US Homeland Security is planning to expand immigration pre-clearance at 10 new airports including Heathrow and Manchester.
The nine countries that are in discussions with the US are Belgium, the Dominican Republic, Japan, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Turkey and the United Kingdom. Negotiations and agreements with each country will now take place.
If negotiations are successful, pre-clearance – where each traveller undergoes immigration, customs and agriculture inspection by the US Customs and Border Protection before boarding a direct flight to the US, could be completed before departure from these airports rather than upon arrival.
The plan is to expand pre-clearance at both Heathrow and Manchester airports. The other airports under consideration are Brussels; Punta Cana, Dominican Republic; Tokyo Narita; Amsterdam Schipol; Oslo; Madrid-Barajas; Stockholm Arlanda; and Istanbul Ataturk.
Jeh Johnson, US secretary of Homeland Security, said: "A significant homeland security priority of mine is building more pre-clearance capacity at airports overseas. We have this now in 15 airports. I am pleased that we are seeking negotiations with ten new airports in nine countries.
"I want to take every opportunity we have to push our homeland security out beyond our borders so that we are not defending the homeland from the one-yard line.
"Pre-clearance is a win-win for the travelling public. It provides aviation and homeland security, and it reduces wait times upon arrival at the busiest US airports."
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