what does customs check on your passport
 

first of all i'm an american. good ol' southern white girl. got a warrant out in texas for a probation violation that i skipped out on seeing the judge about and went out of the country for about a year now. anyways, i want to come home now and i won't be flying into texas. i was thinking an airport far far away from texas. my question is what do they check at customs? will they scan my passport and see that i have an outstanding warrant in texas? does it matter if they do? will texas come and get me?

Methinks you should get in touch with an attorney.

Or they might just nab you when your passport is scanned on exit from the EU or wherever you are.

THE INFORMATION BELOW DOES NOT CONSTITUTE LEGAL ADVICE.

Yes, your outstanding warrant almost certainly is included in the database that the passport scan checks. When it pops up, CBP at whatever U.S. port of entry probably will take you into custody until Texas state officials decide whether to take custody and pursue the matter, or whether to drop it and release you.

As others have indicated, I'm frankly quite surprised that this warrant hasn't caught up with you at other border crossings. The U.S. CBP databases are supposed to be linked with INTERPOL, meaning that your outstanding warrant should pop up on the screen throughout the world whenever an immigration officer scans your passport.

I agree with others: contact an attorney to look into the matter.

Did not know that "good ol' southern girls" violated probation.... or even did anything to get probation.... :D

Obviously you and I travel to different parts of the south ;)

Why not just take care of your warrant ?

If she is out of the US (and Texas), how can she do this without returning to the US?

Knowingly absconding from a probation violation warrant -- if that is what you did -- wasn't the most sensible thing to do as it will only work against you in trying to get the matter legally resolved. But that's a done deed. Now you should get an attorney in Texas lined up and have the lawyer work on the matter to get it cleared up or advise you on what your next steps should/could be and what are the costs and benefits of whatever choice you make in conjunction with the attorney to resolve the matter.

Or...You can just attempt to enter the US. Don't worry, an attorney will be appointed to you at no cost to you. :cool:

Note to self, don't run from the law...

I was hoping this would be a fun thread. :(

"What does customs check on your passport"

Everything but the size of your private parts. (Drum roll, please.) For that, they rely on the direct feed from the TSA backscatter xray scanner. (Badda bing!) :p

Seriously, if I to enter the US and get deported to TX, I would enter in Alaska, Hawaii, or Maine. As far away as possible. Why? First, the extra cost of the cop travel and airline tickets might make them decide to not come get you. But best of all: If they do come get you, you make two TX detectives fly coach for the longest possible time. :D With a little help here on FT, you might find a city in Maine that has RJ service direct to your TX town and can REALLY put the misery into the cops who come get you. ^

*** THE FOLLOWING IS NOT LEGAL ADVICE ***



What if the OP books a flight from Shannon, Ireland back to the USA?
"She" will go through CBP pre-clearance facility. Even if "her" name
gets flagged, the CBP officer does not have the power to arrest "her"
becuase it's still Irish territory. The CBP can deny "her" boarding and
alert the Irish police. However, I highly doubt that Texas will bother
with a costly extradition request.

Regardless... the OP should seek legal advise from an attorney.

Below is the text from Wikipedia on this subject:


"Travelers who have passed through the U.S. government checks,
but whose flight or ship has not departed, remain in the legal
jurisdiction of the host country. U.S. officials may question and
search travelers, but they do not have powers of arrest (either
for customs or immigration violations, or for the execution of
outstanding warrants), although they can deny boarding.
Local criminal laws apply, and are enforced by local officials."

P.S. I used "She" and "her" because I am confident
that the OP is a male and did not come from Texas.

The CPB at Shannon could quietly make note of the arrest warrant and have her arrested on arrival in the U.S.

Why would "customs" arrest her?

"BP" side of the mission...