ryandelmundo

And rum too!

I think the fine was for going, not for smuggling, as my gf paid the $100 as well and she didn't have said contraband.

Lost

This is what I understood from the OP too. There's very likely to be notes about trying to bring in cigars and rum (OP: I'm still not sure based on your posts. Did you declare the cigars and rum, or did the officers have to find them on a search?)

I'd agree that the application is likely to be denied.

ryandelmundo

The immigration officer asked me where my Cuban visa was. Rather than lie, I said it was in Cuba. Still not sure why he asked me but I suspect they share flight records (I flew cuba to toronto).

They then searched everything so I never had a chance to declare as I was still at immigration and not at customs.

Fun stuff, its a great story (including the time we "chartered" our own bus from Guantanamo to the east coat), wouldn't trade it for anything. If you're thinking about going - go now before it changes too much.

IMH

Had you completed a customs form? If so, had you handed it to a CBP officer?

It seems likely that you were found to have failed to declare the items.

catocony

"Fines" for Cuba are a lot more than $100, and are enforced only by Treasury after the fact. It's not something that Customs would hit you for, since it's not illegal to visit Cuba. The Treasure "fines" are in the thousands of dollars.

If you were fined anything, it was for having embargoed goods or for not declaring regular goods. Did they take the cigars and rum away?

Anyways, what does the paperwork that you signed say?

ryandelmundo

This was back in 2003 - who knows the facts anymore.

PhotoJim

If you are near the Canadian border or willing to go, you can at least cut your gamble from $100 to $50 by applying for NEXUS instead of GE (NEXUS includes full GE benefits). Aside from having to interview at a Canadian airport or a US/Canadian border office, the only downside is that Canada has to say yes also. But if they do, you get expedited Customs service and airport security in Canada as well as the US.

Teo1Jay

I'd imagine, though, that if your friend wants to KEEP GE then your friend would want to be honest about whether he or she has visited Cuba if asked by CBP.

chollie

Depending on when your friend's GE comes up for renewal, your friend will be faced with either declaring Cuba in the list of countries visited in the prior five years or lying by omission.

cubancriminal

My wife, our toddler and I applied for GE, and both my wife and I listed Cuba under the countries we'd visited in the last 5 years. We took a quick trip there from the Caribbean 4 years ago. We didn't bring anything back and have never been stopped at Customs. I researched the forums and found many examples of people saying their interviewers didn't care about their Cuba passport stamps and such, so I figured it was best to be honest even though I highly doubt they would even have known since we didn't fly from Canada.

We were all conditionally approved and got our interviews. At the interview, toddler gets approved, but both my wife and I are told that without OFAC paperwork authorizing our trip, we are denied. My officer tells me not to worry, that I should simply appeal the decision, that he actually would've just approved it himself but he didn't have that power. He says he's seen much worse things get successfully appealed, and he advised me that I should definitely e-mail the Ombudsman as opposed to writing a letter. He said "I can't guarantee anything, but pretty much it'll get approved, it's just going to take like 4 or 6 months to hear back."

He said to include a nice long explanation, citing the fact that I have no arrests or other customs/immigration violations, that I didn't realize that it wasn't OK to go to Cuba, and that I'll likely get approved. He said there's one person who handles all appeals for the entire US. And he took my fingerprints and picture, saying if it gets approved I wouldn't have to come back for another interview.

The officer helping my wife was not as friendly nor optimistic. I take what my officer said with a grain of salt, not sure how much he really knows. Wondering if anybody has successfully appealed a denial due to a trip to Cuba? Also what are my odds for getting approved for TSA Precheck if I apply for that now while I wait for my appeal?

We're concerned we may be blacklisted forever due to being honest, and if we had waited 1 more year we wouldn't have even had to list Cuba at all. Plus things have really relaxed in terms of visiting Cuba now so I wonder if that might make a difference in our appeal. Of course I understand at the end of the day it was an unauthorized trip, and GE is for people who would never do that, I suppose. But I don't think any reasonable person would think we pose a threat of the type they're trying to stop.

Thanks for any advice.

JadedTraveler

Others may weigh in with a different opinion.

To me this statement says enough for CBP to deny your acceptance: "...didn't realize that it wasn't OK to go to Cuba."

You are applying for a trusted traveler program and you are expected to know. The basic premise in all this: You are trusted to know, not only now and in the future but also in the past.

cubancriminal

I never said this. This was entirely the officer's suggestion of what I should write. In fact I bristled upon hearing this because I agree, ignorance is not an excuse to break the law. I also found it interesting that the officer would suggest wording for my appeal at all, particularly wording that I think he knew was fabricated. I would love help from successful appeals letters on what approach does work best in a situation like this, but I'm assuming this is a rare case and I'll have to take a shot in the dark. Thanks.

JadedTraveler

I think the officer helped rather than harmed your case.

The alternative is '...realized that it is not OK to go to Cuba, but did so anyway.'

FallenPlat

Before proceeding further, you need to do a little basic research on travel to Cuba so that you don't make a misstep on your appeal.

I have two suggestions.

First, don't even try the "didn't know" approach; it's simply not believable. There aren't even any scheduled flights! For a reason. Which everyone knows. Including you.

Lying on a Federal form also might well be a felony under Section 1001 of the US Criminal Code. (Google 18 U.S.C. Section 1001.) You're smarter than that, right?

Second, you need to understand how the Cuba ban works legally. "Traveling" to Cuba is perfectly legal. What's illegal is spending money there, even a penny, without a Department of the Treasury license. Back when you did it, the license had to be in writing from the government. Now it can be "self-certified," i.e., not in writing. But either way, travel can only be for one of the dozen or so prescribed reasons, e.g., journalism, education, people-to-people. And "tourism" was not, and is not, a permitted reason.

Often1

The pity is that 4 years ago, it would have been pretty easy to obtain a license for a standard Cuba trip.

The issue for you isn't whether it's the most heinous thing in the world, but whether you can be a "trusted traveler" if you can't be trusted to follow the rules.

I have no idea how a front line CBP Officer has a clue as to how DHS intends to handle unauthorized past Cuba travel going forward. But, the reality is that you've spent your $100, so you might as well pursue your appeal.

Don't overthink these things. The truth sometimes actually is the best policy! So, tell it. Of course you knew it was a violation of law. So, apologize, you have absolutely no excuse, you have learned your lesson and you will never do it again.

People have had GE revoked for not declaring a piece of fruit entering the country, so this may not happen right away. But, nobody is going to tell you that you are out of 3 years or 15 years, so just keep trying.