Just a reminder to those who still have layovers in the US, it can be a problem, as US customs can ask for a return ticket for the original country or otherwise not let you go on.

It happened to me in the 90's, i live in Europe & was doing Europe to Central/South America, but since all the major airlines still were stopping in Miami, i had a layover there. I was told by the visa office that i needed a US visa for this, which i had, but little did i know was that they could ask for anything else. While in the customs line, i got stopped at the desk, to be asked where i was going, i answered Central America. I presented my passport, with the US visa, and the Central America visa, and a return ticket from Central America to my home country. Then i got asked for my return ticket for the US, which i didn't have, as it was just a layover (i didn't have enough money to spend a day or two in the US, and i had a visa for the US, so when i was there, i could see the country) they didn't really believe me, until i showed them my bank account, and proved i didn't have the money to stay. In the end they let me go and as i was leaving, i heard them talk, that they had a few cases like this, and for some they did send them back.<br><br>I also had a Peruvian friend (w/ Peruvian passport) who had a layover in the US, but to South America, and they were stopped at US customs, and had to show them a return ticket to their own country. (w/ an onward ticket, but not a return ticket, which is the same as the first one, but is cheaper, and as they were going for 6 months, they didn't want to spend the extra $$). They were sent back after a few hours spent at the airport.<br><br>To avoid having this problem, i saw some people take detours, like going Canada-Mexico-Central America or Europe-Spain/Portugal/Brazil to SA. Done this way, you don't have to go thru US customs. There are some airlines who offer this route, and to be sure, i would ask them about restrictions at the time of purchase (w/ an onward ticket, but not return to original country ticket to be sure)