catocony

The Agriculture inspection guys are usually pretty cool - except when Immigration marks you as "A" with no reason. I had a random Ag secondary last year, coming into Dulles from Brasil. I went over to the A secondary area - very sleepy that time of the morning. The guy was ok, but the conversation went like this.

Him, after examining my Customs form: "Why did they send you here?"
Me: "I don't know, he marked it as A".
Him: "Were you on a farm or something?"
Me: "No"
Him: "Well, you didn't mark anything on your form. Why did Immigration mark it as A?"
Me: "No clue."
Him: "Did you bring food back?"
Me: "No".
Him, looking at my Customs form for the 10th time: "I can't figure out why they sent you here."
Me: "I really don't know. Do you need my bags?"
Him: "No, I don't know why you're here."

And with that I walked on out. Clearly the guy hadn't had his coffee and wasn't happy that Immigration sent me over for no reason. Kinda funny, kinda annoying.

Pesky Monkey

I had almost the verbatim conversation in Atlanta last year. Random A marked on my form and a pleasant but confused Ag Customs official letting me through after the same questions.

catocony

Apparently the AG Customs guys are the only Federal employees in the airports that actually have common sense. They don't like having their time wasted, even if that time is being spent reading a newspaper.

I assume mine - like yours - was a random one. Maybe the Immigration guys were trying to tick off the guys on duty at AG inspections or something. I was actually happy he just sent me on my way, although AG inspections are usually pretty fast anyways. It's rational thinking; "this passenger shouldn't have been sent here, so get him on his way."

I did half expect him to ask me which Immigration guy it was.

GUWonder

That's what I've experienced when doing the same.

The CBP doing Ag inspections when I've marked down the customs declaration form for food in the form of chewing gum and chocolates get a chuckle out of them or a roll of their eyes rather routinely. Pleasant or otherwise acceptable experience every time I've been through it.

William S

Hmm so what happens if you get an A on your form? Do you pick up your luggage after clearing immigration then go to the officer at the exit who sends you over to agricultural? Or doesn't it work that way when you need a secondary? I checked yes on the food when I was entering through LAX. I was bringing some rolls and some chocolate. Immigration just stamped the form and did not ask anything about that. Then I picked up my luggage and went to the exit where the officer picked up the forms. He then asked what kind of food I had with me and I answered some chocolate and some rolls and then he said okey thank you, have a nice day and pointed me towards the exit. I actually expected a thorough search...

ESpen36

Yup. That is what happens.


No, for food they typically just want to know what kind of food. Many travelers bring home chocolates, cookies, other packaged foods, most of which are permitted entry. The officer might want to take a quick look at the food items. If you are carrying any food, it might be easiest to remove them from your luggage and carry them separately to the customs exit in order to expedite inspection if one is necessary.

Final word: be sure always to DECLARE ANYTHING AND EVERYTHING accompanying you that is consumed as food, even the most mundane items like a bag of potato chips. Yes, we all know that the officers are looking primarily for meats and fresh fruits/veggies, not a bag of chips, but you would be VERY surprised at the complexity of the list of prohibited/restricted items, as well as the frequency with which it changes. Not to declare EACH AND EVERY food item when using a normal declaration form* is to risk huge fees and a possible red flag on your CBP record that could result in secondary searches during all subsequent border crossings for many years.



*GlobalEntry members in good standing, when entering the USA using the kiosks, need to declare only those food items that are listed on the kiosk screen. The kiosk is more specific than the paper CBP declaration form, perhaps because the government assumes that GE members travel enough to know that a box of cookies/chocolates will not be of interest to the customs officers, and thus GE members are exempt from declaring such items.

Firebug4

It is because it much easier and less expensive to change the computerized questions the kiosk asks when the prohibited/restricted list changes. You could not print and distribute the new customs declaration form quickly enough when the list changes and it would be cost prohibitive even if you could do it fast enough. That is why the form is kept in general terms on purpose and the officer must make the determination if the item is on the list or is questionable in anyway.

FB

chgoeditor

My favorite farm/agriculture story:

I was in Italy, staying in a village, during a European outbreak of hoof & mouth disease (or something similar). The village had one street and sheep were herded down it regularly as they went from pen to pasture. I think there were also a few pigs, some rabbits, goats and cows around.

I flew home to Chicago and checked the "yes, I was on a farm/around livestock" on the Customs form. I also admitted to importing a case of Italian wine. After going through immigration, I claimed my luggage, and much to my dismay, several of the bottles of wine had broken. I loaded up this cardboard box, which is dripping red wine (which, at a glance, looked like blood), handed my entry card to the customs inspector & was flagged right through. No making me walk through bleach (which family who flew into other airports were required to do), no questioning whether I was carrying raw, bloody meat, no charging me for my excess liquor. Maybe they just felt sorry for me!

Earthman

What is the procedure here?
I know there's a tick box on the customs form asking if you have been on a ranch and for the first time prior to going to the States,I may actually have to tick yes to this.

Has anyone any experience of this?
Is it a case of being escorted to a USDA office for to have boots disinfected or something? (They or my clothes won't have been near animals).
This will be at JFK

Thanks.

janetdoe

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/pract...-question.html

tanja

And what if you spend your time on a farm. And leave all that clothes there?

What do you answer!
I have ,so far, always said no. Cause the clothes/shoes stay in my"room" at my daughters house.

AM I lying or not?!

janetdoe

Of course you are lying - what you say is untrue. Does it matter? Probably not.

kochleffel

In my experience, you'll be referred to the agricultural inspection desk and asked to show the shoes or boots you were wearing. If there's no sign of animal waste on them, that will probably be the end of it.

tanja

And what if you dont have them with you?My shoes would stay behind in Europe.

mre5765

I always tell the truth (I have GE and prefer to keep it). I've never been referred to secondary inspection.

The first time I was in India, I did a lot of walking, with close encounters with cattle. I checked the box when I returned. The CBP officer asked what kind of farm I went to in India. I corrected his assumption, noting that in India cattle run every. He nodded, and sent me to the normal customs channel which admitted me to the USA with no comment.

As he said, that will be the end of it.