I would really appreciate if you guys can share your preclearance experience in Abu Dhabi. Do we have to claim the baggage at Abu Dhabi and go through the costumes? What exactly do you do when you arrive at POE at US airport? Just want to make sure I know the details so that I can explain to my parents since they are taking ETIHAD next week. Thanks a lot!!

Couple of things I would like to mention: Lines could be extremely long since all US bound passengers queue in the same line. So, tell your parents to be on line at-least 3 hours prior to the flight time. There will be a small sheet of paper that they need to fill before going to the immigration booth. No, you don't need to claim the baggage. When they arrive in the US, they are treated as domestic passengers and can go directly to the baggage claim area. There will be no immigration check when they arrive in the US.

Thanks a lot. They have 3 hr in between the flights so I assume they will be fine. One more question, will their baggage be directly transferred to the domestic airline if they have a connecting flight?

I believe the baggage will be transferred if you mention the destination city as your final destination while purchasing the ticket. Also, let the Etihad counter at TIA know that you are receiving your baggage at the final destination. Please double check about this because I never had domestic connection before, so I am just guessing.

You must pick up your bag at POE.

What are the chances for my parents to get visa. I would be interested if someone can share their recent interview experience at Ktm.

Furke, I contacted Etihad last week and they said we dont have to pick up the baggage as long as its checked in all the way to the destination like ujl said. I just wanted to make sure from somebody else who have taken the same route before.
ujl, I did talk to Etihad and they said the same thing. I am little skeptical here with that info cause the bag never gets checked thru the customs.

You don't need to pick up baggage at POE, definitely not on Etihad unless it's 2 separate tickets (i.e. KTM to POE is one ticket and POE to Final destination is another). In fact, I've never had to collect mine in any of 6 different trips back into the US. Once you've boarded the Etihad Airways flight at Abu Dhabi Airport, your entry will be treated like a domestic flight.

Does Etihad provides Hotel if the layover is more than 12 hours?

My parents are using the same route next week. It’s a first time for them. They are planning to bring some homemade food like ‘Masaaura’ and so but no meet and seed at all. If they declare the food, is there going to be any manual inspection of the luggage in Abu Dhabi? What happens if they don’t declare the food? I don’t want them to have any hassle. Just want to know if someone has experience.

Thanks .

My parents are going to Nepal using the same route and they have more than 12 hrs of transit. The travel agent said they don't provide hotels anymore for Nepalese passports and gave us a voucher for sleeping pod. Is this true that they don't offer hotels anymore?

I had my immigration done at JFK. I had to pick up my luggage and had it checked. I had to manually carry my lugage to my connecting flight though the airline staff waited for me and guided me through the process.
For immigration done outside USA, like Abu Dhabi in your case, your baggage may been automatically transferred since its treated as domestic flight.

(1) I traveled through the same route (KTM-AUH-ORD-MSP) 3 months ago. I checked in my 2 luggages in Kathmandu and picked them up in Minneapolis. My arrival in Chicago was treated like Domestic and same in Minneapolis which was my final destination.
(2) Point of Entry (POE) is Abu Dhabi. They have a huge processing center there. My transit was 4 hours long and my total time between going there and coming out was 3 hours. I was in line for close to 2 hours.
(3) Officer showed me the picture of my baggages, I said yes. He sent me inside to another officer. I waited for 30 minutes again. I was called in. My luggage came in to Conveyor Belt and they asked me what I had (Food items). I had Chiura, Til seeds, besar, masala. Officer asked me what that was and I said, that is what I had claimed. As long as you claim what you have and it is not seed (Til seeds were for achar so I was good) or meat, you should be good.
(4) Hotel for transit varies by agent. Last year, my parents went through Doha and they were provided a free hotel and food. They were happy. Next time my in laws traveled but my agent in Nepal did not provide free hotel despite of having 12+ hours of transit. It also depends on your relationship with the agent you buy ticket from.... This is from my experience.
My last words - if your parents do not speak good English, do not tell them to bring a lot of stuff. That is like looking for trouble. You can buy almost anything in States. Tell them to relax and do not bring anything for you. My mom ended up bringing things and they were in trouble couple times and now, they do not do it any more. A lot of these things also depend on how the officer is or how good you deal with others. Again, only my thoughts.

Hope this information was helpful.

My mom came through Doha last time and she got hotel for 8 hrs and i booked the ticket on priceline. I was told that in Abu dhabi you have to get visa for non US passport.