Originally Posted by
jmd001
For everyone's info, I gritched at my local congressperson about the amount of time it was taking for some applications/renewals to get approved (referencing this thread). This is the core of the response I got:
"According to CBP's official policy, applications are processed in the order in which they are received. However, approximately 20% of applications require additional review, which may result in a longer processing time of about 9 months. Please note that CBP does not disclose the specific criteria used for this review due to national security considerations."
Not particularly helpful (as expected), but at least it felt better to register my discontent.
A couple of years ago, I had an unusual experience at Customs in JFK. My wife and I returned from Italy and after we picked up our bags, we got pulled aside by a customs agents who went through our things and asked us what we were bringing back. We said nothing as we had a house in Italy that we were remodeling and then they totally lost interest. I speculated afterward that CBP knew we had wired substantial sums to Italy (house purchase, remodel...) and we had been flagged for a teardown when returning. Once they realized that the $ was going into a house, they moved on. It's possible that my periodic money transfers to our Italian bank triggered a review for GOES/TT.