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Air Law Cross Country Flying

How To Fly To The USA From Canada

March 29, 2023 Blake

Flying General Aviation from Canada to the United States can be an elaborate process.
This post will cover what you need to do in order to le all the necessary paperwork to land
in the USA and clear customs and immigration with Customs and Border Protection. In
summary we’ll go over the following steps to ensure you have the proper permission to
land in the USA:
 Obtaining a CBP decal/sticker

Finding a Port of Entry

Filing your eAPIS paperwork.

Obtaining landing rights (very important).

What to do when you arrive to clear customs

Lets Get Started. It’s March and you want to y yourself and all your friends down to Myrtle
Beach. Let’s start off with a simple direct ight plan: CYKZ KMYR.

Step Zero. Get a CBP sticker for your aircraft. This is required for all general aviation aircraft
who would like to enter into the USA. The annual fee is around $35USD and is valid for
unlimited number of entries in the US. You will require the “decal number” when you le
your eAPIS information.
Plan ahead as it may take several weeks for your sticker to arrive. When it does, don’t
forget to adhere it to your aircraft.

Step One. Plan Your Route. There are two trains of thought as to when along your route
you should clear customs.

1. Land and clear customs as soon as you cross the border.

2. Clear customs at your destination or fuel stop.

They each have their own pros and cons:

Option 1 Option 2

You have already cleared customs &

immigration at a port of entry if you have to Shorter ight time as you aren’t
Pros
make an emergency stop/forced landing stopping until your destination.
along your route in the USA.

Cons Longer ight time as you have to stop If you need to land before your
before your destination. destination it complicates things
as you have not cleared customs
 & immigration.

Your destination airport may not

be an Airport of Entry (AOE)

Personally I like Option 1 as it gives you the most freedom and options if you have to land
at any point in the USA before your destination.

Step Two. Find an appropriate Airport of Entry (AOE). Take a look at other airports along
your route. In our example, KBUF and KERI are both ports of entry. AOEs in the United
States have “International” in the name of the airport (FAA AIM, PCG-I5). For example:
Buffalo International or Erie International. Let’s use KBUF as it is the closest to our route:
Step Three. Call the CBP at the airport to ensure they will be available during your ETA. Not
all airports have 24/7 customs facilities, especially on the weekends. So it’s best to double
check before you ll out your eAPIS information and you can change your arrival time
accordingly. You can nd the correct number to call on the CBP website. Be sure to select
the correct city and look for the phone number under “Facilities and Crossings”.
Step Four. Fill out eAPIS. The electronic advanced passenger information system allows
you to submit all of your passport, citizenship, and visa details with the CBP. This is
required at least 60 minutes before your ight into the USA. The eAPIS form will ask you for
your ETA to the airport you plan on clearing customs and immigration, so have this ready. I
like to le the details the night before once I’ve con rmed weather and all other ight
planning are done.

Step Five. Secure Landing Rights. Call the same number you did in Step Three and let them
know you would like to secure landing rights. The CBP agent will ask for your details (and
possibly your eAPIS number). If you are planning on arriving on the weekend, you might
need to do this on a Friday during business hours. This step is very important as technically
you aren’t allowed to land in the USA until the CBP agent schedules your arrival into their
system. The CBP agent will then email you an information sheet about the airport, hours of
operation, procedures, etc..
 You’re Done! On the day of the ight ensure that your ETA to the Airport of Entry is still
accurate. You are allowed +/- 30 minutes to arrive. If this is no longer the case, call the CBP
of ce at the airport and let them know of your updated ETA.

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