In this installment of ‘Know before you go’ for any international travel, allow yourself plenty of time to go through Customs and Border Patrol. Many times this is done after your flight when you arrive in the country, however there are sometimes, as is the case with flights from Canada to the US, the US agents are on foreign soil. As such, your trip to the airport should be quite early to account for this. You should allow at least 2 hours to get through the line and then two hours before your flight as many check-in counters close one hour prior to boarding. Although 4 hours many seem like wasted time, it’s much better than missing your flight and being delayed until the next day or even longer.
Just keep in mind, most international flights hold at least 250 passengers, and there are usually multiple flights to the US at any given time. Even though the Customs and Border agents only take a minute or two of your time, multiply that by the hundreds of other travelers and it makes for a long line. If the US continues to underman the stations due to budget cuts, the lines are just that much longer. You certainly don’t want to miss your flight home now do you?
