As a general rule, bags are tagged through to the final destination, you land at your first US destination, pass through Customs/Immigration, pick up your bags while still inside the Customs area, pass the final check point where you hand in your card and drop off your checked luggage at an area immediately outside marked "connecting flights". You then pass through a TSA checkpoint (but not nearly as big as those in the main terminal) and go to your next gate.

HOWEVER, I can't guarantee that this will be the case at YOUR first airport, so be to check - I'll bet you can even look at that airport's official website and find out for sure.

If you get tied up in a huge Customs or TSA line, being only carry-on won't help. It should take all of five minutes to collect your checked luggage and put it on the "connecting flights" conveyor belt. The kicker would be if your airport didn't use this process and you had to actually recheck your bags. Since your port of entry must have customs & immigration, it is quite likely to be a larger airport.

But you are doing the right thing by finding out now, not the day you fly!

LeAnn

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