tamhanepd

Thank you everyone for your replies. My bag was transported in the same flight in which I was traveling and my i94 record also doesn't show any record of not collecting baggage or breaking the law. I guess they were trying to scare me to not do it next time? Just five months ago I travelled to Huntsville from outside USA with a layover at Houston. At that time, my checked bags arrived at the final destination without any issue. But looking up on google shows that since 6/20/2023, all international passengers have to collect their checked bags and check in again at the port of entry before taking the connecting domestic flight. I did change airlines which could have caused problems. The last flight was operated by American and the first flight was by Qatar airways.

I was traveling from India to Huntsville AL, and I had a connecting flight at Dallas, which was the first port of entry to the US for me. I assumed that my checked bag will be delivered to the final destination, so I went straight to the connecting flights area, cleared immigration and waited for my next flight. After about 1.5 hours I got a call from Americal Airlines and they said I had to collect my bag and check in again to clear customs and that by not doing that I violated federal law and it will be reported in my passport. I was unaware of this. I requested them that I'll go back to the baggage claim area to collect my bag but they said I cannot go there now and my bag will be delivered to the final destination after being cleared by the customs officer in a few days and I can collect it from there. But next time, they will make a note of it in my passport. Will it affect my future visa extension applications or different vissa applications? What can I do to mitigate any effects of this situation? Thanks.