How long does US customs take? Passport control wait times by airport, September 2025 to August 2026
Published by FlyingOver Editorial Team · Last checked:
At the busiest US international airports, passengers arriving from abroad waited 19 minutes on average to clear passport control from September 2025 to August 2026, according to US Customs and Border Protection (CBP). Orlando (MCO) had the longest average wait, 30 minutes; Atlanta (ATL) the shortest, 8 minutes. 4.0% of passengers waited more than an hour.
These times cover passport control only. CBP notes they don't include collecting your bags or walking through the airport, which you also need to allow for on a connection. Read international to domestic connections.
Average passport control wait by airport
Airports with at least 250,000 arriving international passengers in the period, from longest to shortest average wait. Averages are weighted by passengers.
| Rank | Airport | International arrivals | Average wait | US citizens | Visitors | Waited over 60 min | Average wait, August 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Orlando (MCO) | 3.3 million | 30 min | 18 min | 35 min | 11.0% | 37 min |
| 2 | Las Vegas (LAS) | 1.0 million | 23 min | 11 min | 26 min | 6.3% | 25 min |
| 3 | Seattle-Tacoma (SEA) | 3.0 million | 23 min | 16 min | 34 min | 6.7% | 28 min |
| 4 | New York JFK (JFK) | 15.7 million | 22 min | 13 min | 34 min | 7.3% | 23 min |
| 5 | Honolulu (HNL) | 1.7 million | 22 min | 10 min | 28 min | 5.2% | 18 min |
| 6 | Los Angeles (LAX) | 10.7 million | 21 min | 13 min | 32 min | 5.6% | 19 min |
| 7 | Miami (MIA) | 11.5 million | 21 min | 14 min | 28 min | 5.1% | 17 min |
| 8 | San Diego (SAN) | 0.4 million | 21 min | 19 min | 25 min | 0.8% | 22 min |
| 9 | Houston Intercontinental (IAH) | 5.6 million | 20 min | 15 min | 28 min | 4.3% | 19 min |
| 10 | San Juan (SJU) | 0.6 million | 20 min | 19 min | 22 min | 1.3% | 20 min |
| 11 | Fort Lauderdale (FLL) | 1.9 million | 20 min | 15 min | 26 min | 5.4% | 13 min |
| 12 | Ontario, California (ONT) | 0.3 million | 19 min | 17 min | 22 min | 0.6% | 17 min |
| 13 | San Francisco (SFO) | 7.0 million | 19 min | 14 min | 25 min | 3.0% | 17 min |
| 14 | Newark (EWR) | 6.5 million | 18 min | 15 min | 25 min | 3.0% | 19 min |
| 15 | Boston (BOS) | 3.8 million | 18 min | 15 min | 25 min | 1.6% | 19 min |
| 16 | Salt Lake City (SLC) | 0.6 million | 18 min | 17 min | 22 min | 0.6% | 21 min |
| 17 | Guam (GUM) | 0.9 million | 18 min | 8 min | 21 min | 2.0% | 14 min |
| 18 | Chicago O'Hare (ORD) | 6.1 million | 17 min | 13 min | 25 min | 2.4% | 16 min |
| 19 | Oakland (OAK) | 0.4 million | 17 min | 16 min | 18 min | 2.0% | 24 min |
| 20 | Detroit (DTW) | 1.5 million | 16 min | 14 min | 21 min | 1.3% | 19 min |
| 21 | Dallas Fort Worth (DFW) | 5.9 million | 16 min | 12 min | 24 min | 2.1% | 15 min |
| 22 | Washington Dulles (IAD) | 4.6 million | 16 min | 12 min | 23 min | 4.2% | 13 min |
| 23 | Austin (AUS) | 0.5 million | 14 min | 11 min | 20 min | 0.9% | 15 min |
| 24 | Portland, Oregon (PDX) | 0.3 million | 14 min | 12 min | 19 min | 0.3% | 17 min |
| 25 | Raleigh-Durham (RDU) | 0.3 million | 13 min | 11 min | 17 min | 0.5% | 11 min |
| 26 | San Antonio (SAT) | 0.4 million | 12 min | 12 min | 13 min | 0.0% | 13 min |
| 27 | Denver (DEN) | 1.8 million | 12 min | 10 min | 17 min | 0.4% | 13 min |
| 28 | Tampa (TPA) | 0.7 million | 12 min | 6 min | 17 min | 0.5% | 11 min |
| 29 | Minneapolis–Saint Paul (MSP) | 1.3 million | 11 min | 10 min | 20 min | 0.3% | 13 min |
| 30 | Charlotte (CLT) | 1.9 million | 11 min | 9 min | 20 min | 0.8% | 13 min |
| 31 | Chicago Midway (MDW) | 0.3 million | 11 min | 9 min | 15 min | 0.1% | 12 min |
| 32 | Baltimore/Washington (BWI) | 0.5 million | 11 min | 10 min | 16 min | 0.2% | 12 min |
| 33 | Philadelphia (PHL) | 1.7 million | 9 min | 8 min | 15 min | 0.4% | 9 min |
| 34 | Phoenix (PHX) | 1.0 million | 9 min | 6 min | 17 min | 0.7% | 10 min |
| 35 | Atlanta (ATL) | 6.4 million | 8 min | 6 min | 12 min | 0.3% | 8 min |
The worst hour to land
At each of the 12 busiest airports for international arrivals, the one-hour arrival window with the longest average wait:
| Airport | Arrival hour | Average wait |
|---|---|---|
| New York JFK (JFK) | 5 a.m.–6 a.m. | 29 min |
| Miami (MIA) | 5 p.m.–6 p.m. | 25 min |
| Los Angeles (LAX) | 9 a.m.–10 a.m. | 26 min |
| San Francisco (SFO) | 9 a.m.–10 a.m. | 22 min |
| Newark (EWR) | 10 p.m.–11 p.m. | 26 min |
| Atlanta (ATL) | 8 p.m.–9 p.m. | 9 min |
| Chicago O'Hare (ORD) | 3 p.m.–4 p.m. | 23 min |
| Dallas Fort Worth (DFW) | 9 a.m.–10 a.m. | 23 min |
| Houston Intercontinental (IAH) | 5 a.m.–6 a.m. | 24 min |
| Washington Dulles (IAD) | 5 a.m.–6 a.m. | 20 min |
| Boston (BOS) | 10 a.m.–11 a.m. | 21 min |
| Orlando (MCO) | 8 p.m.–9 p.m. | 38 min |
Across all airports, flights arriving 9 a.m.–10 a.m. had the longest average wait (23 minutes), and flights arriving 3 a.m.–4 a.m. the shortest (13 minutes).
| Arrival hour | Average wait | Waited over 60 min |
|---|---|---|
| 12 a.m.–1 a.m. | 18 min | 3.2% |
| 1 a.m.–2 a.m. | 17 min | 2.6% |
| 2 a.m.–3 a.m. | 13 min | 1.3% |
| 3 a.m.–4 a.m. | 13 min | 1.0% |
| 4 a.m.–5 a.m. | 18 min | 3.0% |
| 5 a.m.–6 a.m. | 21 min | 5.6% |
| 6 a.m.–7 a.m. | 20 min | 5.0% |
| 7 a.m.–8 a.m. | 20 min | 4.7% |
| 8 a.m.–9 a.m. | 20 min | 4.7% |
| 9 a.m.–10 a.m. | 23 min | 5.9% |
| 10 a.m.–11 a.m. | 22 min | 5.8% |
| 11 a.m.–12 p.m. | 20 min | 5.0% |
| 12 p.m.–1 p.m. | 18 min | 3.9% |
| 1 p.m.–2 p.m. | 18 min | 3.7% |
| 2 p.m.–3 p.m. | 19 min | 4.4% |
| 3 p.m.–4 p.m. | 19 min | 4.7% |
| 4 p.m.–5 p.m. | 17 min | 3.5% |
| 5 p.m.–6 p.m. | 17 min | 3.2% |
| 6 p.m.–7 p.m. | 16 min | 2.6% |
| 7 p.m.–8 p.m. | 17 min | 3.4% |
| 8 p.m.–9 p.m. | 18 min | 3.9% |
| 9 p.m.–10 p.m. | 19 min | 3.6% |
| 10 p.m.–11 p.m. | 20 min | 4.2% |
| 11 p.m.–12 a.m. | 19 min | 3.3% |
Month by month, all airports
| Month | Average wait | Waited over 60 min |
|---|---|---|
| September 2025 | 19 min | 4.6% |
| October 2025 | 20 min | 4.8% |
| November 2025 | 18 min | 4.1% |
| December 2025 | 21 min | 6.2% |
| January 2026 | 19 min | 4.1% |
| February 2026 | 18 min | 3.3% |
| March 2026 | 18 min | 3.5% |
| April 2026 | 18 min | 4.0% |
| May 2026 | 18 min | 3.6% |
| June 2026 | 17 min | 3.1% |
| July 2026 | 18 min | 3.5% |
| August 2026 | 18 min | 3.5% |
How to get through faster
- Mobile Passport Control: CBP's free app lets eligible travelers submit their passport and customs information before landing at participating airports and use a dedicated line.
- Trusted traveler programs such as Global Entry speed up passport control for members.
- Precleared flights (for example from Canada, Ireland or Abu Dhabi) clear US customs before departure and arrive as domestic flights. Read connecting in Canada to the US.
- Allow for the whole process on a connection: passport control, collecting and rechecking bags, and security again. Read is a 1-hour layover enough?
How these numbers are calculated
- Data: CBP's Airport Wait Times, which report for every hour the passengers on arriving international flights and how long they took to clear passport control, by airport and arrival terminal. CBP's website information is public domain.
- Average wait: CBP's average for each hour, weighted by the passengers CBP counted in that hour's wait-time bands, then combined across terminals, hours and days. Passengers CBP excludes from wait-time reporting aren't counted.
- US citizens and visitors: CBP's separate averages for US citizen and non-US citizen passengers, weighted by their passenger counts.
- Waited over 60 minutes: passengers CBP recorded in its 61–90, 91–120 and 120-plus minute bands.
- Airports, not terminals: CBP's terminal labels can include airline names, so this page combines each airport's terminals.
- Revisions: CBP revises recent days for about a week, so each update uses complete months only.
To cite this page: FlyingOver analysis of US Customs and Border Protection Airport Wait Times data, September 2025 to August 2026, flyingover.app/guides/us-customs-wait-times.
Sources
- US Customs and Border Protection, Airport Wait Times: Hourly passport control wait times and passenger counts by airport and arrival terminal, September 2025 to August 2026, analyzed by FlyingOver; wait times don't include baggage claim or walking through the airport. (September 17, 2026)
- US Customs and Border Protection, copyright notice: Information on the CBP website is in the public domain and may be reused, citing CBP as the source. (September 17, 2026)
- US Customs and Border Protection, Mobile Passport Control: Free app to submit passport and customs information before arrival at participating airports. (September 17, 2026)
This article was written based on official sources (see sources). These sources may change over time, and the article may not be updated, so we recommend checking directly with the source or the airline.
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