Do they do random agriculture checks?
 

Flew back from LHR last week into LAX UA immigration. Scans the passport, looks at the screen, looks down at the declaration form form, looks at the screen as though startled, looks down at the form, up at the screen, & then stamps the form (with I thought was the normal stamp but evidently not).

Even though I knew I hadn't broken any laws & answered the questions correctly on the form, this is the first time I had that happen (the multiple glancing at the screen) & I'm thinking holey, moley, did I do something wrong? Innocent but feeling guilty! ;)

But then didn't think too much about it as I assumed it was the regular stamp on the form (going from memory here, but I think it was a round oval twirly like w/ the date in red in the middle). Collect luggage & head to exit. Give the form to the guy, he looks at it & puts a big A on it, and then directs me to the agriculture line where they asked if I had any food & then put my tote, laptop & roll-aboard through the x-ray machine. Comes out the other side & I'm good to go.

In all my years of traveling the only time I've had to go through agriculture was when the beagle at ORD sniffed out the apple I had in my tote from the Berlin Hilton that I had forgotten to eat.

This was a quick 3-day biz trip. I just wondered - do they do random agriculture inspections - ie, every 5th person's passport gets a message saying check? What was on the screen? Again, it didn't really delay me, but made me curious.

Cheers.

Yeah, they're somewhat random.

In my 12 years of international business travel, I've been sent to ag about four times, with two of them happening in three trips.

Once, the CBP guy said, "ah Norway, step over there to agriculture." That, plus the other trips, were no sweat....it's actually easier and less stressful than a standard TSA setting.

I seem to recall the ag beagle doing a general "sweep" of all pax at customs at EWR. Coming back from Ireland one time, I declared that I had a bag of flour and no one blinked an eye - the pooch didn't even find it.

In the US, yes. I've had it happen to me on flying into MIA where customs sometimes directs a whole bunch of people at once to an ag. inspection line -- easy process compared to some of the other things that transpire.

Thanks. I just wondered, especially since it appeared to be something on the screen that triggered it. I didn't know if it said 5th person to go to ag; use other stamp, or check for a mad cow in her luggage.

Cheers.

I don't even count the ag beagle as what the OP was alluding to. If you want to include Fido, it's probably about one in every four re-entries to the US.

I was talking about the x-ray machine they send you to....and I think that's what the OP was talking about too.

No I wasn't referring to the beagle. I would expect that if there was one (never noticed any at LAX) & I had food the beagle would catch it as he did in ORD w/ the apple, and I'd be sidetracked to ag.

I thought this being picked came from the screen when I first entered the customs area from the plane (could be wrong; no idea what was actually on the screen in front of the customs guy), and when I got ready to exit after getting my luggage the guy looking at the stamp sidetracked me to the ag x-ray machine. It only took 30 seconds at the machine for my stuff to go through & then I was on my way.

Cheers.

They have them.

I've overheard them discussing the fact that our flight (from PVG) was being subject to a 100% inspection.

There was a beagle at RDU about a decade ago. I haven't flown internationally through there in a very long time so no idea.

I regularly travel through ORD and have yet to get called to ag.

Ah. Never noticed them at LAX UA customs. Wouldn't be surprised to see them at TBIT. Actually I thought there used to be bins w/ signs saying dump food here, & don't think I saw them this last trip. Of course since I'm usually not bringing food back to the US I didn't really pay that much attention this last time.

Cheers.

DHS's ATS score may prompt additional scrutiny but so may a DHS-CBP employee seeing your file and just thinking that you should be sent for an additional screening anyway (perhaps based on a country mentioned).

Sometimes the additional scrutiny is not based on what comes up on the screens or even whatever you wrote but just that a DHS employee working at the airport just decides to send someone (for any or no reason) for an additional check.

[While not related to your experience, beagles and other dogs being used for checking are seen at LAX too -- including when flying in from Australia to LAX.]

Thanks. I didn't even know there was a thing called ATS score. For traveling int'ly as much as I do I'm pretty clueless about the entire operation!

I have seen German Shepards before immediately upon exiting the plane (SFO? LAX? - can't remember), but haven't noticed any beagles at LAX. Makes sense they'd have them though.

Cheers.

Cheers.