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We are flying from Japan to Mexico City and have an 11-hour layover in Los Angeles (LAX). Our friend is willing to come pick us up to hang out for a few hours but we are unclear if we are allowed to leave the airport if we are connecting for international flights.

Our baggage will be checked all the way through and we wonder if leaving through customs without taking our bags will signal some sort of warning/alarm.

We are flying Malaysia Air from Japan and then Alaska Air from LAX. We are also American citizens.

JiminyCricket
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1 Answers1

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If you are a US citizen or permanent resident:

Yes you can, when arriving at the US from any international flight you have to go through immigrations, then pick up your bags and go through customs, after that you will be able to leave and come back enough time before your connecting flight.

If you are not a US citizen:

In addition to the above information, you may be on a transit (C1) visa, which means your admission to the US while on transit might not be granted, if granted by the immigration officer then you can go out of the airport and have a tour or so. Just remember not to exceed the allowed time mentioned in your visa or decided by the immigration officer.

From immihelp.com:

A transit visa is particularly very useful if you need to change airports in the U.S. Even if you don't need to change the airport, if there is a long delay before you can board your flight to the final destination, instead of waiting in the airport, you can get out and tour the nearby places, visit friends or family members, or do shopping.

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Nean Der Thal
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