HawaiiO

Can we bring in fruit jams and bbq meat(vacuum packed)?

tks

rpjs

HWGeeks

Can you request proof of a bag check?

The reason is I have been stopped 4 times by the same CBP officer at JFK and he claims he doesn't remember me each time. I honestly feel he sees me and just gets a hardon and wants to .... with me. Always with the same line "You look like my boss" I wonder if he really hates his boss.

Can I ask for a receipt when I am stopped and checked to have some sort of proof?

DCP2016

How "easy" is it for a CBP officer to revoke someone's Global Entry? Does the person really have to be uncooperative, or can one snide remark to the wrong officer be enough grounds?

ToddSpam

why did you change your name from maninblue to maninblack?

YadiMolina

Why spend any effort on booze? Why sometimes the question "bringing back any liquor?" Does this really represent any threat whatsoever to the USA?

I appreciate the effort against terrorism and agricultural threats. But a few bucks in liquor taxes... please.

cbn42

Thanks for posting this thread.

I have two questions:

1. when using GE, am I supposed to declare all food, including packaged food that is permissible to enter with? I once marked yes on the food question because I had some granloa bars, and got sent to agricultural, where the officer seemed annoyed.

2. what are the consequences of traveling to Cuba for tourism? I know nobody has been fined or prosecuted, but are there other potential issues? If I re-enter the US and say I have been to Mexico and Cuba, how would you handle it?

mhy

How often do you think people (especially with Global Entry) get caught with undeclared items (i.e. carrying >$800 in bought goods or carrying food, but marked 'No' on the kiosk)?

Went through GE kiosk recently and answered 100% honestly (had well over $800 in shopping purchases, and some food) and the CBP officer thanked me for my honesty and charged me a very low tax rate rather than the 'true' rate. He said a lot of people with Global Entry don't do this properly and get caught.

maninblack

We let so much counterfeit stuff go when it's in small quantities and personal use. I've always been taught that a passenger gets 1 "free" before we start to really care. And even then, I'm not doing a seizure if grandma is bringing back 3 identical knockoff LV purses.

I recently did a baggage exam that didn't have anything of interest, except 1 counterfeit Cartier watch. In the box, tags, etc

I told the girl if it was real, we have a problem, as it wasn't declared. If it was fake, we have another problem. I spent the majority of that inspection desparately trying to convey what "fake" was. "It's real, I'm holding it right here. It's not real Cartier." "So it's fake, and that's against the law." "How?! and why do I need to declare fake items?" It was a frustrating conversation. Some cultures and people just don't comprehend counterfeit goods and how something like that couldn't be allowed in. But that's a whole different topic...

maninblack

Fruit jams, yes. BBQ meat, depending on country and type of meat.

maninblack

This is extremely accurate. Some of the old school guys, or heck, even the new guys, will roll their eyes if they see someone charge a duty/IRT of $50, and take a half an hour to do so. We're getting paid good money and are on the lookout for drugs, smuggling, terrorists, etc and you're wasting your time penalizing someone $50 who declared some goods that they purchased in Europe.

I let sooooooo much stuff go if it's declared. Example: You buy a $2,000 watch. After the standard $800 exemption (for a US citizen), the remainder is $1200. The first $1,000 is a flat 3%. So $30. The remaining $200 for example is whatever the duty rate is, say 5%. So another $10. Grand total = $40.

Now say it's a couple, and they've been nice (which is a HUGE part of how we decide how to deal with something)....

I'm not charging $40, for an average of $20/person.

Down the road and I've got other people to go hunt down and find to penalize. If the line is out the door, and we're short on staffing, you prioritize what you what to enforce. Duty is low on that list.

maninblack

"We don't have such a thing."

I guess that's how I would answer that request, because that's the first I've heard of such a question.

I guess a FOIA for each inspection, and show that the same Officer does your inspection each time?

But even then, those Officers put their own lookouts based on their own thresholds. He/She is within their duty to inspect you, multiple times or not, assuming they can articulate why they chose you. And they likely can.

maninblack

CBP Officer's cannot revoke your membership, regardless of what is posted here and on other websites. What we can do, is send our Supervisor a written suggestion, and it's up to them to do so.

I've had good luck with one Supervisor of Global Entry revoking just about everything I sent them. Jerks, uncooperative, people who didn't declare an apple, or people who straight up told me they just "press no to all" without reading anything. I tend to try real hard to get those revoked. "Due to the strict standards of Global Entry, and Mr. Smith's attitude towards CBP Officers, I recommend his membership be revoked as he cannot be trusted. He has blah blah blah (examples)"

The GE Sup we now have is new and won't revoke much if anything at all. That's just how it goes. I still try, when those situations come my way.

maninblack

"Any alcohol or tabacco?"

I hear this question asked a lot. And even if they say yes, it's extremely rare anything comes of it anyway, so I don't ask it.
If I get a 19yr old coming back from Europe with booze of any sort, we have a problem.
If I get certain types of people from certain countries who say yes to tobacco, there can be a problem for them coming up.

I know when to ask this question, and it's rare that I do. I'll ask kids that are under 21 about alcohol, and men returning from smoke heavy countries about tobacco. In the smoking case, we've pulled 100+ cartons out of checked bags way more times than I can count.

maninblack

1) I think so, so yes. But that changes on whatever Officer you ask. There's no strict ruling on this.

2) None? I want to say one of my coworkers was trying to go recently as well. It's not really something I deal with anymore. I'll have to ask the guys who are stationed on the line, but I doubt they care either.