I did US Customs and Border Protection preclearance in Dublin before flying back to LA and it was a game-changer

• I went through US Customs and Border Protection's Preclearance facility at Dublin Airport.
• It was a breeze to get through and when I landed at LAX, I was treated like a domestic arrival.

Perhaps the worst part of international travel is not international at all, but rather the moment when you finally arrive home in the US after a jam-packed vacation and long-haul flight — only to be met by a sometimes long wait at customs and what feels like an interrogation just to get back into the country you actually live.

But on a recent trip to Ireland, I got to bypass such drudgery thanks to US Customs and Border Protection's Preclearance program.

US Customs and Border Protection, or CBP, operates Preclearance at 14 airports worldwide across six countries. The program requires travelers flying from those locations to the US to go through the customs process before boarding the plane. The plane then arrives at a US airport just like a domestic flight. Travelers are free to deplane and be on their way to their connecting flight or ground transportation — no CBP customs or TSA inspections required.

Customs and Border Protection Preclearance in Dublin was a breeze

After a six-day trip to Ireland this month, I had a return flight from Dublin Airport to Los Angeles International Airport on a Sunday afternoon. I'm not one to show up especially early to the airport (usually exactly one hour before departure for domestic flights) but I like to give myself more time when I am flying back to the US from an airport I'm not familiar with.

I arrived at Dublin Airport's Terminal 2 about two and a half hours before my 11-hour flight was scheduled to take off. I had no idea before arriving that I would need to go through the customs preclearance before boarding my plane, let alone that the program even existed. But after checking my bag and passing through the security screening, I quickly spotted easy-to-follow signs directing passengers to "US Preclearance," so I followed them.

Once I arrived at the preclearance facility, which is run by CBP, I got in a short line that took about 10 minutes or less to get through. I stepped up to a CBP officer, showed them my passport and boarding pass, and was free to go. Like with customs in the US, passengers at this point must declare certain goods, like purchases made abroad or agricultural products, but I had nothing to declare.

Some people in line were also subject to additional security screening, but even those appeared to go quickly.

The process probably took maybe 15 minutes factoring in the walk to and from the preclearance facility. From there I headed to my gate and had plenty of time to kill before boarding my flight around 2:30 p.m. local time. About 11 hours later, when I landed at LAX around 6 p.m. local time, I was treated just like a domestic arrival — and was free to get off the plane and head straight to baggage claim to retrieve my luggage.

Notably, the walk from the arrival gate to baggage claim was longer than normal. It took about 10 minutes, maybe a bit more, and felt like we were taking a back way to go around the area where other international arrivals were getting screened by CBP.

All in all, the CBP Preclearance was an incredible experience. After that long flight, the last thing I would've wanted to do was wait in line for customs. While I did have to go through customs in Dublin, the line was very short, and I had already arrived at the airport early enough without even planning for it. The Dublin Airport recommends that US-bound passengers arrive at their terminal at least three hours before departure, or more if checking bags or traveling with a large group.

While I had a great experience with preclearance, things can go wrong. One traveler who was flying from Croatia to the US with a layover in Dublin told Insider's Monica Humphries she and her friends were out of luck when they arrived in Ireland and CBP's preclearance facility was closed for the day.

In a statement provided to Insider, CBP said the "vast majority of passengers who use preclearance do not miss their flights."

In the future, I genuinely look forward to traveling to places where preclearance is offered — Ireland, Aruba, Bermuda, Abu Dhabi, the Bahamas, and Canada — and hope CBP will add more locations in the future.

Have a news tip or a personal experience with CBP Preclearance? Contact this reporter at kvlamis@insider.com.