We don't have much time in Seattle before our next flight and we have to go through Customs (coming from a Vancouver cruise). I heard there is a pre-Customs we can use in Vancouver so we can skip it in Seattle. Does anyone know anything about this? We are American citizens and all vaccinated.
Posted by
Lynnwood, Washington
8876 posts
The title for this is pre-clearance and it is available in Vancouver. How much time do you have between your flights?
Posted by
Olympia, WA, USA
6713 posts
As YVR's website indicates, "Through U.S. preclearance, the same immigration, customs, and agriculture inspections of international air passengers performed on arrival in the United States is completed before departure at YVR instead." Get to the Vancouver airport in enough time to complete this processing. When you land in Seattle you'll have no processing, just go to baggage claim or ground transportation as you would after a domestic flight.
Posted by
Edmonds, WA 🌨 ☂
11872 posts
Are you arriving in Seattle on the cruise ship or flying in from Vancouver?
Posted by
The Heartland USA
8963 posts
As I recall (2018 I think) you have to go through US Customs and Immigration in Vancouver to board the flight to the US. Not a choice. Vaccinated status has nothing to do with it.
Posted by
Western Canada
3480 posts
Yes: in Vancouver, if you are flying to the US, you go through all the US Customs, Immigration, Border Control (Not sure what it's all called these days) at Vancouver airport.
It's separate from the rest of the International Border Facilities.
When you arrive in the US, you just walk out of the airport or to your domestic flight.
Posted by
Vancouver, Canada
105 posts
Hi, Debbie.
As Dick and others have pointed out, U.S. passengers flying into the U.S. from Vancouver (YVR) can go through U.S. pre-clearance via US Customs and Border Protection. For most American travellers, pre-clearance should go relatively quickly within a few minutes.
Once travellers successfully pass through U.S. pre-clearance, the part of YVR airport with U.S. departure gates is effectively "U.S. soil" for passengers (and airside staff for that matter). That means travellers beyond U.S. pre-clearance are boarding a U.S. domestic flight at YVR to their destination. And by the gates, there'll still be a Tim Hortons around, and acceptable forms of currency still allow for Canadian debit cards and cash - just to make things interesting.
Other Canadian city airports with US pre-clearance include Calgary, Edmonton, Halifax, Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, and Winnipeg.
About Pre-clearance: