Does anyone here refuse to answer questions from CBP officers?
May 12, 2019, 11:20 pm
#241
Join Date: Jul 2013
Posts: 1,872
sorry to bring this thread back from the dead but recently went through check point and wanted to share my experience. Before i tell my experience know that i had 8 hours layover and didn't care about the delay.
I arrived from Germany at JFK in the morning around 4 or 5 am , I forget the exact time it was. When i approached CBP office i handed him my US passport only.Here is how conversation went
CBP:I need your declaration form
me:I didn't fill out one
CBP:Attempts to hand me the form
me:I am not going to fill it out
CBP:Everyone is required to fill it out
me:Tell that to the judge
CBP: Sir if you do not fill out this form you will be detained/arrested for very long time
me: Bring it on
at this point CBP calls his supervisor
CBP Supervisor after talking to original CBP officer: Sir if you do not fill out this form i will place you under arrest and charge you with obstruction
me:bring it on
at this point i can tell the supervisor trying to think what to do.He uses information from my passport and writes down my name on custom form and starts asking me question from the form which i refuse to answer. He then decided to ask me what is my name, date of birth, country i am coming from etc. To which i answered none of your business.
After going back and forth i get escorted to private room and my luggage is separated from me. They demand my cell phone which i give them but it's locked and i refuse to unlock it. Prior to boarding the plane i backed up all of my data and wiped the phone. The phone it self is encrypted so getting anything off it is impossible.
After sitting in the room for about 45-1 hour an FBI officer came in to the room and asked me why i was refusing to answer questions. At which point i demand a lawyer. He just handed me my passport and I was on my way. I am going to assume they verified my identity.
I would be scared to do this if i was not US citizen but as US Citizen i felt very comfortable in refusing to give in to government demand. If i got arrested, i would have no problem in hiring a good lawyer to get case dropped and then would sue the hell out of the government. Legally they can't refuse entry to USA citizen once proof of citizenship is verified.
I arrived from Germany at JFK in the morning around 4 or 5 am , I forget the exact time it was. When i approached CBP office i handed him my US passport only.Here is how conversation went
CBP:I need your declaration form
me:I didn't fill out one
CBP:Attempts to hand me the form
me:I am not going to fill it out
CBP:Everyone is required to fill it out
me:Tell that to the judge
CBP: Sir if you do not fill out this form you will be detained/arrested for very long time
me: Bring it on
at this point CBP calls his supervisor
CBP Supervisor after talking to original CBP officer: Sir if you do not fill out this form i will place you under arrest and charge you with obstruction
me:bring it on
at this point i can tell the supervisor trying to think what to do.He uses information from my passport and writes down my name on custom form and starts asking me question from the form which i refuse to answer. He then decided to ask me what is my name, date of birth, country i am coming from etc. To which i answered none of your business.
After going back and forth i get escorted to private room and my luggage is separated from me. They demand my cell phone which i give them but it's locked and i refuse to unlock it. Prior to boarding the plane i backed up all of my data and wiped the phone. The phone it self is encrypted so getting anything off it is impossible.
After sitting in the room for about 45-1 hour an FBI officer came in to the room and asked me why i was refusing to answer questions. At which point i demand a lawyer. He just handed me my passport and I was on my way. I am going to assume they verified my identity.
I would be scared to do this if i was not US citizen but as US Citizen i felt very comfortable in refusing to give in to government demand. If i got arrested, i would have no problem in hiring a good lawyer to get case dropped and then would sue the hell out of the government. Legally they can't refuse entry to USA citizen once proof of citizenship is verified.
May 13, 2019, 10:14 am
#242
Join Date: May 2019
Posts: 72
Exercise my right not to answer any question upon returning back to my home country. All they need is my passport, unless they have proof that my passport is forgery, they should just say welcome home.
Last edited by TWA884; May 13, 2019 at 10:48 am Reason: Merge consecutive posts by the same member; please use the multi-quote function. Thank you.
May 18, 2019, 11:53 am
#243
Join Date: May 2019
Posts: 72
I just came back from trip to Germany that lasted only 48 hours on the ground This time the flight was to LAX so no connection flight for me. Female custom asked me purpose of my trip and i did as before and said none of your business. She said okay you can be an ... if you want and handed me my passport. No other questions, no secondary inspection. Nothing else. Not what i was expecting. I wonder if she just didn't care.
May 18, 2019, 3:10 pm
#244
Suspended
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: Ontario, Canada
Programs: Aeroplan, IHG, Enterprise, Avios, Nexus
Posts: 8,355
I just came back from trip to Germany that lasted only 48 hours on the ground This time the flight was to LAX so no connection flight for me. Female custom asked me purpose of my trip and i did as before and said none of your business. She said okay you can be an ... if you want and handed me my passport. No other questions, no secondary inspection. Nothing else. Not what i was expecting. I wonder if she just didn't care.
May 19, 2019, 2:19 am
#246
Join Date: May 2019
Posts: 72
It's because it's none of the government business on why i was in foreign country.
May 19, 2019, 5:12 am
#247
Join Date: Mar 2011
Location: Japan/Thailand
Programs: AS, UA
Posts: 1,201
My last entry into LAX was late at night after a flight from Tokyo. Using Mobile Passport I walked up to the kiosk, handed my phone over.
CBP: Tokyo, eh? Long flight.
Me: Not too bad but am looking forward to a nice bed tonight.
CBP: Then let's get you home. Here you go (handing phone and passport back) and welcome back.
Shortest, and most pleasant welcome I've had in quite some time!
CBP: Tokyo, eh? Long flight.
Me: Not too bad but am looking forward to a nice bed tonight.
CBP: Then let's get you home. Here you go (handing phone and passport back) and welcome back.
Shortest, and most pleasant welcome I've had in quite some time!
May 20, 2019, 7:50 pm
#248
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: NYC
Programs: DL PM, Marriott Gold, Hertz PC, National Exec
Posts: 6,736
sorry to bring this thread back from the dead but recently went through check point and wanted to share my experience. Before i tell my experience know that i had 8 hours layover and didn't care about the delay.
I arrived from Germany at JFK in the morning around 4 or 5 am , I forget the exact time it was. When i approached CBP office i handed him my US passport only.Here is how conversation went
CBP:I need your declaration form
me:I didn't fill out one
CBP:Attempts to hand me the form
me:I am not going to fill it out
CBP:Everyone is required to fill it out
me:Tell that to the judge
CBP: Sir if you do not fill out this form you will be detained/arrested for very long time
me: Bring it on
at this point CBP calls his supervisor
CBP Supervisor after talking to original CBP officer: Sir if you do not fill out this form i will place you under arrest and charge you with obstruction
me:bring it on
at this point i can tell the supervisor trying to think what to do.He uses information from my passport and writes down my name on custom form and starts asking me question from the form which i refuse to answer. He then decided to ask me what is my name, date of birth, country i am coming from etc. To which i answered none of your business.
After going back and forth i get escorted to private room and my luggage is separated from me. They demand my cell phone which i give them but it's locked and i refuse to unlock it. Prior to boarding the plane i backed up all of my data and wiped the phone. The phone it self is encrypted so getting anything off it is impossible.
After sitting in the room for about 45-1 hour an FBI officer came in to the room and asked me why i was refusing to answer questions. At which point i demand a lawyer. He just handed me my passport and I was on my way. I am going to assume they verified my identity.
I would be scared to do this if i was not US citizen but as US Citizen i felt very comfortable in refusing to give in to government demand. If i got arrested, i would have no problem in hiring a good lawyer to get case dropped and then would sue the hell out of the government. Legally they can't refuse entry to USA citizen once proof of citizenship is verified.
I arrived from Germany at JFK in the morning around 4 or 5 am , I forget the exact time it was. When i approached CBP office i handed him my US passport only.Here is how conversation went
CBP:I need your declaration form
me:I didn't fill out one
CBP:Attempts to hand me the form
me:I am not going to fill it out
CBP:Everyone is required to fill it out
me:Tell that to the judge
CBP: Sir if you do not fill out this form you will be detained/arrested for very long time
me: Bring it on
at this point CBP calls his supervisor
CBP Supervisor after talking to original CBP officer: Sir if you do not fill out this form i will place you under arrest and charge you with obstruction
me:bring it on
at this point i can tell the supervisor trying to think what to do.He uses information from my passport and writes down my name on custom form and starts asking me question from the form which i refuse to answer. He then decided to ask me what is my name, date of birth, country i am coming from etc. To which i answered none of your business.
After going back and forth i get escorted to private room and my luggage is separated from me. They demand my cell phone which i give them but it's locked and i refuse to unlock it. Prior to boarding the plane i backed up all of my data and wiped the phone. The phone it self is encrypted so getting anything off it is impossible.
After sitting in the room for about 45-1 hour an FBI officer came in to the room and asked me why i was refusing to answer questions. At which point i demand a lawyer. He just handed me my passport and I was on my way. I am going to assume they verified my identity.
I would be scared to do this if i was not US citizen but as US Citizen i felt very comfortable in refusing to give in to government demand. If i got arrested, i would have no problem in hiring a good lawyer to get case dropped and then would sue the hell out of the government. Legally they can't refuse entry to USA citizen once proof of citizenship is verified.
May 20, 2019, 8:47 pm
#249
Suspended
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Watchlisted by the prejudiced, en route to purgatory
Programs: Just Say No to Fleecing and Blacklisting
Posts: 102,095
Things a lot like this have definitely happened before. Like the person arriving back at DTW who said he wasnt going to complete and sign the printed declaration form for some reason or another. There are all sorts of people, and some do things that most others never do and most will never see even when it takes place.
May 22, 2019, 5:11 pm
#250
Original Member
Join Date: May 1998
Location: NYC
Programs: AA 2MM, Bonvoy LTT, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 14,638
That is fine with me, they will get the exact same answers as they did first time.
Exercise my right not to answer any question upon returning back to my home country. All they need is my passport, unless they have proof that my passport is forgery, they should just say welcome home.
Exercise my right not to answer any question upon returning back to my home country. All they need is my passport, unless they have proof that my passport is forgery, they should just say welcome home.
Wasting CBP officers time does absolutely nothing to further your cause and as mentioned above they still get paid and just takes time away on examining other passengers.
I would even go as far as saying YOU enjoyed the power trip.
May 22, 2019, 6:14 pm
#251
Join Date: May 2019
Posts: 72
If you really believe in that, take it up with your representative.
Wasting CBP officers’ time does absolutely nothing to further your cause and as mentioned above they still get paid and just takes time away on examining other passengers.
I would even go as far as saying YOU enjoyed the power trip.
May 22, 2019, 6:19 pm
#252
Moderator: Manufactured Spending
Join Date: Jul 2011
Posts: 6,580
There is also the issue of what you are bringing into the country. It is more efficient for both you and the government if you answer a few simple questions rather than have everything searched.
If you think your actions are going to effect some sort of policy change, think again. The officers are getting paid by the hour, so they really don't care. Higher ups aren't going to care either. All you're doing is creating inconvenience for yourself and cost to taxpayers. But if you see a purpose here, then you do you.
May 22, 2019, 6:19 pm
#253
Suspended
Join Date: Aug 2010
Location: DCA
Programs: UA US CO AA DL FL
Posts: 50,262
Time is money. I don't waste it. I'll take sailing through CBP with GE and handing a slip of paper to an Officer and heading home any day.
Nobody is wasting the government employee's time. She gets paid whether she is examining 1 or 100 people. This is just a hit on the taxpayer or worse, the poor slob stuck in line behind.
Nobody is wasting the government employee's time. She gets paid whether she is examining 1 or 100 people. This is just a hit on the taxpayer or worse, the poor slob stuck in line behind.
May 22, 2019, 6:28 pm
#254
Join Date: Aug 2015
Location: IAH
Programs: UA
Posts: 605
May 23, 2019, 8:47 am
#255
A FlyerTalk Posting Legend
Join Date: Sep 2006
Location: where the chile is hot
Programs: AA,RR,NW,Delta ,UA,CO
Posts: 41,675
I answer all CBP or TSA questions. I sir/ma'am everyone and no one is more cringing, respectful, obsequious than me.
If CBP wants me to strip, squat and cough in front of a crowd, I'll do it without protest.
What I hate, despise, abhor, is when any of them put their hands on me. I want to vomit every time they probe my crotch. I accept that being treated worse than a criminal is the price I pay just to exercise my right (desire) to fly but I don't like it.
I don't really care what the lawyers say. When I'm at the airport, my Constitutional rights are functionally non-existent. I'm not a lawyer or someone connected to government or even a gutsy person. I'm not putting my well-being on the line to exercise my rights if CBP or TSA decides to deny me those rights. I know who holds all the cards and there's no way a peon like me is going to win if I try to exercise my rights.
If CBP wants me to strip, squat and cough in front of a crowd, I'll do it without protest.
What I hate, despise, abhor, is when any of them put their hands on me. I want to vomit every time they probe my crotch. I accept that being treated worse than a criminal is the price I pay just to exercise my right (desire) to fly but I don't like it.
I don't really care what the lawyers say. When I'm at the airport, my Constitutional rights are functionally non-existent. I'm not a lawyer or someone connected to government or even a gutsy person. I'm not putting my well-being on the line to exercise my rights if CBP or TSA decides to deny me those rights. I know who holds all the cards and there's no way a peon like me is going to win if I try to exercise my rights.