Since you posted here also - Of course, you're exactly right - you (and your luggage - which you carry past the customs official) - do go through customs. She'll go to a different gate and get on a different plane with a different crew - all this on a flight that Continental bills as a "direct flight". Yes, that's a short layover, but she can make it if there are no problems. In Houston, she'll land at the International Terminal E on a domestic flight. Separate from the International passengers, she'll walk a concourse to Terminal D, which is where the baggage pick-up is - that is where you would meet her.