applicant is inadmissible to the United States, the admission decision happens right there in the foreign airport. Rather than boarding the aircraft and facing formal removal upon landing in the US, federal regulations provide an option at inspection: under 8 CFR 235.4, the officer may let you withdraw your application to enter instead of placing you in formal or expedited removal proceedings.

What the CBP officer may ask at Preclearance

A Preclearance officer has the exact same authority and checks the same admissibility facts as a CBP officer standing in a booth at JFK, LAX, or Miami. Whether you are traveling on a B1/B2 visitor visa, an F-1 student visa, an H-1B work visa, or the Visa Waiver Program, your answers need to be concise, truthful, and consistent with your forms. For deeper question lists by status, read our guides on what CBP officers ask at the US border and ESTA questions on the form and on arrival.

Here are the core questions to prepare for before you walk into the Preclearance hall:

"What is the purpose of your trip to the United States, and how long will you stay?"

• What it checks: That your planned activities match your visa classification or ESTA rules and that your trip has a clear, temporary end date.
• How to prepare: Know your exact return flight date and the specific event, business meeting, school program, or holiday itinerary.

"Where will you be staying in the US?"

• What it checks: That your destination matches the US address you entered in your airline Advance Passenger Information System (APIS) record or ESTA.
• How to prepare: Have the hotel name or your host's street address and city ready to state without digging through your bags.

"Are you bringing any food, fruits, vegetables, meats, plants, or over $10,000 in currency?"

• What it checks: Compliance with US customs and agriculture laws. CBP stations agriculture specialists at Preclearance ports, and failing to declare merchandise or agricultural items can lead to penalties and immediate revocation of Global Entry or NEXUS membership.
• How to prepare: Declare every food item you are carrying in your baggage or hand luggage. As CBP's handbook notes, Trusted Traveler members have the right to orally amend their declaration before an officer discovers a prohibited item.

"What is your current status, and do you have your I-20 or I-797 approval notice?" (For students and petition-based workers)

• What it checks: That nonimmigrants entering in categories like F-1 or H-1B hold valid underlying authorization and are entering for that specific school or employer.
• How to prepare: Carry your signed paper Form I-20 or Form I-797 petition approval notice in your hand luggage, not in your checked bags.

Departure-day checklist for US Preclearance travelers

Use this step-by-step plan to move through a Preclearance terminal without delays:

1. Check your airport's Preclearance operating hours before you head to the terminal. Facilities like Abu Dhabi (6:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.), Aruba (9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.), Bermuda (7:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.), and Dublin (7:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. GMT) close long before midnight.
2. Confirm your electronic travel authorization or visa. If you are traveling under the Visa Waiver Program, verify that your ESTA is approved before you leave for the airport. If you are a Global Entry member on a nonimmigrant visa and recently renewed your visa or work petition, remember you must use a staffed booth or visit an enrollment center in person to update your GES record.
3. Submit your Mobile Passport Control (MPC) form up to 4 hours before inspection. If you don't have Global Entry or NEXUS, download the free CBP MPC app, scan your passport, snap your self-photo, and complete the declaration questions for up to 12 travelers in your group while you are on the way to the airport.
4. Pack your physical passport in your carry-on. Even if you use MPC, Global Entry facial comparison, or NEXUS, CBP requires you to have your physical passport (and LPR card, if applicable) ready to present to an officer. Only Canadian Preclearance Global Entry kiosks accept a standalone NEXUS card.
5. Gather Enrollment on Arrival (EoA) documents if you are Conditionally Approved for Global Entry. Put your passport(s), a driver's license or utility bill with your current residential address, and your LPR card in an easy-to-reach pocket so you can complete your interview at the EoA booth.
6. Check your online I-94 after you clear. Once you are admitted, non-citizen visitors, students, and workers can verify their admission class and "Admit Until Date" on the CBP I-94 website or the CBP Link mobile app.

Visaful is an AI mock interview app for US visa interviews: an AI officer asks your visa's questions out loud and shows what to fix.

This is interview practice, not legal advice. For questions about your own case, talk to an immigration attorney. Visaful is not affiliated with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), the Department of Homeland Security or any government agency.