Originally Posted by
IverTheCat
After clearing passport control and going through baggage reclaim, everyone then had to queue to surrender their customs form. Nothing new there.
What I found different was that instead of just simply surrendering it, you actually had to offer the form and passport to the customs officer, who then did a mini-interview.
Is this normal? At LAX you simply hand over the form and that's it - no mini-interview.
Completely normal. That mini-interview can determine whether your bags get searched. The customs official there is interested in what you may be bringing into the country. The passport control immigration official is concerned about your ability to enter the country, not what you are bringing in.