Bleary eyes, hours-long lines, and a deep-rooted rumbling of irrational anxiety. The US has a reputation for intimidating border control.
There’s something about passing through immigration when you land at JFK that makes you wonder if you’ve accidentally smuggled 30 kilos of coke into your hand luggage.
But international travellers arriving from a select group of airports, including Ireland’s Dublin and Shannon, breeze through customs — without an American passport.
That’s because the Irish airports are two of 15 around the world that offer US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Preclearance, which allows travellers to clear US immigration and the headache that comes with it before they board.
Unless you make a habit of flying from an airport that offers it, preclearance is unlikely to be on your radar.
But travelling via Dublin could ease stress for anyone nervous about flying to the US right now.
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What is preclearance and how does it work?
So, now you know there has been a US border in Dublin Airport for more than 30 years.
Preclearance as a concept, though, has been around much longer. It was first introduced in 1903 for ferry passengers arriving in the US from Victoria, Canada, before being extended to air travel in the 1950s.
It’s arranged via legal treaty, and in practice, it means that when you arrive on US soil, you do so as a domestic passenger — free to bypass the usual border inspections and skip straight to baggage reclaim.
Queues tend to be shorter at preclearance, because there are generally less people passing through. Experts say it can save you hours.
Another advantage for Irish travellers transiting is that, if the worst occurs and you are refused boarding, you won’t be deported — you’re already at home.
Preclearance also exists at airports in Aruba, Bermuda, Abu Dhabi and the Bahamas, as well as nine airports in Canada.
But Dublin was the first outside of North America — a decision based on the long history of diplomatic relations between Ireland and the USA.
Travellers have no choice in the matter — essentially, if you’re flying to the USA from Dublin, you have to go through preclearance in the Irish capital.
It’s worth noting that the workers who process your documents are US border control agents, not Irish airport staff.
Some CPB agents are dual-nationals. However it’s important to remember they are all American citizens, working for the US government – now the Trump administration – overseas.
The main difference is that CBP officers working in Ireland are unarmed, in accordance with Irish law.
‘I flew to Chicago — through a US border in Ireland’
Metro‘s Lifestyle Editor, Kristina Beanland, travelled to the Windy City via Dublin in 2023 and shared this account of her trip.
‘My friends and I, who had travelled from London, arrived at a small corner of Dublin airport, where there was no one else apart from us and a few customs officers.
‘But the strangest part was that you suddenly felt like you were in the USA. There were American accents and uniforms with the stars and stripes on the arm, and signs signalling that you were approaching a US border.
‘It was weird, and felt like a slightly annoying stop on the journey – that is, until we arrived at O’Hare and were rewarded with a breezy stroll off the flight, straight to pick up our suitcases and into the waiting cab. In total, it probably took less than an hour to get from the plane to Michigan Avenue.
‘That said, on the way home, stopping in Dublin was annoying. We’d already gone through American border control in Chicago, and the stopover was a result of having to take the same inbound route back.
‘Fast-forward two years though, and we’re living in a world where Donald Trump is President. The idea of passing through a US border that’s only a 50-minute flight from home, somehow feels a lot less stressful than doing so on actual American soil.’
What’s the benefit of preclearance for the countries involved?
Rolling out preclearance on foreign soil is not a decision for the US alone.
Host nations must see the benefit. Niall Kearns, airport director at Ireland’s Shannon Airport, told CNN last year that it’s good for business.
What other airports have a US border?
Fifteen airports outside the US have a US preclearance border:
- Dublin (Ireland)
- Shannon (Ireland)
- Aruba
- Hamilton (Bermuda)
- Abu Dhabi (UAE)
- Nassau (Bahamas)
- Calgary (Canada)
- Edmonton (Canada)
- Halifax (Canada)
- Montreal (Canada)
- Ottawa (Canada)
- Vancouver (Canada)
- Winnipeg (Canada)
- Toronoto (Canada)
- Prince Rupert (Canada)
Travel under Trump
Since Donald Trump returned to the White House, scrutiny has ramped up at the US border, with travellers detained and deported due to visa mix-ups and even content saved on their phones.
In February, British graphic artist Rebecca Burke, 28, was detained for 19 days after TSA agents said she had been working in the US illegally (she was doing odd jobs for a host family in return for free accommodation, and no money had exchanged hands).
In April, two German tourists were deported after their trip to Hawaii was deemed ‘suspicious’ because they hadn’t booked a hotel.
A Lebanese man who is a US citizen (with an American wife) was also detained when he tried to return home after a weekend trip to Canada.
In March, an unnamed French scientist was denied entry to the States after airport immigration officers searched his phone and found messages critical of the Trump administration.
Last month, Turkish-American streamer Hasan Piker claimed he was detained and questioned for two hours by US Customs and Border Protection agents at Chicago’s O’Hare Airport after returning from France.
He said agents interrogated him about his political views, including his stance on Trump and Gaza. Piker said the questioning felt ‘deliberate’.
On Wednesday, the US president resurrected a controversial travel ban from his first term in the White House: a proclamation that bans citizens of 12 countries from entering the United States.
Are tariffs and travel bans stopping Brits from visiting the US?
Tariffs, travel bans, mass firings – if there’s one thing you can be sure about with Donald Trump, it’s that he’ll make news. Constantly.
That’s even the case here in the UK, where most of his decisions have no direct impact. But is all that coverage stopping Brits from hopping across the pond for a vacation?
If you look at the dry numbers from the US National Travel and Tourism Office, you might think the answer is no.
In January, the month of Trump’s second inauguration, the number of UK visitors to the US was 5% higher than the previous January.
February and April saw more Brits going to the US than in the same months in 2024, suggesting that far from putting people off, we may even be more keen to visit the country when it’s run by Trump.
ABTA, the British trade association for the travel industry, tells a similar tale.
They ‘haven’t seen any significant changes in terms of UK-US travel post-Trump administration’, a spokesperson told Metro, with ‘no noticeable shifts away’ from the States.
But that may not be the full story. You can read our political reporter Craig Munro’s analysis here.
