Often1

That is an urban myth and completely false.

Take a look at a paper Customs Declaration (samples online). Right above the signature block, you state that your answers are true and correct and that false statements are subject to punishment under 18 USC Section 1001. Now, go look up that provision. You will see that it is a felony which carries a term of imprisonment of up to 5 years.

So, no you may not make a false statement on your declaration, paper or electronic. Yes, if you make a mistake it is better to correct yourself.

Will you likely go to prison for five years? Not likely, but that isn't the test.

The question is, "are you carrying food?" If the answer is "yes" you check the box marked "yes." It's that simple.

14940674

§ 148.16 Amendment of declaration.

(a) Before examination. A passenger shall be permitted to add an article to his declaration if, before examination of his baggage has begun, the fact that the article has not been declared is brought to the attention of the examining officer by the passenger.

(b) After examination is begun. A passenger shall be permitted to add an article to his declaration after examination of his baggage has begun if, before any undeclared article is found, the passenger advises the examining officer that he has such an article and the officer is satisfied that there was no fraudulent intent. Under no circumstances shall a passenger be permitted to add any undeclared article to his declaration after such article has been discovered by the examining officer.

Often1

None of which makes the statement under Sec. 1001 any less false. Simply corrects the falsehood.

Thousands of examples of this. None of which go to the suggestion that you can lie on your Declaration and wait to see if you are examined.

Thus, urban myth. Completely false.

txviking

Just to add to Often1's point: Note that paragraph b) (ie. after examination has begun) says you may only amend your declaration if "the officer is satisfied that there was no fraudulent intent."

In other words, if the officer thinks you're trying to get away with something, he does not have to allow the amendment. And either way, he can certainly yank your GE.

14940674

My mistake; I was acting under the assumption that the declaration was merely mistaken, rather than deliberately dishonest. Certainly no cover under the CFR for lying.

chollie

I think much has to be left up to the judgment of the CBP agent.

After a multi-week trip, I have forgotten to declare something and not realized it until I got home (on one occasion, it was a t-shirt; another time it was some small souvenirs I'd packed away and forgotten about).

Only a real stickler agent is going to bust you and accuse you of deliberately lying about a $5 t-shirt you forgot to declare.

OTOH, Mrs. Jeb Bush declared $500 worth of jewelry - except she had bought it for $19K - after a trip to Paris. Luckily for her, she just paid a fine, but I think ordinary citizens in that situation would have had the book thrown at them. Certainly anyone with GE would have been permanently disqualified.

txviking

That's the thing though. The person deciding whether they believe you or not is the same person who can yank your GE.

And they can certainly decide they don't believe you even if you DID make an honest mistake.

bbmatt

I have a hypen in my middle name. I was told by multiple CBP officers that this always gets the X because the machine cant read it.

they just look at it and tell me to go, never takes more than 30 seconds.

bennos

Doesn't the GE kiosk language say something like "carrying restricted food products"? That is, I'm pretty sure it doesn't say "do you have any food at all?" but rather anything that you need to declare.

chollie

It is confusing - deliberately so, I believe.

First, the GE kiosk language changes - sometimes it lists items, sometimes it includes the all-encompassing word 'food'.

Second, at GE interviews, CBP agents tell some people that 'if it goes in your mouth, it must be declared'.

Third, even if it is allowed (you think), it MUST be declared.

In some cases, CBP says that while federal law may not prohibit something, local regulations may. This is particularly nasty for connecting pax, but I suspect it gets rarely invoked. After all, it would be pretty sh*tty to get something confiscated in SFO because it's banned in CA if you are only connecting in SFO and your final destination is a state that allows your item. In other cases, the reason for denial might not be readily apparent.

A chocolate-dipped fresh strawberry will get confiscated; a true Kinder-egg will also get confiscated. These are both things that most people would just declare as candy or chocolate.

Ironically, I had a Snickers bar once. It would have passed CBP with no problem. Inside, however, the peanuts were infested with worms.

justsawaufo

update:
first time in 5 years, that I enter the states without an X.
I am not sure if the GE worked or the complaint to TRIP, but I am happy with the outcome.

Tpa-flyer

I had my GE interview today and I now am an official member of the club whose fingerprints are practically nonexistent. The Immigration officer attempted three times to collect prints that could be read, but was unsuccessful. Then, he went into his explanation of how I could expect to get an "X" and will need a secondary screening probably when coming back into the country. Swell. Even though I did obtain my Known Traveler number, I'm feeling a bit gypped since my $100.00 fee didn't buy me all the trouble-free travel I was hoping for. The only questions I had to answer had to do with verifying my legal name, my date and place of birth, and that was it. I had my photo taken and was told to expect documents to arrive in the mail in a few weeks. We'll see what happens in the future in terms of any time saved at airports. I'm not very encouraged.

mnbp

Occasionally, I have had X when the machine upon entry couldn't read my fingerprints for whatever reason. So far for me, it just resulted in an extra 5 seconds talking to the agent - when I mentioned the machine couldn't read my fingerprints, I was on my way. Never had a secondary screening as a result of an X for fingerprints. I think the machine prints the reason for X in fine print/code on the receipt. There's other reasons for X like answering "yes, I've been on a farm", or "yes, I am bringing back food" on the machine - those are what secondary is typically for I believe.

Majuki

Those will get the O, not the X. The X is benign, and I've gotten it a handful of times due to a bad fingerprint read. Never has it cost more than 1 minute of time.

GUWonder

Even with the X all the time, the GE members still get to use the GE lines; and this still tends to be a pretty good benefit in saving time, at least when international arrivals is busy.