Customs Clearance from Italy to US

You will be transferring from international flight to domestic in Miami so uyounwill go through immigration ( passport check) and customs there. You will have to claim your baggage to walk through customs and then re-check it.

Miami is your first point of entry into the U.S. so you will clear immigration and customs there.

The US regulations require that immigration and customs is at the first port of entry (in your case Miami).

The luggage will be tagged all the way to ATL, however, you will need to retrieve your luggage at the carousel inside the US Customs area (after you pass US immigration). Then, once you get your luggage, you will go through US Customs (just hand the US customs form to the agent. Once you are done so, since you are proceeding to ATL, you will give your luggage to the personnel there (you will see them), who will take your luggage and put it back in the carousel for your next flight.

Once you've given back your check luggage, just follow directions to your connecting flight.

In case you were indirectly asking about the US Preclearance program, "Today, CBP has more than 600 law enforcement officers and agriculture specialists stationed at 15 air Preclearance locations in 6 countries: Dublin and Shannon in Ireland; Aruba; Freeport and Nassau in The Bahamas; Bermuda; Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates; and Calgary, Toronto, Edmonton, Halifax, Montreal, Ottawa, Vancouver, and Winnipeg in Canada. CBP also staffs a Pre-inspection facility for passenger/vehicle ferry traffic to the U.S. in Victoria, Canada." https://www.cbp.gov/border-security/ports-entry/operations/preclearance

I believe I read a year ago or so that they plan to expand Preclearance to several more airports such as Heathrow and/or Gatwick, but that does not seem to have happened yet. So, no, you don't need to allow extra time on the ground in Rome to go through this check.

After dropping your checked luggage you will go through typical US airport security prior to your flight to Atlanta.

Hi Greenbirdk. I just returned home from Rome not even a week ago. I flew Rome-Atlanta-Madison. I went through customs in Atlanta since it was my first airport when entering the U.S.

As others have mentioned, you will have to get your bag and then check it again. I did this in Atlanta and thought it was the strangest thing! (I don't travel internationally much, so this was new for me.) The way the ATL airport was designed forced the passengers arriving internationally to all go to the luggage carousel to retrieve luggage, and that carousel that was just around the corner from the new carousel where you added your luggage. After we did that, we had to get in the line where the customs agent stamped our passports.

The Atlanta to Madison flight was just like any other domestic flight. After arriving in Madison, there was nothing associated with customs, passports, etc.

"As others have mentioned, you will have to get your bag and then check it again. I did this in Atlanta and thought it was the strangest thing! (I don't travel internationally much, so this was new for me.)"

Yes, it's standard, not strange at all. So, if you ever again fly into the US with a connection after your international arrival, you'll know what to expect.

"The way the ATL airport was designed forced the passengers arriving internationally to all go to the luggage carousel to retrieve luggage, and that carousel that was just around the corner from the new carousel where you added your luggage."

Again, that's standard when changing from an international US arrival to a domestic US flight. You pick up your checked luggage (if any), go through the customs procedure, then go to "Baggage Recheck" just outside the customs door to deposit your checked bags for your next flight. Since you have now left the secure area of the airport, you must go through security again to get to your next flight.