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> It's getting to the point where one must ask why someone wealthy enough to fly internationally would want the hassle of entering the US. Sometimes it's the o
by zimpenfish 6y ago
> It's getting to the point where one must ask why someone wealthy enough to fly internationally would want the hassle of entering the US.
Sometimes it's the only sensible option - e.g. as far as I know (the Kiwis I know all go via LAX), London to Auckland via LAX is cheaper, quicker, easier, etc. than going a non-US route like Singapore.
- ashtonkem 6y agoI don’t think you need a visa to travel through the international terminal in America, do you?
- petschge 6y agoYou do. The US does not do "sterile transit". That was a major hazzle for (former) colleagues from South Africa.
- ashtonkem 6y agoThat is really bizarre. From an outsiders view, sterile transit seems extremely intuitive; forcing people to buy a visa if their plane gets fuel in the US just seems annoying.
- gowld 6y agoThe insiders make the rules. They might fear you will break sterility, or they might hate your ethnicity or religion.
- ashtonkem 6y agoOr, they want to collect $160 visa fees for nothing, and avoid having to expensively add sterile transit areas to existing airports.
- ciceryadam 6y agoYou also have to recheck your luggage at the first point of entry in USA/Canada - at least if you continue in a domestic flight. This is also time wasted, as you have to get through imigration, wait for your luggage, get your luggage, get through customs, check in your luggage (again), and go through security (again). OTOH if you are flying back to EU/Schengen Area, you'll get your passport checked at EU/Schengen Area point of entry, get through the sterile transit, and only pick up your luggage at your destination.
- gwbas1c 6y agoA layover isn't entering the country. You don't need to go through customs.
- zimpenfish 6y agoDo you have a citation for that? Because all the Kiwis I know have to get ESTAs when they go through LAX. Here's Air NewZealand's page which says you need an ESTA to go through LAX: https://www.airnewzealand.co.uk/flights-to-auckland https://www.airnewzealand.co.uk/flights-to-auckland "All passengers that travel via Los Angeles International Airport, must be travelling on their own machine readable passports and complete the ESTA online form at least 72 hours prior to departure from the UK." They also link to https://www.airnewzealand.co.uk/us-entry-and-transit-requirements https://www.airnewzealand.co.uk/us-entry-and-transit-require... which is fairly clear to me that you're going through US security and customs.
- gwbas1c 6y agoWhen you read the page about connecting in LA, it's very clear that you do not go through customs.
- zimpenfish 6y agohttps://www.airnewzealand.co.uk/connecting-at-los-angeles https://www.airnewzealand.co.uk/connecting-at-los-angeles * Changing aircraft (NZ1 - NZ5 & NZ6 - NZ2) - Clear customs * Connecting from Air New Zealand to another airline - Clear customs * Connecting from an international flight - Clear customs The only one that doesn't specifically say "Clear customs" is: * Continuing on the same aircraft (NZ1 & NZ2) That does say "directed by ground staff to US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) processing" but apparently the luggage does stay on the plane. (Although this route disappears in a month because almost no-one uses it, "<7% in 2018".) I concede that <7% of passengers from LHR to AKL won't need to specifically go through customs with their luggage.