How to Fly Through Immigration and Customs

Depending on a number of factors — such as arrival time, neighboring planes landing at the same time and airport size and capacity — making your way through immigration and customs and can be nothing short of arduous and annoying. There are a few ways to make your jaunt through these miserable queues more productive.

Prepare while still on board. From the time the plane touches down on the ground until the seatbelt sign goes off, you have a decent 10 to 20 minutes or so to re-pack your under-seat bag, fill out your immigration form and prep to deplane. Use this time wisely so that when the aisle is clear, you can grab your luggage and flow out with ease.

Rush, but don’t be rude. If you’re not in first or business class, you may face a heap of stragglers slowly retrieving their luggage from above and taking their time on the arrivals ramp. Without pushing or groaning, use every movable walkway or escalator available as your make your way ahead of the slower moving travelers.

Compose yourself. While waiting in line, use this valuable time to organize yourself. Have your passport ready as well as your immigration form. Flip your passport to your photo page and have any supporting documentation like visa paperwork ready and accessible.