Transport Security, CBP Inspection, and State Alcohol Laws

[BCL]

Immigration is concerned with the person’s admissibility into the country. Customs is concerned with the admissibility of the person’s belongings into the country (possibly subject to a certain tax).

AIrport security is concerned with making sure you don’t have things that are prohibited to carry onto an airplane. You could have a hunting knife, large bottle of liquid, etc., in your checked baggage and, as long as it doesn’t violate any customs regulations, you’re perfectly fine in their eyes. But you can’t bring those items past the security checkpoint.

The fact is that US CBP does all of the above. At least originally the US Customs Service was part of the Dept of Treasury and their primary purpose was the collection of customs duties. But like many things, they were in a convenient spot to look out for all sorts of things including border/port of entry controls, smuggling, agricultural checks, immigration, etc. The job itself didn't fit into any one category, but for whatever reason, they started with revenue collection.

They don't issue entry visas, which are the purview of the State Dept. They don't set the rules for agricultural inspection, but they have to know what people can and can't bring in. I have encountered USDA officers with sniffer dogs looking for contraband.

There are a few things though, including that any dangerous item might need to be declared - especially firearms.

 

[Seaboard92]

I now only fly when it's crossing an ocean, and otherwise have only flown domestically for four segments, so this is fascinating to me. It amazes me passengers sometimes have to go through security checks again just to change planes!

The worst is Russia even if you are doing a domestic connection you have to do security again. And it isn't really organized either.

 

[lstone19]

The last I knew, for United international arrivals at IAD, connecting passengers go to the midfield concourse C CBP facility while terminating passengers are taken to the main terminal CBP facility. So terminating passengers don’t need to go through security after CBP to get landside.

I have experience with making U.S. to Schengen connections at both AMS and FRA and at them as well as other Schengen airports, Immigration is handled at the connecting airport but Customs is dealt with at the final destination. At both AMS and FRA, since we did need to do anything with our checked baggage, there was no security recheck. You just dealt with Immigration and were on your way. Since travel within the EU is Customs exempt (the Schengen area is one area for Immigration purposes, the EU is one area for Customs - a county can be one but not the other (e.g. Norway is Schengen but not EU)), you do have a mix of passengers - some Customs exempt on arrival,some not. But Customs is much more low-key in the EU so if you have nothing to declare, you just walk on by. I have never been inspected by Customs in Europe. A green strip on the edge of the baggage tag identifies bags checked within the EU and exempt from EU Customs inspection.

(I’m retired from an airline and did station visits to three of our European stations. Understanding the passenger handling process was part of the reason for the station visits)

 

[SwedeC]

There are at least two locations overseas where US Customs & Immigration has full clearing offices. Thus, passengers going to the US are cleared there, and the flight lands as a domestic US flight.
They are Dublin, Ireland and the island of Aruba.

 

[jis]

There are at least two locations overseas where US Customs & Immigration has full clearing offices. Thus, passengers going to the US are cleared there, and the flight lands as a domestic US flight.
They are Dublin, Ireland and the island of Aruba.

Currently there is US preclearance at the following international airports other than those in Canada:

• Aruba
• Freeport and Nassau, Bahamas
• Bermuda
• Abu Dhabi, UAE
• Dublin and Shannon, Ireland

In addition, Qatar has applied to have a preclearance site at Doha.

In Canada the following have preclearance:

• Calgary
• Edmonton
• Halifax
• Montreal
• Ottawa
• Toronto
• Vancouver
• Victoria
• Winnipeg

https://www.cbp.gov/travel/preclearance

 

[Trogdor]

The fact is that US CBP does all of the above. At least originally the US Customs Service was part of the Dept of Treasury and their primary purpose was the collection of customs duties. But like many things, they were in a convenient spot to look out for all sorts of things including border/port of entry controls, smuggling, agricultural checks, immigration, etc. The job itself didn't fit into any one category, but for whatever reason, they started with revenue collection.

They don't issue entry visas, which are the purview of the State Dept. They don't set the rules for agricultural inspection, but they have to know what people can and can't bring in. I have encountered USDA officers with sniffer dogs looking for contraband.

There are a few things though, including that any dangerous item might need to be declared - especially firearms.

True that CBP does customs & immigration (in the past, there were two separate stops at many airports; one where they marked your blue form and the other where they collected the blue form. Also, Amtrak’s Cascades used to preclear Immigration at the station in Vancouver, but then the train would make a customs stop right at the border where they walked through the train and collected your declaration forms).

However, they don’t do airport security. While they *can* inspect your luggage, they don’t always do so (through dozens of international arrivals, I’ve only had them look at my bag once). The list of things permissible to bring into the country and the list of things permissible to bring onto a plane are not the same.

The point of my comment is that once you come into contact with checked luggage, the area is no longer sterile, and thus everyone must go through security again in order to go airside at a terminal.

In Canada the following have preclearance:

• Calgary
• Edmonton
• Halifax
• Montreal
• Ottawa
• Vancouver
• Victoria
• Winnipeg

https://www.cbp.gov/travel/preclearance

And Toronto. Also, I *think* the Victoria preclearance might actually be the harbor rather than the airport, for ferry crossings to the US. My memory on that is sufficiently vague, but, unless they built something very recently, I don’t think there was any space at the airport for a separate US departures area. Every time I flew into the US from YYJ I had to go through CBP on arrival.

 

[jis]

And Toronto. Also, I *think* the Victoria preclearance might actually be the harbor rather than the airport, for ferry crossings to the US. My memory on that is sufficiently vague, but, unless they built something very recently, I don’t think there was any space at the airport for a separate US departures area. Every time I flew into the US from YYJ I had to go through CBP on arrival.

I just copied the list from the CBP site and forgot to copy Toronto.

 

[BCL]

And Toronto. Also, I *think* the Victoria preclearance might actually be the harbor rather than the airport, for ferry crossings to the US. My memory on that is sufficiently vague, but, unless they built something very recently, I don’t think there was any space at the airport for a separate US departures area. Every time I flew into the US from YYJ I had to go through CBP on arrival.

I believe Victoria Airport doesn't have preclerance. There might be preclearance at Victoria Harbor with the Black Ball Ferry to Port Angeles.

EDIT: Yeah they've got it.

https://www.cbp.gov/newsroom/video-gallery/video-library/frontline-black-ball-ferry-pre-inspection
Been through preclearance once at Sidney, BC for the Washington State Ferries ride to Anacortes, WA. Got asked questions by an armed CBP officer in full uniform although we weren't searched. Some of the questions asked were about food. Apparently we could bring produce back as long as it was labelled as being from the United States. We had bought Washington apples and cherries in BC. However, my wife had washed the both and removed the little stickers on the apples, but retained the bag for the cherries. The CPB officer said that we could eat the apples on the ferry and dispose of them on the ferry and we'd be fine.

My wife travelled to Vancouver a few times and she said that preclearance was basically it, where passengers were basically waved through at SFO except for random checks.

I will say that some of the questions that CBP asks upon return are kind of odd. I know they're just looking for people who are nervous, just in case they might flinch and give signs that they're smuggling in something. I've only brought back cooked meat which was fine. Getting the "purpose of your visit" question is kind of odd though on the way back. We went overnight for food and entertainment. Heard the Chinese food scene is awesome there, and we got BBQ pork and duck tongues that my wife's Chinese-American friend in the Seattle area asked us to look for. They didn't seem to be phased anyways. Plus if we'd been searched they would have seen a nearly empty trunk, some snack foods, and the aforementioned cooked meats.

 

[adamj023]

Every transportation method and place of travel can differ in their screening procedures and its hard to keep up with the different requirements. As going through security can be intrusive, it is not something you want to repeat during a connection flight but I will say the situation seems to be getting better as more airports are making upgrades. When you look online, every site seems to say different airports are good for connection flights. Chicago Ohare gets top marks from at least one source but others say its amongst the worst for connection flights. But the good news is Ohare has major projects ongoing as does many other airports. I understand the need for security but it should be done as efficiently as possible and without being abusive which has unfortunately happened at times.

 

[Exvalley]

Chicago Ohare gets top marks from at least one source...

With terminal 5 being so isolated, I am shocked that anyone would give ORD top marks.

 

[dwebarts]

Dulles has always been an airport which has lacked in progress. Some areas accelerate airport projects at a much quicker pace. The Port Authority Airports such as JFK, EWR and LGA have been slow to update but at least progress is being made unlike IAD. I doubt progress will be made there anytime soon.

Part of it is that most area residents don't use Dulles unless they need to. DCA and BWI are more convenient for many. That might change once the Silver Line is completed, but for now, it's far easier to take Metro to DCA or MARC/Amtrak to BWI. International flights are different, but depending on your frequent flier program(s), you might need to connect in another US city, eliminating the need to use IAD.

 

[Exvalley]

DCA is one of the best airports as far as ease of public transportation connections are concerned.

 

[adamj023]

Airlines like Southwest use less congested airports but they have a lot less flights and limited connectivity. They use Chicago Midway instead of O’Hare and Dallas love instead of Dallas Fort Worth.

 

[adamj023]

With terminal 5 being so isolated, I am shocked that anyone would give ORD top marks.

Everyone has different opinions and different monetary interests as well. O’Hare has the O’Hare 21 project in the works and once completed, it will really transform the airport and I’m seeing that with lots of airports with their projects. Dulles is one that has plans for awhile but no progress and I don’t believe funding has been allocated yet. I read SFO is all post security now with more improvements coming as well.

Agreed on airside at ORD only being 1 to 3 for now. BOS will be all airside later this year making it better for international connections until the O’Hare 21 project is done.

 

[Exvalley]

Airlines like Southwest use less congested airports but they have a lot less flights and limited connectivity. They use Chicago Midway instead of O’Hare....

Southwest is increasingly willing to enter into more congested airports. They now operate out of O'Hare, LGA, BOS, DCA, SFO, LAX, IAH, etc.

 

[adamj023]

Southwest is increasingly willing to enter into more congested airports. They now operate out of O'Hare, LGA, BOS, DCA, SFO, LAX, IAH, etc.

Right but you can’t get a flight from LGA to ORD or LGA to DFW on Southwest. Southwest does ORD to Dallas Love not DFW. Spirit airlines does compete on the LGA to ORD and LGA to DFW markets which Southwest doesn’t touch but goes in with a more no frills approach.

 

[BCL]

Airlines like Southwest use less congested airports but they have a lot less flights and limited connectivity. They use Chicago Midway instead of O’Hare and Dallas love instead of Dallas Fort Worth.

Not really. They started off by using smaller airports like Love Field and Houston-Hobby because fees were less and they were often more convenient (closer to city centers). But they don't have a hub and spoke system like the legacy airlines. Their model is about more non-stop and direct (same plane) flights to get their passengers from point to point without connections.

However, their hubs (where they don't use that word) include large airports like Oakland, Denver, Phoenix, and St. Louis. They don't operate out of DFW because they would have to give up slots at Love Field, but they do operate from Houston International. And they do have flights to O'Hare now.

https://www.southwest.com/origins/midwest/chicago-oharehttps://www.southwest.com/destinations/southwest/houston-bush

 

[lstone19]

Been through preclearance once at Sidney, BC for the Washington State Ferries ride to Anacortes, WA. Got asked questions by an armed CBP officer in full uniform although we weren't searched. Some of the questions asked were about food.

They seem to be obsessed with food. I flew from Vancouver back to the U.S. via Houston on a red-eye which departed after CBP closes so it's cleared on arrival at Houston like most international flights. It was the morning of March 16, 2020. We were three days into the world shutting down (couldn't get home any faster) and the only question CBP asked me was if I had any food. Not where I had been or anything actually related to the crisis facing the world. Just food.

 

[adamj023]

They seem to be obsessed with food. I flew from Vancouver back to the U.S. via Houston on a red-eye which departed after CBP closes so it's cleared on arrival at Houston like most international flights. It was the morning of March 16, 2020. We were three days into the world shutting down (couldn't get home any faster) and the only question CBP asked me was if I had any food. Not where I had been or anything actually related to the crisis facing the world. Just food.

Was not an obsession over food. CBP in Houston didn’t have any security issues with Canada and they were only concerned about disease coming from food outside the country and the like. You already landed in the USA.

 

[BCL]

They seem to be obsessed with food. I flew from Vancouver back to the U.S. via Houston on a red-eye which departed after CBP closes so it's cleared on arrival at Houston like most international flights. It was the morning of March 16, 2020. We were three days into the world shutting down (couldn't get home any faster) and the only question CBP asked me was if I had any food. Not where I had been or anything actually related to the crisis facing the world. Just food.

They've got a job to do. I get it. I totally understand the questions about bringing in produce of any kind. That's the standard question at any port of entry or border crossing. But they're cool about it as long as someone is upfront. Tell them what you have and you can claim ignorance. Forget that you had something and they'll hand out fines.

Once at SFO I had brought some meat pies. They were cooked and should have been OK, but the officer took a ballpoint pen and poked it. He could have asked us to maybe break it open, but he used the pen and we had to throw it out because we weren't going to eat anything that had a pen going through it.

At the Peace Arch crossing between BC and Washington we came back after less than 24 hours. Barely any sleep and we just went for eating and entertainment. The food scene was pretty good. They asked us basic questions like where we were from and where we went. We actually had Chinese food and were asked "Isn't there Chinese food in San Francisco?"

 

[AmtrakMaineiac]

Speaking of Customs, I still smile when I think of the time my dad tried to bring a frozen turkey on a flight from Boston to London in 1961, wanting to make a proper American Thanksgiving dinner for our relatives. It was our first trip back to the Old Country since we had emigrated in 1957. Needless to say it didn't make it through customs. He offered them the tins of cranberry sauce to go with it, figuring some customs official was going to have a nice meal that night

 

[BCL]

Speaking of Customs, I still smile when I think of the time my dad tried to bring a frozen turkey on a flight from Boston to London in 1961, wanting to make a proper American Thanksgiving dinner for our relatives. It was our first trip back to the Old Country since we had emigrated in 1957. Needless to say it didn't make it through customs. He offered them the tins of cranberry sauce to go with it, figuring some customs official was going to have a nice meal that night

I tried to explain what I had landing in LAX back in the 90s after a trip to Australia and New Zealand. I had just toast and coffee for breakfast in the dining car before we arrived in Melbourne. And I tried Vegemite for the first time. The dining car attendant on our train between Sydney and Melbourne said "It's makes you strong" and made a bicep pump. So I tried it and he said I could take a few more of the little peel off tubs with me. We also had a friend in Melbourne give us some fresh abalone.

When we got back at LAX customs asked if we had any food and I said "yeast extract". He kind of looked at me and wanted a little more clarification (maybe he thought that I was a winemaker or something). Then I pulled out the Vegemite and he said "Oh Vegemite. Why didn't you say that?" It was of course cooked and anything in there had been long dead. And when we pulled out the fresh abalone (in a napkin because we couldn't get a plastic bag) we were told it was fine.

But I thought that with most custom lines there's a "last chance" disposal area. Anything that's supposed to be a possible violation of agricultural restrictions is supposed to be deposited there and incinerated to reduce the chance of maybe pest or pathogens spreading. If it's confiscated (after disclosure or not) it wouldn't make sense to just let a worker take it home.

https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/22/nyregion/what-happens-to-food-seized-at-the-airport.html

 

[MARC Rider]

I'm sort of amazed at the variety of food they let through customs inspections. On the other hand, restrictions at some of the land border crossings seem silly, but then I don't have the latest data on the spread of specific insect pests. The state of California also has ag inspections stations at the state lines. These seem sort of pointless, as all the stuff we that bought at the Safeway in Oregon had been grown in California, anyway. Not that the inspector seemed to care. My other experience with food was a TSA inspector at O'Hare that had problems with my carrying a block of Wisconsin cheddar aboard. After some spirited discussion (with my mortified daughter thinking she was going to have to call a lawyer to bail me out), he let it pass.

 

[lstone19]

Was not an obsession over food. CBP in Houston didn’t have any security issues with Canada and they were only concerned about disease coming from food outside the country and the like. You already landed in the USA.

Did you miss there I said this was March 16, 2020? The world was already into the pandemic shutdown. Where I had been should have been of great importance to them. Whether or not I had been to a COVID hotspot was of importance to Canada as that was one of the questions on the Nexus kiosk I used to enter Canada six days earlier. Even with paperwork saying I was arriving from Canada, the inspector didn't know where I might have been before that.

In terms of risk to the United States, whether or not I had traveled to a COVID hotspot was far more important than any food I might have been trying to sneak in. And as I recall, I heard other reports from people around that same time that said CBP was pretty uninterested in where people had been.

 

[BCL]

I'm sort of amazed at the variety of food they let through customs inspections. On the other hand, restrictions at some of the land border crossings seem silly, but then I don't have the latest data on the spread of specific insect pests. The state of California also has ag inspections stations at the state lines. These seem sort of pointless, as all the stuff we that bought at the Safeway in Oregon had been grown in California, anyway. Not that the inspector seemed to care. My other experience with food was a TSA inspector at O'Hare that had problems with my carrying a block of Wisconsin cheddar aboard. After some spirited discussion (with my mortified daughter thinking she was going to have to call a lawyer to bail me out), he let it pass.

You just tell them what you have and it's OK.

The agricultural inspection stations around Lake Tahoe are often just on the honor system. Unless they shut it down, there's usually a bypass lane for "locals" or those who were only in the "Lake Tahoe area" including Nevada.

I remember there were random USDA checks when checking in baggage from Hawaii to the mainland US.