Since there's been an extended conversation about this topic, I thought I'd add my thoughts but put them in a place where they can be retrieved.

A friend of mine who retired last year from the US Customs and Border Patrol says that at international gateway airports Customs works hand-in-hand with Immigration to screen arriving passengers. They are interested in several types of passengers. The big issues for them are "terrorism, drugs, smuggling of gems and other small valuables, human trafficking, and sexual predators” (his words). I asked him when concern about sexual predators had become an issue, and he said the agency had been tasked on the issue during the Bush years.

I asked him “So how do you spot a potential sexual predator?” and he told me the following. First, they look at travel patterns. Thailand is the biggie, and guys who travel alone to Thailand with some frequency are flagged. Guys who move through several Asian countries known to be popular with sex tourists who look for under-aged partners (Cambodia, Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines) also get flagged. He also mentioned Sri Lanka. I was surprised about Sri Lanka and asked about it. He said lots of homosexual pervs travel there, and that they’ve had a fair number of convictions of men returning from Sri Lanka. Those who are thus flagged by the computer are then “visually inspected” and often asked the purpose for their travel. If something seems off, Immigration will flag the Customs form for a secondary inspection, typically with a code for what is of concern. Customs agents will also sometimes pull someone for a secondary inspection just “because they don’t like the way he looks.”

Once in secondary, the Customs folks have leeway to ask anything, inspect everything, and confiscate anything they wish. The traveler has very limited legal rights at that moment. He mentioned that some guys actually tell customs they were on a sex vacation (knowing it’s perfectly legal if they avoided under-aged girls), not realizing that such a response opens the door to a total “up-close-and-personal” inspection that will include a detailed scanning of computer hard drives, etc. They are then searching for evidence of violation of US laws against sex with minors.

He said business travelers are less likely to receive such treatment, especially those who travel business class and dress like they’ve been on business. If they (Immigration or Customs) start asking about your reasons for travel (“what type of business? Where do you do business in Thailand? etc.) and you don’t respond with short, credible answers, they’ll look more closely.

If you’re traveling solo and say it was leisure travel, you’ll get a closer look if you have a pattern of travel to certain Asian countries and fit “other profile factors” that he wouldn’t define.
I couldn’t get too much more out of him. He did say that once you’re on their list, it’s hard to get off. I asked him if that meant that once you’ve been pulled in for a secondary inspection you’re likely to have it done repeatedly, and he said “for the most part, yes. If you were pulled in for a random inspection, no. But if you triggered and inspection and didn’t entirely satisfy the inspectors with your answers and such, then yes.”

I have no desire to be subjected to a secondary inspection. It’s only happened once to me and that’s because on my customs form I mentioned I had purchased some stone carvings. They wanted to inspect them to assure they weren’t ivory carvings. So I have used the following tactics to (1) try to avoid getting pulled, and (2) to assure that if I did get pulled there’d be nothing of interest to them.

First, I always reply that the main purpose of my travel was business. And I make sure I have some credible and very short answers if they ask what business. I have business cards and can truthfully answer questions about my business travel, since most often I do mix business with pleasure, and given my profession there are logical reasons for traveling to the places I visit. On the other hand, I often have my bodyboard in tow when I go to Brazil, so I say I also spent some free time surfing. But to be honest, at least 75% of the time I’ve not been asked a single question.

Second, when returning to the US, I always dress better than when I left. I pull out the Dockers, a dress shirt, and sometimes a tie (which I put on as we land). I usually fly business class on international trips, and I make sure my boarding receipt is tucked into my passport where the agent will see it.

Third, I never, ever, ever mention anything about women. I do not say I was visiting a girlfriend or anything remotely like that. Mention the word “girlfriend” or a similar term when returning from the hotspots in Asia in particular and you are almost guaranteed to be pulled aside.

Fourth, in order to make certain that “there’s nothing to find” should I get pulled into secondary inspection, I’ve tried the following. I bring a camera and multiple memory cards. I set one card aside for use with pictures I can share with all, and one for my “private” pics. I do not mix the two up. “Tourist” pics then get saved onto my laptop; private pics do not. I save the private pics to a server back in the States that I have purchased space on. There are many services available for doing this. I then reformat the “private” pics card (don’t just erase the photos; reformat the card), shoot a bunch of meaningless pictures until the card is full again (pictures of the wall of your room will do), and then reformat the card again. My pics are thus secure on the website and nowhere to be seen on my camera or laptop. You need a good internet connection to do this if you have lots of large files. Another option is to burn the photo files onto a CD or DVD and mail them to yourself (or a trusted friend). Trying to hide them is another option, but carries more risk.

Obviously, if your computer is packed with XXX images because you collect porn or download stuff all the time, you may get some serious grief. It’s probably a good idea to travel with a computer that you do not use for such purposes, and to scan your travel computer regularly for images you might not want Customs agents to see.

Fifth, if I do get asked questions, my responses are straightforward, concise, and non-defensive. “What was the purpose of your travel” “Business plus a couple days of vacation.” “What did you do on your vacation?” “I did a little surfing and just relaxed on the beach.” “What was the nature of your business?” “I had some meetings with some research collaborators.” “Where do you work?” (I tell them the name of my employer). Etc. Only once have I ever been asked this many questions. I think the CBP agent was just bored.

A couple of years ago I joined the CBP “Global Entry” program. Now I bypass Immigration and go to an electronic kiosk that scans my passport, my fingerprints, takes a digital photo, asks a couple of questions, and then spits out a form which I hand to the Customs agent on the way out. No muss, no fuss, and I’ve never been asked a question by the Customs folks. It’s a great program, but if they’ve ever questioned you “for cause” when returning to the States, I’m told that you’re almost certain to be denied entry to the program.

To be honest, though, if you are a 30 to 60-year-old male traveling repeatedly to Thailand, you'll probably get pulled over now and again unless you've thoroughly convinced them you're a business traveler.

I completely dress down each time when I travel back and forth to the US from Brazil - which I usually do almost every 5 weeks...then stay in the US for a few days and go back. I have never been pulled for a secondary inspection..I just get asked one, or two questions - almost always "Purpose of trip", and "Profession"...mostly however, more the purpose.

In customs when they ask me a question about what I am bringing back, etc, I just lift up my empty suitcase by one finger (it goes to the US empty and comes back full :-)

The only time I have been pulled into a secondary inspection was in Atlanta after a trip to Thailand and Indonesia...I stated the purpose of my trip was vacation. In custom's they looked at everything, including pictures on my camera....I kept quiet unless I was asked a question. They asked my about the girls on my camera - all clearly of legal age - and I just responded "My friends"...period. They also saw some porno on my laptop, but did not ask me anything about it. But that happened a couple of years ago. On subsequent trips back to Asia I did not get pulled over.

I guess I never worry about it, as I never bring back anything that could me in trouble. Keeps it simple and stress free for me... My approach to almost anything is asking the question "am I willing to pay X consequence for X action if caught"...if the answer is No (obviously a long jail term, for example) then I don't do it.

About the only thing that I would worry about being confiscated is my work laptop...but that is not because of illegal content but the disruption it would cause in my ability to work. I usually keep everything personal on a cheap Netbook, which I use mostly to watch movies on my flights...it is about ready to be replaced anyway, would just give me a good reason to do so.

Bwana...that's about the best advice on airport security etiquette I've ever seen.

I've been secondaried once (post Medellin, in Miami) and don't want it to happen again. Thus I do what I must (not telling here--the forces of evil can read this board too, you know).

But like you say stay away from trouble so even if they bust your balls they got gatz on you.

Great advice. I have lots of fotos of women I have met on trips over the years. All of legal age of course. But if asked for proof of their ages, I have none. Computers are not my specialty so what is the simplest way to save my fotos? Would you recommend putting them on a thumb drive and then erase all the fotos off my hard drive?

I am just starting to do business in Brasil, my visa is a tourist visa and valid for a few more years, I do not see the need to upgrade to a business visa at this point. When I go into Brasil, I tell them I have family there (which is true).

Since you tell the US customs you were there for business, do you have a business visa??? or tourist visa?

if you visa is a tourist, have they ever questioned, how can you do business in brasil with a tourist visa?

outside of that, you are correct, keep the laptops and memory cards seperate and anything with porn, leave at home.

i know when i check into a hotel that i do not have status with, i ask if the internet is included, when they tell me it is extra, but i can use my laptop in the lounge area of the hotel, i tell them, ok, i will look at my porn over there, every time, they comp my internet in the room.

LL-

There are probably many good options. I'm no power user when it comes to computing, but here are a couple of ideas.

Buy an external hard drive and keep all your photo files on it. If you want to get fancy, you can get an NAS (network storage) drive. You can set it up so you can access it from anywhere you have a network connection. Save all your pics to it, and bypass saving them on your laptop.

Another option, implied in my OP, is to save all your pictures to an online photo storage site. There are a ton of these sites available, and the fees are quite low. Here are just a few:
Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/
Photobucket: http://photobucket.com/
Picasa: http://picasa.google.com/
Smugmug: http://www.smugmug.com/

Here's a site that lists many of the photo storage and sharing sites: http://web.appstorm.net/roundups/media-roundups/top-20-photo-storage-and-sharing-sites/

So, when traveling, save your photos directly from your camera's memory card to one of these websites. Then delete the card contents, reformat the card, and if you're paranoid, shoot pictures of any random object until the card is full and then delete and reformat. When you get home, you can download the pictures from the storage site to an external hard drive which stays at home.

If you want to clean up your laptop that you travel with, save all your images to an external hard drive or burn them onto DVDs (best to do both as a backup). I wouldn't recommend using a thumb drive. Then check to see what utilities you have on your computer to do a secure erase of your photos. I'm totally ignorant about the Windows world, but on a Mac you'd use the "secure empty trash" once you move the photos to the trash. Now, "secure" is not totally secure...a forensic computer specialist could still probably come up with parts of these files, but it will prevent a CPB agent from seeing anything interesting, and they are unlikely to confiscate your computer unless they come across questionable files.

The key, here, is to make sure you dig through your computer and find ALL of those images. They often are well hidden, in attachment folders and elsewhere. It's a pain in the ass to do, which is why it's best to have a virgin laptop that you simply never use to store questionable images. Keep the images on an external hard drive or on an online storage site.

Others can probably offer better advice, but hopefully this helps.

"Since you tell the US customs you were there for business, do you have a business visa??? or tourist visa?

if you visa is a tourist, have they ever questioned, how can you do business in brasil with a tourist visa?"

The US government doesn't care what kind of Brazilian visa you have. Only Brazil is interested in that. I have a tourist visa (now, a nice, shiny new 10-year visa!). When I arrive in Brazil I'm always "on vacation." But when I return to the US, CPB could care less what type of Brazilian visa I have.

If, for some inexplicable reason, a CPB agent asked me about working in Brazil with a tourist visa, I can point out that my work in Brazil does not involve my getting paid in Brazil, nor am I working there under any type of contract or formal agreement, so I can travel on a tourist visa. But the odds of being asked are right about zero. They've never even looked at my visa page. Now, with the Global Entry program, I deal with a machine. It doesn't ask me the purpose of my trip nor does it look at any visas. That should tell you how concerned the US government is with your type of Brazilian travel visa.

On the other hand, if the Brazilian folks find out you're in Brazil doing business on a tourist visa, be prepared for some shit. So keep mentioning your family in Brazil and don't ever mention you're working there, as long as you have a tourist visa. But if there's any chance that someone in Brazil might learn that you're doing business there, get a work visa.

There was a period of a year where I lived in Brazil and was paid by the Brazilian government; then I had to get a special visa, and they canceled my tourist visa.

In over 35 trips to Brasil, with 31+ of them coming back to Dulles and 4 into Miami, the only secondary I've ever received was a weird agricultural inspection a couple of trips ago. That was a random one, seeing as the Customs guys over at the "A" station seemed pretty pissed I had been sent over there. "Why did get sent here, you haven't been on a farm. You didn't claim anything....". They gave the Customs guy at the exit a dirty look and put my bags through the x-ray and that was it. Thus, they won't spend a lot of time on you since they don't like you, and you're not acting guilty about anything.

The only time I've had a real secondary was coming back from Panama 4 years into Miami and got a retaliatory secondary - along with the guys in front of me and behind me - from an asshole Customs guy. I was on my cell - bitching out AA for taking an hour to get our bags in, and then they were soaking wet. The guy in front of me had sunglasses on and had the temerity to ask "what for?" when the asshole Customs guy yelled at him to take them off. The guy behind got it because he had his earbuds in from his MP3 player and the asshole Customs guy didn't like that either.

They didn't check anything, probably because I was bitching at the supervisor the whole time. They opened up my suitcase, closed it immediately, looked at my passport and that was that.

I think if you are secondaried, you should complain - and loudly. Guilty people - in this case, smugglers, etc - want to stay out of sight, out of mind, even in a secondary. If you're asking for a supervisor and complaining about the delay and how you feel your constitutional rights are being shit on, that kind of thing, I think they'll assume a couple of things. You may be an asshole, you're certainly not a regular sheeple coming through the airport, you're not afraid to make a scene and you most probably aren't smuggling anything or bringing in pics of the young girl you banged over the weekend.

Thanks for this thread. Great info for the traveler who has never been through Secondary before.

I have heard that like an IRS Audit - one Secondaried, you are 10 times more likely to be secondaried again.

My "story" has indeed been logged, and I am sticking with it as it is reasonably close to the truth.

But I am not poo-pooing the advice here - just that I for one am not going to claim that I am doing business in the PI.

I've pimped it before and I'll pimp it again. For Windows based computers try the ERASER program. It is free and will over-write any files on your computer drive, thumb drive, usb card, etc. that you can use on your computer. You can find the program here

http://eraser.heidi.ie/

Of course, Eraser does NOTHING for you if you're an idiot (like I was with my experience with Canadian customs) and have files on your computer that they THINK are suspect. I also had an encryption program, True Crypt, on my old computer that Canadian customs hassled me about. I will not reinstall that program due to their questioning about why I had the program, but no encrypted files. After that less-than-fun experience, and from now on, I will do a wipe of all incriminating files from my computer before leaving a destination.

Now on to some online storage option. I recently bought a new netbook to replace my dearly departed (and now confiscated by Canadian customs) laptop that died at the end of my summer trip. The Asus EEE 1015 comes with 500 GB of online storage free for one year.

Windows Live offers something called SkyDrive, online storage that you can save up to 25 GB of files for free. I think there's a maximum per file size (50MB???) so this wouldn't work for movies.

Hope this helps

EA

I don't know if they would dig into a VM or not, but you might consider installing VMWare or one of their competitors - get a trial copy or a freebie - and do all of your internet mongering stuff from the VM. Change the file extension on the VM, you could even encrypt it if you want.

Everyone with broadband at home - which should be everyone on this site - should check their account to see if they have any on-line storage space. I use Cox and have 5GB of on-line storage space - plenty of room for pics and videos from a trip. Just to be safe, don't even load them onto your hard drive first. Just pop the chip on your camera and plug into your notebook or PC at the internet cafe - make sure you have an adapter for use in PCMCIA or USB. Then, upload directly from the chip to your on-line space. No file has so much as a byte on your hard drive.

The Global Entry Pass is free if you have a Sentri Pass and I received an appointment within 3 days after applying online. Will be using it for the first time on my way back from Medellin next month.

I'm having trouble translating VM into anything other than Vila Mimosa. So, in computer terms, what is a "VM"?

I was "secondaried" Dec 2008 in DTW on a business class ticket coming from the Philippines. I was told the reason was that I checked one bag outbound (20Kg) and 2 on return (35Kg). Got popped for having a fake Rolex, and a fake leather Polo messenger bag, guess they didn't see the fake Tumi I was carrying it all in. They were confiscated and I was written up.

My next two trips I was secondaried immediately @ IAD. The immigration guy circled the "C" with yellow highlighter on top of the immigration form and was told to follow the yellow "C" line on the floor to secondary.

I have been through immigration 8 times since and nothing. I guess they do have rhyme and reason but doesn't matter I don't bring anything back anymore.

I was secondaried only once in over 70 trips, upon returning from my 40th birthday trip to Rio. I think the reason was that I flew first class, and was the first to arrive at Customs in Miami. Customs must've been bored so they hassled the gringo with the shiteating grin on his face.

Customs: "Ok - let's start with the small bag on your shoulder"

Whew, I'm fine there. Mind you the big suitcase had 200 brazilian bikinis I was selling to a tanning salon, and the medium suitcase had a few boxes of Cuban Montecristo I travelled with.

Customs (upon finding a single cigar in an aluminum tubo, holding it up and reading...): "Rome & Julietta, Havana Cuba... How many more of these you carrying"

Me: "Of those? None" (the rest were, after all, MonteCristos)

Customs: "How many more CUBAN CIGARS do you have"

Me: "Dude, I'm just getting back from my 40th birthday party in RIO, at which I was given some cuban cigars. When I was packing to come home, my brazilian girlfriend was running around topless wearing only her thong while sobbing because I was leaving her for a month. She was crying, I was hungover and I honestly don't remember if I packed the cigars or left them in my apartment. You're welcome to look for yourself."

Customs agent looks at my DOB on my passport and says: "Stay right there"

The guy goes into a room with a mirror window and leaves me standing there looking as composed and innocent as I can for 5 minutes. THAT was an award winning performance.

When he returned, he hands me my cuban cigar BACK and says "Happy birthday. Now get outta here before I change my mind!"

Since then, I have routinely come home with memory sticks and DVR tapes FULL of 'content' I created. Which, after reading Bwana's report... kinda makes me wonder WHAT THE HELL I WAS THINKING???

If there was a God, DonGringo would be rotting in a Federal Prison in Miami right now.

LAGuy,

Virtual machine. Load up the software, then create a VM. Then install Windows or Linux or whatever you want into the VM, and away you go. The VM uses the PC I/O hardware, like keyboard, mouse, monitor, Ethernet, USB ports, etc but the virtual machine operating system, any apps you install in the VM, and anything you do with the apps - like web browsers, video editing apps, etc - and all the data those apps produce are kept in one large file. That file gets to be pretty big - gigs in size - since you're effectively emulating a whole PC in software.

So, all your dirty, deplorable mongering stuff like porn downloads, pics, videos, etc exist only in the VM.

It could be useful, since the problem usually isn't the folder full of pics that you took. It's easy enough to zip those up, encrypt the file, rename the extension, etc etc. The problem is the shit you forget, plus all of the files that get spread all around your OS these days. Web caches, email attachments, stuff like that. With a VM, you just have one file to deal with.

Nice to know that if nothing else, my return to the board could induce GCL to come out of his sordid while questionably 'alternative' lifestyle long enough to wish me well.

If it weren't for the errant stubble about his nipple area, one might pause to wonder the gender of my archnemesis...

Thanks Cat. The way I deal with this situation is to upload files to idrive. The problem is it leaves logs on the computer and it is tedious to find them all to delete, and also I am concerned that some may be necessary to later download the files from the site. If anyone knows of some off-site web storage that does not leave obvious traces on one's computer, or, that leaves traces that can be easily removed, please let us know.

The traces are not as incriminating (or, I should say as embarrassing since none are illegal) as the uploaded files, but I imagine if Customs were to run their magic "find anything of interest" program, they would discover the logs and then give me an interrogation straight from their KGB manual. Moreover, although before the Patriot Act came into existence I would have assumed they would not muck around trying to break into someone's online storage without a search warrant, these days who knows.

If I may, I will pull myself away from sticking needles in my DonGringo doll... Why cant you just email these photos to yourself on a program like Gmail? Or alternatively if you are a real photo hound use an FTP site of your own? Either option is easy enough...even for the simple minded folks like Deeg.

Wow, I can't even remember the last time I saw Don Gringo and GCL post in the same thread. This is like old home week.

Next thing you know, someone is going to post a trip report about buffaloes in South Dakota, or jacking off to Penthouse in a restroom stall in Rio because immigration won't let him into the country, and then we'll really be strolling down mammary lane.

Muraski...I dont say this often but you are on my hit list. That South Dakota trip still haunts me. Keep your eyes open. Do you feel lucky? Well do ya?

Videos usually are more than 25 meg (the limit on gmail and yahoo attachments last I heard), and even single RAW files can sometimes exceed this size. Moreover, it is a royal and time-consuming pain in the ass to email large numbers of photos.

I find it funny that GCL and Deeg are the only two guys I know who flew all the way to Brasil and got turned back at immigration. I guess that does show that, for all their fucked-up methods, the Brasilian Federal Police can get their act together when it counts

Trust me, you have never seen a more innocent looking "Opey Taylor" performance than the likes of DG at an airport immigrations and customs line.

Priceless!!!

All too complicated for an old monger to savvy. My solution will be to buy a ipad or small notebook to bring on trips for playing music on napster, download mainstream movies or searching for info in whatever country I happen to be in. I will carry 2 chips for my dig. camera and stow the x-rated one somewhere. Then when I get home, download the ones I want to keep on my home computer. and erase the chip. Now, any suggestions for the best place to hide the x-rated chip?
Thanks to all for the great info that went stright over my head. haha

From Bwana_dik --
The US government doesn't care what kind of Brazilian visa you have. Only Brazil is interested in that. I have a tourist visa (now, a nice, shiny new 10-year visa!). When I arrive in Brazil I'm always "on vacation." But when I return to the US, CPB could care less what type of Brazilian visa I have.

The US Government cares if you have lied. It is very simple to ask for and check your Brazilian visa and see that you have. The best policy is simply to not lie.

How is he lying? Most people I know who travel internationally for business enter countries as tourists. Europe, Japan, Canada, most of Latin America. Unless you're bringing in gear or plan on staying for a long time, or making a lot of visits in a short period of time, it makes little sense to get a business visa. Even for countries, like Brazil, where you need a visa before you depart the US.

LL, use the ipad to upload to online storage while in country. Might take a while, but better than carrying the card. What are you worried about? you only bang old chicks anyway.

"The US Government cares if you have lied. It is very simple to ask for and check your Brazilian visa and see that you have. The best policy is simply to not lie."

Actually, they do not care if you lied to the Brasilian government (and I didn't). As far as they are concerned, that's Brasil's problem. Why would US CBP care if you violated the terms of a Brasilian visa? They don't! They only care about whether you are (1) entering the US legally and (2) not bringing anything into the country that's not allowed.

Besides, as Cat notes, a "work visa" is required for certain types of activities in Brasil but not others. Are you getting paid in Brasil? You need a work visa? Are you under contract to work in Brasil? You need a work visa. Is the Brasilian government paying you to be there? You need a work visa. In my case one of these apply. I am in meetings with Brasilian colleagues about joint research projects, but the work I do does not require me to get a work visa. Sooooo, I'm not lying. I can claim to be working or on vacation, and it makes more sense and raises fewer red flags if you've been traveling on business.

Entendeu?

"I did not have sexual relationship with that woman"...

GCL - you forgot to say "punk."

Cat is right. I once did a 90 day stint in Japan for my company on a tourist visa. One of my colleagues did a year rotation in Japan on a tourist visa. Left every 90 days for a week, then returned and started a fresh 90 day stay.

You had me at ...
"First, I always reply that the main purpose of my travel was business."

If your main purpose is business, then you need a business visa. All the CBP has to do is ask to view your business visa to know you lied to them. If you are lying about such a trivial matter what else are you lying about? That is how people get themselves into trouble. CBP's interest is not in the Brazilian business visa, but in your truthfulness.

Look the agent in the eye and give short, truthful answers. Do that and like most of us who have been making multiple visits to Brazil for a number of years, you won't have a problem.

BTW, you write well so I understood what you had written the first time.

Exec-

I don't think you get it yet. I guess I wasn't as clear as I'd hoped.

If you read the requirements for Brasilian visas, you'll see that there is a specific set of criteria under which you need a "work visa" ("Vitem V: Work Visa") or a "business visa" (Vitem II: Business Visa)

See http://www.brazilsf.org/visa_work_eng.htm and http://www.brazilsf.org/visa_biz_eng.htm for the complete set of criteria.

You can conduct many different types of business activities without triggering any of the criteria that would require the work or business visa. I had an email exchange with a Brasilian consulate representative in NYC and explained the type of work I do and he said--quote--"you don't need a work or business visa because you are not being paid for that work in Brasil, and you are not doing contract work with a Brasilian company or the government, and the work you do is not commercial in nature."

So then I asked about how to fill out the immigration form, since it asks the purpose of your visit. He said to check the "tourism" box, and admitted that it was confusing, but that you only check business if you are doing work that requires a work or business visa.

As far as Brasil is concerned, even if the primary purpose of your trip is business, this does not necessitate your needing a work or business visa, and if you don't need a work or business visa, you check the "tourism" box on the immigration form as you enter the country. If they say that's the way to do it, who am I to argue.

Now...when you return to the US, they really don't care about any of this. Brasilian visas are a concern of the Brasilian government. The US government doesn't give a shit. As I noted before, they have two concerns: are you coming into the US legally and are you bringing anything with you that you shouldn't have? That's all they care about.

I have no idea how many times I've returned to the US from Brasil (over 70 times for certain). With the exception of a one-year period I have always traveled on a Brasilian tourist visa. In 70+ times of returning to the US, I've been asked about my Brasilian visa zero times. I always say, if asked, that the purpose of my trip was business or business and tourism. At least in 75% of the cases the CBP agent hasn't asked a single question. I hand him or her my passport and customs form, it gets stamped, and I'm on my way. Customs officials have similarly rarely asked me about the purpose of my visit, and they only look at my customs form, so they have no idea what type of Brasilian visa I have.

But the key point here is you can conduct a range of business activities in Brasil without needing a work or business visa. So it is perfectly legal and honest to return to the US and claim that the primary purpose of your trip has been business while you actually travel on a Brasilian tourist visa.

Of course you don't want to lie to CBP. Your advice is sound. But according to my friend, the former CBP agent, you are less likely to be scrutinized carefully if your travel is business-related if you're returning from a country that they have designated as a sex tourism destination.

You can certainly be too truthful. If asked what you were doing in Thailand, it would not be wise to truthfully reply that you were fucking as many Thai prostitutes as possible within a 7-day period. For guys whose sole purpose for travel is sex, a little "creativity" is required if asked about what they did on their vacation. While it is not a violation of US law for Americans to travel abroad for sex (as long as minors are never involved), admitting to this guarantees that you will get no end of grief from CBP. Sometimes creativity (OK, lying) is the wiser option.

just keep in mind the federal police and the consulate in the u.s. do not communicate. i recently renewed my childrens' brasilian passport, in the past they listed the names of the mother and father of the child, in the new ones they do not. we have had problems leaving brasil with the children as the parents names are not listed. the federal police told me to go to the consulate in chicago and have the field added. the consulate told me they could not add anything to the passport, and that i should carry the original brasilian birth certificate for the children. what bull shit.

I used to travel to Brasil on business as our company had a wholly owned Brasilian subisdiary.

I always said I was traveling on business and never had a Brasilian business visa...and never had a problem in either direction of entry or exit.

I think Bwana is right on in his assertions.

I have traveled a number of times to foreign destinations over the course of many years. I have never been secondaried and it seemed like a very small number of people were being secondaried when compared with how many people were in the Customs area. The people being secondaried were usually the ones with large bags. The toughest questioning I had to endure was "What is your occupation?" and "How did you pay for the ticket?". The rest of the time I get a quick stamp without any questions at all. Usually there is just a quick casual conversation...sometimes a dry joke...and then stamp and go.

The Customs guys are not idiots. They know you probably banged a prostitute in Asia or South America. In fact, one time one of the Customs guys was smiling as he told me that he once visited the Philippines back a long time ago. The Customs guys also know you probably have pictures on your laptop...what guy does not have at least some porn on his laptop? However, if Customs were to secondary every single guy coming back from Asia or South America then it would be a huge cluster fuck and the resources to do such searches they simply do not have. Plus, if they prosecute someone they want to be very sure they can get a conviction otherwise it results in embarassment for their organization. So if you find yourself getting "Secondaried" then it is probably for a good reason which may go beyond banging prostitutes.

As been pointed out here by several individuals who have been through customs numerous times, the chances of getting secondaried are slim to none unless you answer the questions on the form wrong or are in their database. I dont think landing in their database is an easy task. In all the reports I read of people getting stopped at the airport, usually the people in the database have an arrest record, dealt with known terrorists or something major which causes the Customs officers to go into action. I dont think making too many trips to Thailand will land you in the database.

This thread is more about paranoia then actual fact. Some people in this forum believe they will be mistakenly arrested by Customs. The fact is that 99 times out of 100 you will not be stopped and, if you do, you will not be arrested even if you have naked pictures of the ladies on your camera (unless they look obviously way too young).

When answering questions posed by a federal agent, keep in mind that it is a felony to lie to the US Government. Your answers to any questions should be either truthful or silence.

If you want to avoid any misunderstandings, then simply carry as little as possible with you when traveling. If you have 3 large suitcases for a trip that lasts a week then obviously there is more reason to put you through the secondary then a guy carrying just one carry-on. Avoid taking mongering related material back like condoms, viagra, etc.

My opinion is that if you have landed in their database and find yourself in the secondary inspection area then there is something you did that goes beyond just banging some prostitutes. Maybe you have an arrest record or some federal agency is investigating you already. All I know is the chances of myself and most other mongers getting sent to secondary inspection is very slim.

I wanted to add something. The Customs officer asked that question of "What do I do?" and "How did I pay for my ticket" for a specific reason. It wasnt just a random off the cuff question. Their computer network is probably linked to the IRS and many other networks around the government. I suspected I knew where this question came from.

If I had answered, "I am a rocket scientist for Boeing" then I would have probably got sent over to secondary and the reason would be for lying. The guy's computer flagged that question because of my situation with the IRS. What I did for a living probably showed up on his computer... I answered both questions truthfully. He then stamped my ticket and sent me on my way. There is no crime for what I do for a living and my situation with the IRS has been settled, however, if I had gotten nervous and misrepresented myself to the agent then that would be a crime.

(Message edited by Portege on October 10, 2010)

Hello Portege, I agree that it is not wise to lie to the Customs Officers - and doing so will get you in trouble. However, I disagree about your 99/100 times statistic. I watched LAX and counted on all my trips the people who were secondaried. First let me say that I did pass thru Tijuana 100 times or so with only one secondary - and that turned out to be a bluff. Officer said "what do you have in your pockets before I check you." - And I put my hands in my pockets and pulled out everything - then he said "that's not answering my question -follow me..." Then I got put in line but never actually secondaried. But that was pre-9/11 Tijuana.


Now, my statistic guess from Asia is around 8% (8 out of 100) will be secondaried. This is conservative. I noticed in my line two guys get escorted prior to me on my last trip. Line was probably 100 -150 people.

I have done my own research on this issue and while I am not an authority, I can say that the sex investigation is not their top reason for a secondary - it is - as I understand:

1) Bringing back over $10,000 and or cash equivalents with out filling out the tax form.

2) Agriculture risk products (meat, insects, snails, etc.)

3) Counterfeit Products and or Copyright Infringement.

I believe the guys who claim they never get secondaried... but no way is only 1 out of every 100 passers by Customs secondaried - it is A LOT MORE!!!

\m/

(Message edited by metal on October 10, 2010)

"This thread is more about paranoia then actual fact. Some people in this forum believe they will be mistakenly arrested by Customs. The fact is that 99 times out of 100 you will not be stopped and, if you do, you will not be arrested even if you have naked pictures of the ladies on your camera (unless they look obviously way too young)."

I don't recall anyone talking about people getting arrested. What has happened (fact!) to several CH members is they've had their computers confiscated and searched. They've been hassled by CBP. They've been detained for hours. Nothing to dismiss...

Another good little tip is to always include any transit country on your countries visited form since almost inevitably any transit country you might think of is a less "naughty" nation than your probable destination, and as far as I'm concerned if I set foot within their national boundaries I "visited" the country, even if I only visited their fine airport. So it is a truthful statement. I suspect "Taiwan,Thailand" or "Japan,Thailand" at a brief glance would draw slightly less scrutiny than just "Thailand".

Of course you best bet is just be squeaky clean. They could have a team of forensic scientists look in my asshole and they would not find anything even remotely immoral because there is nothing to find. I'm clean.

As for business visa/non business visa I am quite certain US CBP could give a shit less about whether or not you had a work visa in a foreign country you were conducting business in unless the nation was under sanctions or something. I suspect it's a dirty little secret that probably a majority of business trips in the world are conducted with tourist visas.

Portege: How about giving it a rest and stop pretending you are an expert on things you don't know squat shit about? From day one, your "I know more than everyone else" act, when, in fact you from all the evidence know less than most everyone else, has been very tiring, and frankly offensive.

Hey, I never said I was a customs officer or worked for ICE. I just related my experiences going through the line like everyone else. My experience was that I was never secondaried and just given a few random questions over a few trips despite traveling alone every time.

The Clubhombre records state that you have contributed 4 photos to the board with a maximum score of 9 points making you a lurker. Need me to define lurker?

"In Internet culture, a lurker is a person who reads discussions on a message board, newsgroup, chatroom, file sharing or other interactive system, but rarely or never participates actively."

What you need to do is upload at least a 100 photos and at least 10 need to hit a point count of at least 20. According to the Clubhombre rules, you cant post to forums and chat sessions until you have uploaded at least 100 quality photos. The quality to be determined by the membership. You cant become an asshat or an ass clown until you have hit 400 photos.

If you refuse to upload more photos, then I would call that "tiring and frankly offensive". If you want to lurk then lurk, however, if you want to actively participate then upload your photos.

(Message edited by Portege on October 10, 2010)

"The Clubhombre records state that you have contributed 4 photos to the board with a maximum score of 9 points making you a lurker. Need me to define lurker?"

What is becoming quite obvious is you are behaving on this board like an asshole on purpose. Or put another way, you are a sociopath (look it up in the dictionary moron). Someone who has over 5,000 posts, and also won the best annual trip guide award from the membership of this site is hardly a lurker. But I suspect even a useless piece of shit like you know that.

Gotta go with Laguy on this one.

Laguy: Respected poster, polite, with a history of helpfulness, insightful input, and the ability to relate to people vs. Portege: a troll who got insulted when we figured out what he was, and now just posts stuff to piss people off and acts like an asshole.

I vote for Laguy.

I can't speak for what universally happens at every airport, every day, but I can say that on one return a few years ago, apparently all single males who were returning from SE Asia got sent to secondary. 100%. All the inspection stations were occupied, with lines at each one waiting for their secondary inspection.

And the first thing they asked to see were digital cameras and laptops. Of everyone. It wasn't cash, agricultural products, or pirated goods. They were looking for images. The guy in the line next to me had his video camera and laptop taken to the back room. I talked to another dude in the lobby after we were both cleared. He told me they spent one hour going through every memory card he had, plus his laptop. He had been with a tour group doing the hill tribe treks in northern Thailand, and wasn't a hobbyist.

The lesson here is to send back your photos and clean or ditch your scan discs. I will take that to heart because in the past I have brought these back from Brazil and Thailand. However I do travel Biz class on legitimate biz so I am probably not under review, but there is not way anyone should take the risk.

Two major factors, from discussions on this board and others, including civilian boards like FlyerTalk, are: 1) come from Southeast Asia and 2)clearing Immigration/Customs at a West Coast airport. I'm thinking of making a Christmas/New Year's run to Thailand and if I do, I'll make sure to transit BKK-NRT-IAD on the way back and bypass the hot spots of LAX and SEA, which seem to get a lot of complaints.

I haven't read or heard a lot of horror stories about San Francisco or Honolulu - or Guam, if you're taking the roundabout way back on Continental. Maybe those are better spots to come through on the West Coast?

I have to say LAX is not universally bad. Yea it is a dreary place and a national embarrassment that it is the first thing many foreign passengers see when they visit our country but other than a brief period I was on some kind of list in '06 and one secondary las year coming back from a weekend in Thailand and Cambodia, I usually make it through LAX both quickly and without hassle. It's not the norm but neither is it uncommon to make it plane to the curb under the red sigh waiting for a shuttle in 20 minutes or less.

Based on my experiences at LAX, SFO, and SEA, I'm inclined to believe SEA is by far the worst. It is the only airport I have travelled to where the customs agents line up at the baggage belts (with really sour faces) and sometimes start interrogating some people there. However, SFO seems to have bad days, and it seems LAX as well.

Parenthetically, in the interest of full disclosure, I should mention that when I have gone through secondary at Seatac, it is because I declared slightly more than $800 on the customs form. But they then use that as an excuse to look through my camera, interrogate me about what I have been doing in Thailand, etc., which, of course has nothing to do with my slight overage on the customs declaration. In sharp contrast, when I return from South America with a slight overage (meaning perhaps $900 or $1,000), I get waived through without any questioning or having to pay any taxes.

In contrast to my returns from Asia, where I have occasionally been sent to secondary, and more often been asked pointed questions before being let through the regular line, I have never had a problem returning from South America (through Houston, Dallas-Fort Worth, Dulles, JFK, or Miami).

Anyone have anything to say about Portland, Oregon? It is geographically close to Seattle, but I wonder whether it is fascistically close as well.

(Message edited by laguy on October 11, 2010)

So now you have become an expert on the airports relating your FACTS to us? and after 4 half-ass photos?

If you want to contribute, then hit that "Upload" button. You had to take more then 4 photos in the last 5 years and after countless trips to the airport. I guess you just dont want to show us what you got.

Portege-

You've crossed the line from "marginal contributor" to "prick." Back off the personal attacks. We're trying to discuss something here that's of interest to some board members, and you want to hijack the thread for some strange reason.

BTW, Laguy may well be an expert on the airports. He travels constantly, and probably takes 10 trips for every one you take, and has been doing so for many years. I travel a lot, but I think Laguy's information about airports and travel issues is probably more accurate and thorough than my own. So I am happy to hear what he has to see. He has real credentials as a business traveler who lives on the road.

Travel knowledge is unrelated to how many pictures a person posts, so you can stop fretting about pictures. There are plenty of guys on CH who have chosen to not or rarely post photos, for a variety of reasons.

Just curious, maybe ADMIN could fill us in. Is there a "IGNORE BUTTON" on CH? If so I would like to put myself on it. he he

I'm 0/20+ getting secondaried flying home through LAX from SE Asia, 1/1 at Seattle, 1/2 at SFO, 0/1 at Portland, 0/5+ at Newark, 0/5+ at IAH. I NEVER say I'm traveling for business, and pretty sure my occupation is listed in whatever profile they have on me in their computer.

My experience at SFO was funny. Got interviewed in secondary by some bulldyke, and I was a little nervous about what she might start asking about. In searching my carry on, she saw a magazine with Barry Bonds on the cover and asked me "Sir, can I ask you what you think of Barry Bonds?"

I was too tired to really say what I thought, so I just simply said "I think he's a cheater". She said, "Thank you for saying that", zipped up my bag and said I was "free to go"!

I truly appreciate the advice here from those warning others about their shit being examined and/or confiscated. Transporting hobbying images on your person looks pretty dumb right about now.

So Portage, if LAGuy posted pics of a bunch of ugly black chicks and a couple of trannys, like you did, he would be worthy of your respect?

Cat, that incident I relayed was SFO.

Port - the number of photos one posts has nothing to do with legitimacy or credence. Many veterans on this board don't post them, for a number of reasons. And some don't even bother to take them anymore, as it is vastly more difficult now than it was 6 or 7 years ago, at least in Asia. It's been a few years since I've posted a new photo.

Question about the Global Entry program -- do you need a valid reason to be granted this such as frequent business traveler?
I just don't want to waste the $100 when it is really just to avoid the hassle of lines.

I have a work permit/visa for a customer in Canada, but that is the only business I do out of country. Not sure if they have a counter on the number of times I have been to Brazil, but I wonder if that might throw up a red flag.
I think only 1 time I was told to take my bags to the secondary X-ray screening.

I was never convicted of a crime. Although about 6 years ago I got flagged into Seconday in TJ for "suspected concealed drugs". They never found anything and was let go after them pulling off most things they could from that rental car.

You don't have to be a business traveler to apply for or be granted Global Entry. Just the fact that you travel alot and wish to avoid the lines is reason enough.

As for a "counter", you can bet that they absolutely will know where you went, when and how often. They might very well ask why you go where you go, but any reasonable explanation should suffice.

They will likely ask if you have ever been arrested. It does not disqualify you if you have been, but they want to check your truthfulness.

cinco, the global entry is not for canada, you need a nexus card which cost $50.

i have had my nexus card and twic card for several years now.

i am thinking of getting the global entry, it is worth it if you fly back into the u.s.

if i am not mistaken the only place you can use it now outside of the u.s. is amsterdam. others on the board probably know more on this.

Someone will correct me if I'm wrong but, if you already have a NEXUS card (or SENTRI card) aren't you essentially "pre-approved" for Global Entry and therefore do not need to complete the interview and associated formalities? I believe if you have a NEXUS card all you do is submit an app for Global Entry, pay your big government subsidizing fee and away you go, just that easy.

IAS you are correct. If you have a SENTRI card, getting into global Entry is FREE, and all it takes is a few key strokes on your computer. You will get an approval in 24 to 48 hours. I have done this, and a coworker of mine has also gone the same route.

I actually did the opposite and applied for Global Entry first as I never thought I would be using a Sentri card. So I had two interviews, 2 fees, etc. At the end, I think I’ll end up using my Sentry card more than Global Entry. I am applying for Nexus card next as I do travel to Canada on monthly basis. Go for Sentri card first.

"pay your big government subsidizing fee"

IAS- I suppose the government should charge all taxpayers for the costs of checking the data, doing the interviews, installing the kiosks at the airports, maintaining them, etc? The Global Entry Program is what a privatized world looks like: if You want a service from government, YOU pay government directly for it.

I'm betting the GE program does actually lose money. So, other taxpayers are most likely subsidizing the costs for those who use it, at least until they hit a critical mass. The kiosks are pretty lightly used for now. No way is it turning a "profit."

Well, from my perspective. Looking at my last trip through LAX I feel like I DID already pay for it.

Tax: US International Departure Tax $16.10
Tax: US September 11th Security Fee $ 2.50
Tax: US Passenger Facility Charge $ 4.50
Tax: USDA APHIS Fee $ 5.00
Tax: US Immigration Fee $ 7.00
Tax: US Customs Fee $ 5.50
Tax: US International Arrival Tax $16.10

Plus I am sure a fair chunk of my other taxes were spent on top of all that. So I don't feel like I'm freeloading my way through LAX.

I should think that private industry would look at automation as a cost cutting opportunity. Not an increased expense. How many agents can that kiosk replace and what would we have had to pay in salary and benefits for those agents? When Home Depot installed those self check out stations they didn't tell the customers they would have to pay more for their purchases to cover the cost of the new equipment they installed. Banks would sure prefer you use an ATM to make your deposit rather than stand in front of a teller.

And besides, some of us can't pass a background check so screw all you guys and your Global Entry.

IAS: I don't remember having to have a background check and interview before using the Home Depot self-checkout stations.

Moreover, they have to put a "thingie sticker" in the back of the passports of us upstanding Global Entry types, and surely that sticker is worth at least as much as the $82 (or whatever) one has to pay to get extra passport pages.

I applied for Global Entry and SENTRI simultaneously and recall total fees being somewhere around $220. Half paid during the online application and half paid following the interview.

I did not see the GEOS kiosk upon arrival at Honolulu, but immigration lines were very short so I just took that path. The agent became quite friendly when I asked about GEOS kiosks and informed her of my eligibility.

Customs was not busy and asked if I was continuing to mainland. I told them that I was staying in Hawaii for a few days and they directed me to follow a green line through a door that I assumed was secondary, but it just went to the surface transporation area. Since I missed the GEOS path, I cannot say how that affects the CUSTOMS path.

I have not tried using SENTRI yet, but was told that it is sufficient ID to come walk back from Mexico. I have the card now and will try it on my next crossing.

If you just apply for one of these programs, you only pay one fee, and not both. After getting into one trusted entry program, I think it is free and little cost to get into other pgms.

I may not be correct, but H4A2, I think you paid more than you needed to. Not trying to get on your case here, just trying to make it less expensive for others.

MM

I just left Manila ahead of the typhoon yesterday. Appearantly one of the last flights out. I did declare a couple items on this return (for research purposs only) through DTW and wasn't secondaried.

On another note.

My old passport had tons of US immigration stamps in it for coming back into the states. I've only traveled internationally on my new passport twice since receiving it and noticed no US immigration stamps. Is this something new?

MM, I think I paid more than I should have had too also. I did not expect a second set of fees to follow the interview. It also seems that I paid full fee for both GEOS and SENTRI because I did them simultaneously. Perhaps you can save a few bucks by getting one then coming back for the other, but it will take a little longer to complete the process. No regrets, rather pay a little more than make second trips to the DHS border station for SENTRI tag application.

Doing the SENTRI first will result in 1 trip, and 1 fee of $122.00 Once you get your card in the mail, then you do the global entry application and you should get approved for it in 48 hours or less via email.

Doing the global entry first will result in 2 trips to be interviewed and paying for the global entry fees and the SENTRI fees, for a total of about $220.00

You have to do the SENTRI first, now if you live in middle America then there is no reason to apply for a SENTRI pass, unless you plan on making regular trips into Mexico by foot or car.

Hope that makes sense for the guys wanting to do this, as this is how it worked out for me.

Snooky,

The US has stopped entry stamping US passports for quite a while now. At least five years.

I understand stamping US passports is very airport and agent specific. There is no real rule whether they do or not. Others report that East Coast agents tend to be more stamp happy and West Coast agents tend to be less stamp happy. Personally in like 40-60? entries at US airports mostly at LAX my passport has been stamped exactly twice at LAX and at JFK once out of one entry. Never at Houston. I've heard others say they get stamped almost each and every time entering at other airports in the same time period. I take it YMMV based on what airport you frequent and what agent you get.

IAS, I'm wondering now that they have this great profit center as you have pointed out--$82 (approx.) for adding passport pages--do you think they will start stamping the passports more often, particularly for those whose passport pages look like they are going to get used up if there are just a few more stamps? Just curious as to your opinion on this.

IAS might be right. I usually go through LAX, and I don't recall getting stamped for at least the past 4 - 6 years (don't want to look at my prior passport to confirm).

Something strange has happened in the last 6 or so trips and I was wondering if anyone has had the same experience.

What has changed is that I get asked NO questions anymore by Immigration and barely anything by Custom's. Now, whenever I pass US immigrations on my trips back and forth between Brazil and the US, they don't ask me anything - usually just a grunt, or "Welcome Home".

When I came back from Asia just a couple of weeks ago, I passed through JFK - the immigration guy made a big scribble on on my custom's form, again no questions. Then when I passed through custom's, no question and I just passed through.

I am not complaining and certainly makes travel more enjoyable, but I wonder if at some point if you travel enough between certain destinations you become almost like a "trusted traveler"....

Any other frequent traveler have the same experience?

Custom's was usually easy for me anyway - whenever I travel between the US & Brazil I bring an empty suitcase on the way to the US (it goes back full). If the custom's guy asked me any questions about what I was bringing back, I lifted my large luggage with 2 fingers. That got me through quickly :-)

I would say am only asked a question or two maybe 30-40% of the time, and of that percentage, most of the time they don't seem interested in all in the reply. Just a perfunctory "anything to declare, what was the purpose of your trip". That's by immigration. I can't think of the last time a Customs guy said anything, expect for when I had a random Agriculture secondary last year and the guy at the secondary seemed more interested in why the Immigration guy was ruining his morning coffee by sending me there.

I used to get asked "What do you do for work", and purpose of trip, etc, at immigrations...almost always. But now, no more...

For me it has been the opposite lately. Maybe it is because I am traveling with my wife or something but now we really get the third degree. The one question I have been getting a lot is "How much money do you have with you?". I have gotten it in the US and also in London. Since I live in Brazil, I usually don't have a lot of dollars on me. Last time, I said I had about $40. Then the guy says, you got credit cards right? And I say right.

Then the customs guy asks me the same question, and I say only $40. Do you know where a money machine is? He said he had no idea and then let me through. $40 was not enough to pay for the taxi in Miami.

Came through LAX in December, used the "Global Entry" kiosk, after I grabbed my bag I was asked who I work for, and that was it.

The CBT computer system knows what flight and what country you just flew in from. They have this information before the flight even takes off. Odds are they can trace your entire trip, as most countries use computers for immigration.

Since I got in the Global Entry program 2 years ago I've never been asked a single question going through customs. I just hand them the form printed out at the kiosk, show them the "CBP" sticker on the back of my passport, and walk on through.

Ditto Bwana's experience with Global Entry. Additionally, it has taken me about 2 minutes each to clear immigration and customs in LA, Chicago and Houston. Well worth the money and hassle it took me to get it.

EA

Unfortunately my 2008 experience I described above makes inelegible for Global Entry.

Snooky, if the 2008 experience you described simply was confiscation of counterfeit goods, I'm not sure that would disqualify you from Global Entry.

Actually, from what I understand ICE is supposed to have a policy whereby you are allowed to bring in one counterfeit good per category (e.g., DVD, watch, or whatever); I don't think that reflects the law, but rather their stated policy. So, unless your post regarding that episode left out some relevant details, I am even surprised they confiscated your fake Rolex (and other thing or two). On the other hand, if you were bringing in a few fake Rolexes, e.g., that would be another story.

The strange thing is that I did not pursue the Global Entry program and still the questions stopped at Immigrations!

It could be couple of things. One, someone with the same name was on a watch list of sorts, and they finally bagged him for whatever and now the rest of you with that name are good to go. Two, after X number of stops, they figure you're clean and thus good to go. Or three, there's no real rhyme or reason for it and you could be secondaried on your next five trips.

On my way back in yesterday, the one old CBP hag who works at Dulles ended up manning the line I drew, and she asked her usual "bringing anything back, how long were you gone" questions. About 20 seconds and clear. Customs was backed up with a shit load of secondaries - the SAA flight from Johanesburg and the UA flight from Ghana always guarantee a few dozen black Africans on each flight who seem to fuck up their paperwork and thus end up in Immigration secondary, but I've never seen more than a person or three in Customs Secondary. Yesterday morning there were at least 30. They were so backed up they had three Customs guys just walking through to collect forms from those of us not in secondary - about 20 of us made it through in under a minute, they didn't even look at the forms beyond looking for the Secondary notation.

LAGuy: I don't think I want to donate $100 to Uncle Sam. According to this http://www.globalentry.gov/eligibility.html I don't qualify. You may have a more liberal interpretation but this pretty much says I'm ineligble plus an off the record discussion with an ICE rep at JFK (door was open so I figured I'd ask the question) said it was discrestionay to the investigator but in her opinion as an investigator she would deny it based on my description of the details.

Snooky,

Did you violate a regulation or law? If so, you would have been arrested for smuggling, correct? As is, they felt the need to toss some fake stuff - which half the people on your flight probably had on them, and more.

I think you would be fine, in fact I'm not sure how you got your stuff thrown away in the first place since any semi-coherent answer - "what do you mean they're fake, I spent $500 on that watch". "What, I've had that for a couple of years, it was a birthday present from my ex" - and you would have probably been able to keep it.

Hey Snooky, I only offered an opinion based on what you posted. Perhaps there was more to the story than you indicated.

http://www.customsandinternationaltradelaw.com/2010/01/articles/ipr-trademarks-and-logos/counterfeits/yes-you-may-legally-import-counterfeit-merchandise-into-the-united-states/

I'm guessing the problem was somewhat different than what you described. It wasn't that you brought back counterfeit goods; it was that you did not declare the goods on your customs form (e.g., "a watch" if you brought back a fake Rolex). If that is what the reason was for your problem, then yes, you might be ineligible for global entry. However, I wouldn't even count on that unless you received a formal written seizure notice, in which case I would agree it would probably be pointless to apply for global entry. .

http://www.customsandinternationaltradelaw.com/tags/counterfeit/

LAguy that was very informative. I did get a hand written receipt (carbon copy type of receipt) for the stuff when they took it and there were instructions to petition to get it back but I never got a 2nd letter. I didn't declare anything and they did let me keep the one fake Rolex I was wearing. I'm now wondering if I can get it.

Well Snooky, whereas previously I was the one with the "liberal interpretation" of whether you qualified for global entry, and you were the skeptical one, it appears things have reversed. That hand written receipt with instructions on how to petition to get the items back sounds to me like a problem for you, pretty much the same as if you received mailed written notice.

As before, the mere bringing back of a small number of counterfeit goods does not trigger retribution from ICE, but a failure to declare them on the customs form does.

This really is rather unfair and is an instance of where knowing the law can help one avoid problems, but not knowing the law (which I suspect most do not on this subject) can result in ridiculous and really unfair consequences (as is the case for those few who actually get hit with a $5,000 or $10,000 bill for bringing in a fake Rolex). The fact is many otherwise 100 percent (or close thereto) law abiding citizens fail to disclose a counterfeit item they are carrying back only because they think (wrongly) they are doing something sort of illegal, but that nearly everyone does. But, in fact, the only illegal thing they are doing is failing to write down "watch" on their customs form, and this latter illegality can wreak havoc if they are caught. Seems like a rather ridiculous technicality given the potential consequences.

Sorry you got caught up in this sort of nonsense. But I am inclined to believe (but with much less than 100 percent certainty) you might well have a problem getting accepted into the global entry program. On the other hand, it still might be worth a try, depending on how much $100 means to you.

I should add though if you haven't been regularly secondaried during subsequent trips, this might be an indication things are not so bad in your ICE file, and might suggest a somewhat better prognosis for acceptance into the global entry program. But I am just guessing and my guess on this is no better than anyone else's. But given we all have two hands (most of us anyway) I suppose there is nothing wrong with an "on the one hand, on the other hand" analysis of your situation.

Here is a bit more about the exemption given travelers for bringing in counterfeit goods so long as they are for personal use. It is important to note one can only bring back one counterfeit item per category, e.g., only one counterfeit watch. For example, one could not bring back a counterfeit Rolex and a counterfeit Omega since they are both watches and you are only allowed one. But you could bring back a counterfeit Rolex and one counterfeit DVD since they are different types of goods.

http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/travel/vacation/kbyg/prohibited_restricted.xml#TrademarkedandCopyrightedArticles