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Sweden, Dominican Republic get pre-clearance OK

 

Airports in Stockholm and Punta Cana, Dominican Republic have signed agreements to implement pre-clearance for U.S.-bound passengers. Under pre-clearance, all customs and immigration processing takes place while you're waiting for the plane, not after you get off.

The two airports will be added to the program once their home countries sign off on legal details and facilities can be put in place. U.S. officials at the overseas site perform the checks.

It's popular for obvious reasons among passengers, for convenience, but it also serves as an anti-terrorism measure, potentially stopping passengers who would not be admitted to the U.S. from boarding the plane.

Historically, it began for neither reason; the original program meant that passengers from a handful of Canadian airports could fly to hundreds of U.S. destinations, rather than being funneled through a handful of U.S. airports that had Customs and Border offices. It has since expanded to popular vacation areas such as Ireland and the Caribbean. The addition of Abu Dhabi recently marked a shift to the security emphasis.

Some Congressmen have questioned how locations are chosen. Generally, airports ask for it and pay most of the cost; the selection is not based on volume or security. Airports such as Punta Cana, with 1.6 million U.S.-bound passengers a year find it worthwhile; airports with small volume would find the cost too high. 

The best part of every trip is realizing that it has upset your expectations

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