Originally Posted by exile2k
How long do you suppose it takes before your hand-filled out customs card is entered accurately into some sort of electronic system that they could actually look up?
If you ask me, I think they end up in a shredder somewhere.
The forms may end up in a shredder, but not right away. They are collected, analysed, statistics are captured (e.g. business vs. leisure travel), and perhaps then get shredded.
As for APIS, the passport info, etc. gets transferred from the airline to US DHS well before the aircraft pushing back (previously transmitted 15 mins after wheels up). The APIS info is analysed at a datacentre in Northern Virginia. Any hits are transmitted to the Port of Entry for action. DHS is looking for lost/stolen passports, name matches, etc. It is conceivable the addresses are also being matched.
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13F