US Immigration Clearance Opens This Month at Shannon
corey says…
Up to thirty US Immigration officials and their families have begun relocating to Counties Clare and Limerick ahead of this month’s opening of pre-clearance facilities for passengers flying to the US from Shannon Airport. The service is slated to begin on July 29th in Shannon and November 2010 in Dublin.
This is good news for travelers, as they will go through all required Customs and Immigration clearances in Shannon before boarding their flight home. When they arrive in the US, they can pick up their luggage and leave the airport straighaway OR have their bags forwarded to connecting flights WITHOUT having to pick up luggage, clear customs and re-check bags.
In addition to making things easier for US-bound travelers, it is hoped that the service will make the airport in the West of Ireland an attractive gateway between the US and Europe.
One more reason for me to say “YES” to plans for a trip to Ireland next month… no extra lines when I arrive in Chicago.
More info at http://www.dunphypr.com/?p=1897
Irish Fireside 
When we left Shannon on June 28 we went through U S Customs or was it Immigration? or both? (since we said we had been on a farm we got to go through the special Agricultural line). I suppose it was just a learning experience for the agents since we still had to do it in Newark. The lady who checked me through was really nice, asking about the trip and complimenting me on taking the grandsons. She said her tour was 2-5 years.
This is a wonderful idea–have always hated the drill in Newark/Logan/JFK. Now we can allow a reasonable time to just catch the next leg of the flight.
I was in Ireland in 2007 and when we flew out of Dublin I am pretty sure we went through customs. Everyone had to fill out their card and hand it to an agent before heading through customs. The only thing was that the lines were very long, and no one knew they were going through customs before leaving Ireland. A lot of people had to be moved to the front of the line because they were in the back of the line and their flight was leaving. It was nice to arrive in LAX and just grab out luggage and leave.
Shannon is a great (and convenient) airport.
It’s been a joy to go through US Immigration at Shannon (SNN) every time I’ve been to Ireland with Pat and John Preston (www.irelandexpert.com), so I look forward to the same with Customs!
Next month I’ll be leaving from Dublin for the first time. I’m hoping the experience will be as smooth as at SNN. Too bad they’re not offering the combined Immigration/Customs services at DUB until Nov. 2010. 😦 Oh well, just another reason to plan yet another trip to that magical island…