Ask MetaFilter posts tagged with customs

Houston International Airport Connections

hylaride — Mon, 21 Jul 2008 09:18:48 -0800

How is Houston International Airport for connecting international flights? I'm going to be travelling from Toronto to Mexico City via Houston. I'm flying Continental. Now I'm not particularly worried about flying to Mexico City, as there's a US customs in Pearson(Toronto). Coming back I'm curious if I'll have to re-check my bags in Houston when coming home (unless there's an american customs in MEX, I'm sure I will).

I ask because I've previously done many business trips from Curacao via Miami. Miami's disaster of an airport always made me have to take my bags and re-check them in even though I was in transit to Canada. I assume it's FAA requirements at all airports from flights arriving outside the US. But what's worse is that after going through customs there, you're supposed to leave your luggage in a huge pile that never make the connections and then bolt as fast as I can across the airport and barely make the next flight.

Am I in for the same experience in Houston? Is it at least a better Airport than Miami?

romancing romania

crazylegs — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 05:58:47 -0800

What is sex like in Romania? What are the common attitudes towards various sexual practices in Romania? How is a person from Romania likely to feel about: oral sex, anal sex, different positions, gay sex, threesomes, etc.? Are there any attitudes, enthusiasms, or taboos that are unique to Romania?

Canadian moving via U.S. -- customs troubles?

ninefour — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 11:39:59 -0800

Wondering if any Canadians have experience doing this... I am moving next month from Winnipeg to Vancouver. I will be having most of my possessions shipped, and will be driving my car west. In my car, I will just have my clothes, a small LCD-TV and my computer. Everything else will be shipped. My question is .. I want to drive through the U.S. on I-94 and I-90 (from Grand Forks, ND to Seattle, WA) and then cross back into Canada towards Vancouver. Does anyone know if the border officials (US or Canadian) are going to give me any hassle moving this way? I am just worried about them thinking that the stuff in my car is things I bought in the states, even though I am just moving them via the US. I have done the Manitoba-B.C. drive a few times and I want to go through the northern U.S. for a change. Thanks!

How did they know he had a ham?

RandlePatrickMcMurphy — Mon, 14 Apr 2008 14:49:41 -0800

How did US customs know he had a ham in his carry-on bag? So this friend is coming home from a trip to Spain and in the airport there buys a nice little piece of jamon iberico, which he sticks in his carry-on bag. Somewhere along the way, it occurs to him that US customs asks if you have any meat or food products, but figures they must mean vegetables and raw meat, not a piece of ham thats been vacuum sealed and bought at an airport, promptly forgets about it and marks NO on the customs form.

At the US airport, he goes through passport control, picks up his luggage and hands the form to the customs guy. Without even looking at the bag, they immediately send him over to secondary agricultural inspection, where he confesses to the ham, which is tossed into a bin, his bags go through some kind of x-ray-like machine and he's allowed to leave with a verbal warning about bringing potentially dangerous foodstuffs into the United States and the $300 fine for not declaring them.

Here's the thing: he's been through that airport customs at least 25 times in the last couple of years and never once been sent to secondary inspection, so its statistically very unlikely this was a random search. The bag never went through any kind of inspection and there didn't seem to be any dogs sniffing around.

How did they know he had a ham? Some kind of secret x-ray while they check your passport? Invisible dogs? Secret sniffing devices set to detect the faint smell of vacuum-sealed meat as well as anthrax?

Cuban cigars

j1950 — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 08:26:32 -0800

What can a person who brings 2 Cuban cigars into the US and has them seized at US Customs expect? Confiscation? Fines? Interrogation? Arrest?

Where does all the ivory go?

IndigoJones — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 17:48:34 -0800

What do governments do with seized contraband that cannot legally be bought or sold, cannot be set free, but ought not be simply destroyed? I'm thinking elephant tusks and rain forest hard woods, that sort of thing.

Canada customs siezed my laptop.

Meatbomb — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 00:58:29 -0800

Please: recommend a lawyer in Vancouver, BC? I am in sudden need of trusted legal advice, connected to seizure of laptop by Canadian customs for "verification of contents".

Although I am not a terrorist or pedophile, having them go through all my stuff with a fine tooth comb freaks me out - who knows what they'll find, and what they would feel is enough justification to permanently confiscate the machine and / or press charges? This totally sucks, I need a lawyer right now.

Looking for a lawyer, but with no clue who to trust as I have no previous dealings in this area, and can't even define exactly what area of law / specialty I need here... I hope that some MeFite local to BC can suggest a trusted lawyer person who can help me, or at least point me in the right direction as to where to look.

Email in profile if you wish to speak privately.

How do avoid paying customs twice on a shipment?

Deathalicious — Sat, 26 Jan 2008 12:06:05 -0800

How do I avoid paying customs on a package I'm shipping back home? I'm in Egypt and I need to send a package home to the States. I already paid customs when the items in it were shipped here, and I don't want to have to pay when I ship them back. They're computer accessories, probably worth around $100-$150 brand new, plus the packaging for a laptop, which I'm worried they might think is in there, ratcheting up the value.

I was thinking of packing it with my clothes and just marking it "personal effects" which it more or less is.

I'm not enthused about the idea of excess baggage as an alternative since that has the danger of being more expensive *and* I'm worried that the contents might get damaged as checked luggage.

Can I get into America with this ID?

ITheCosmos — Sun, 13 Jan 2008 09:30:49 -0800

Can I, a Canadian citizen, get through the American border, by car, with the following pieces of ID: - Canadian birth certificate
- recently expired Candian passport
- expired Ontario driver's license
- Ontario health card.

I'm in the process of getting a new passport, hence the sketchy ID situation. I've poked around the American customs website to no avail, so I'd like to hear about others' experiences. I know that birth certificate + photo ID works: would a health card, which I know isn't enough to get you across by itself, work? Thanks!

J1 Visa stuck at customs, plane tomorrow, now what?

BeaverTerror — Mon, 24 Dec 2007 12:43:44 -0800

US J1 Visa (DS-2019 form) held up by DHL, plane ticket already booked for tomorrow. Now what? I'm a university student from Canada, and I have a 4 month internship job in San Francisco starting on Jan 2nd.

My J1 internship visa application has been approved, and my sponsor has mailed my DS-2019 form to me via DHL express. I've already booked my plane ticket for tomorrow afternoon (Christmas day).

My package has been held up at Canadian customs. DHL's tracking website displays a "clearance delay" status. I called DHL, and they said it's "missing paperwork". They also told me that since it's Christmas, Canadian customs is not processing shipments until the 27th, which means I'll be missing my flight. The airline charges a large fine for ticket changes.

The normal procedure for J1 applications is to take the DS-2019 form to US customs upon landing, where they will finish processing the paperwork for the applicant.

Since I'm a Canadian citizen, I can travel to the US without a visa (but I can't work). Can I just fly to the US as a tourist, have the DS-2019 mailed back to the US after it arrives at my Canadian address, and then somehow get my visa processed once I receive it?

Please also feel free to comment if you've had any delay experiences with Canadian customs.

Am I expected to attend an associate's father's funeral?

JimN2TAW — Fri, 16 Nov 2007 07:30:38 -0800

The father of a close business associate has died and I would like to behave appropriately and honor my associate's loss. They're Catholics in NYC. There is a wake which seems to be scheduled for several different time periods over the weekend. Then there is a funeral mass on Monday during business hours, followed by burial at the cemetery. I'm non-Catholic, generally unfamiliar with funeral customs, and generally uncomfortable with large groups of strangers. The events are located about an hour and a half from my home and I have child-care responsibilities at home.

Am I expected to come to the wake and/or the funeral mass? Put another way, are wakes and funerals more for family, co-religionists, neighbors and non-business friends, and less for business associates like me?

I would feel more comfortable sending a card and making a generous donation in honor of the deceased.

Actually unique to Boston?

pwally — Sun, 11 Nov 2007 11:56:30 -0800

My Professor this week brought up that she thinks the use of the word "actually" is unique to Boston. Phases like "Actually, I am going to put a coat on". Or when asked what time it is we will respond "Actually, I do know what time it is." As someone who hasn't spent a huge chunk of time outside of Boston I have no way of knowing if this is true. Actually, I just flat out want to disagree with her. Isn't the use of the word universal?

US citizen vacationing in Mexico: What can I bring?

kindachris — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 20:19:33 -0800

Taking a little vacation in Mexico City ... what am I allowed to bring into Mexico? The information that I'm finding online is either contradictory or stale. Obviously, I'd like to avoid any situation where I'll be fined or imprisoned. Is there a limit on cash? Can I bring two cell phones (one US'ian, one Mexico'able)? Laptop, iPod, digital camera and related accessories? Aspirin, tylenol, ibuprofen? Cigarettes?

I'd venture to guess most responses will fall under one of two categories: "things that are legal" and "things that you can get away with."

Also, what must I bring? I have all my travel documents in order, but what one item will I be unable to live without while traveling? What must I not bring?

Thanks!

Cross-border shopping the lazy way

reformedjerk — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 07:17:35 -0800

Has anyone living in Canada bought cameras from B&H? If so, did you choose the cheapest shipping (UPS Expedited) and get slapped with a heft customs brokerage fee from UPS? With the dollar at parity, it is much cheaper buying from the US and having it shipped up, but I don't want to burn all the savings with a steep fee from UPS.

American Bringing Cuban Goods into the U.S.

cookie googleman — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 06:58:33 -0800

I'm an American traveling to Cuba legally (under a general license). What are the restrictions on what I can/cannot bring back into the U.S.?

Bringing home the bacon? Irish bacon (rashers), that is.

HeyAllie — Thu, 23 Aug 2007 08:21:21 -0800

CustomsFilter - Bringing home the bacon? Irish bacon (rashers), that is. My sister and her Irish husband are returning from Ye Olde Sod on Monday after a 2-week holiday and they want to bring back some Irish bacon, sausages and a ton of his favorite chocolate. I don't think they'll run into any problems with bringing back the chocolate, but I suspect that with Mad Cow Disease worries, they may not be allowed to bring back the packaged vacuum sealed bacon and sausages.

The Irish swear they sneak packages of the stuff into America all the time. We hear stories from the USA that the dogs at customs almost always catch a sniff and it gets confiscated.

Anyone care to share their RECENT personal experiences and thoughts on their chances of getting that stuff through?

Can we clear customs with homemade dehydrated food packets?

HappyHippo — Sat, 11 Aug 2007 12:06:54 -0800

My lovely wife is planning a hiking trip in New Zealand. This will be her first hiking adventure out of North America. Recently she has started to dehydrate her own food for her multi-day hikes. No preservatives, more tasty, less expensive, and all that. Can she pack this in her luggage and expect to clear customs? Thanks in advance for all your help!

How fast can I run through DFW before people start to gawk?

chrisfromthelc — Tue, 17 Jul 2007 10:03:05 -0800

I'm flying from IAH > DFW > CZM (Cozumel). I've got 55 minutes in DFW. Assuming my IAH > DFW is on time, will I make it? Also, I've never flown international before. What should I expect going through customs....without an in-hand passport? I'll have proof of application, but it will not have gotten here by then.

If it matters, I'm leaving on a Wednesday morning in mid September, hitting DFW at 9:15 am.

How much red tape should we expect?

nathan_teske — Sun, 15 Jul 2007 07:29:12 -0800

In about 10 days, my fiancée will be entering the US on a K1 visa. Some questions inside.

I've only ever entered the US as a US citizen traveling alone. What are we going to have to fill out for customs and entry requirements? POE is Chicago O'Hare.

My fiancée will be unable to legally work for at least 6-8 weeks and, as such, I will be her sole means of support during this time. Does she meet the threshold for a dependent or do we have to wait until we're actually married before I can claim her for tax purposes?

Transporting Alcohol as a Minor

tehgeekmeister — Mon, 02 Jul 2007 22:08:22 -0800

Is it legal to transport unopened bottles of wine as a minor? I'm bringing them as a gift to my fiancée's family in Australia -- I won't be buying them, and it'll be legal for me to have them there. Is it illegal for me to transport them until I leave the U.S.? I've a layover in Honolulu and am coming from Washington state, if state law is relevant.

Is this legal?

stamps as a memorial thank you

skillet — Tue, 08 May 2007 19:37:19 -0800

Stamps as part of memorial thank you... I received a thank you note from a family who had a memorial service recently. Included in the thank you was some postage stamps. What type of custom is that...is it a particular ethnic group (the family is asian) and why?

I have enough to get a passport, isn't that enough?

bh — Thu, 26 Apr 2007 17:59:18 -0800

My wife is going on a cruise this weekend. Her birth certificate and passport are missing. Leaving from California, I'm in Virginia. The ship is stopping in Mexico for fuel. Options? The facts:

Documents are in disarray, partially due to a small fire. She is in California now, with my two kids, and would like to able to board her ship on Saturday.

She has just learned that she will need either a passport (expired or not) or birth certificate, in addition to photo identification.

She will not be leaving the ship and entering Mexico at any time, unless there is an emergency. The only other stop is Hawaii.

She was born on a Navy base in 1966.

I currently have in my possession tax documents, a social security card, driver's licenses from two states (expired), a baptism certificate, a voter registration card, and the services of a notary public.

She is going on a Celebrity cruise. From their web page:

• For domestic travel which includes: the Bahamas, Bermuda, Canada, the Caribbean and Mexico, a passport (valid or expired) is highly recommended.
• In the absence of a passport, a birth certificate (original or a certified copy), plus a picture ID card issued by a federal, state or local government agency is required.
• A voter registration card or Social Security Card are not considered to be proof of citizenship.

From the Department of State:
January 1, 2008 – It is anticipated that on January 1, 2008, U.S. citizens traveling between the U.S. and Canada, Mexico, Central and South America, the Caribbean, and Bermuda by land or sea (including ferries), may be required to present a valid U.S. passport or other documents as determined by the Department of Homeland Security.

Further reading reveals that at worst, she will be subject to some verification upon attempting to re-enter the US.

However, the cruise line is insisting upon the documentation before boarding.

She has an expired passport that I am unlikely to find in time to send overnight. Her birth certificate is likely not here.

Ideas? Thanks.

How much are customs fees in Japan for a Nintendo DS Lite?

greasepig — Sat, 31 Mar 2007 03:37:20 -0800

Is it worth it to have a Nintendo DS Lite shipped halfway around the world and back? I'm an American living in Japan, and would like to get a Nintendo DS Lite, because I've seen that there are some great games for practicing reading and writing kanji. The problem is that they are so popular here that I can't seem to find a place that has them in stock.

However, I am considering an interesting option. I was given a nice big Amazon gift certificate that I could use to buy one (unfortunately I can't use it on Amazon.co.jp). What I was thinking was I could ship it to my family in the states, and then have them ship it to me. I assume this is legal, but that I need to pay some customs fees or something. I've looked on various shipping companies' sites, but I can't seem to find out how to figure out how much these would be. Does anyone have experience in this area? How much would I have to pay, or how do I find out?

Australian customs trouble

twirlypen — Tue, 20 Feb 2007 00:45:56 -0800

Australian customs- does anyone have any experience bringing a wooden drum with an animal skin into Australia? I'm in Kathmandu and want to buy two drums. One is made of clay and in a bowl shape with skin stretched over the open end, the other is a wooden tube with skin over both ends.

I know I have to declare them, and can't see any evidence of bug holes in the wood, but I'm worried that since you can't actually see inside the drum they wont let me bring it in.

Has anyone been through this before? Any advice?

Cheers.

ParcelForce thinks it can levy tax!

bonaldi — Wed, 31 Jan 2007 06:59:16 -0800

ParcelForce are holding me to ransom! Anything I can do? I'm having a parcel delivered from Japan. I got a letter this morning telling me that to receive it, I have to pay parcel force £23.50 -- £10 in tax, and £13.50 "handling fee". They're charging me more than the cost of the already hefty tax, just to do, er, what they already charged the shipper for -- namely, delivering the parcel!

I'm resigned to paying the charlatans for this parcel. Is there anything I can do to prevent it in future? Obviously recipients have no choice over carrier, and in some cases neither do senders. Is it entirely legal? (Bear in mind that this is the UK, where all sorts of things you wouldn't expect are illegal, such as banks charging penalty fees for going overdrawn).

(When queried, they say that it's to cover the cost of the driver to the customs office. I checked. Their depot is *at* the customs office. They then said it was to cover "processing", but wouldn't specify what that was).