Transiting the U.S.

International travelers transiting through the United States are required to be documented with either a valid passport and a valid visa (unless exempt) or if traveling on the Visa Waiver Program, an approved Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA).

Progressive Clearance

  • Progressive clearance is a system where the admissibility inspection is conducted at the first port of arrival; the baggage inspection is conducted at the second port.

Procedures

  • Progressive clearance passengers will retain their stamped CBP Declaration (Form 6059B) and present it to the CBP officer at the appropriate U.S. port of final destination.
  • Stopover passengers (those who disembarked and stayed in the first city and re-boarded the flight to a second port in the United States) will retain and present it at the final port in the United States a CBP Declaration stamped “Domestic.”

Source: U.S. Custom and Border Protection