US Customs will begin pre-clearance operations at Punta Cana airport, Dominican Republic next year.
The move was announced at the Dominican Annual Tourism Exchange by Simon Suarez, president of the Association of Hotels and Tourism of the Dominican Republic.
US Customs and Border Protection also operates pre-clearance facilities in the Bahamas, Bermuda and Aruba.
It allows US travelers to be vetted and processed at the departure point and so avoiding customs and immigration lines back in the US.
Punta Cana accounts for more than 60% of all air traffic in the country, according to tourism vice minister Radhames Martinez Aponte.
"If Punta Cana does well, the Dominican Republic does well. We have long hoped for pre-clearance facilities for our US visitors, who constitute our largest visitor market to the Dominican Republic," Aponte said.
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