International Travel Archives | Customs & International Trade Law Blog

Your Data is NOT Your Own at the Border

On November 15, 2017, DTL’s very own Jennifer Diaz, along with other experts, spoke at the AILA CLE Luncheon on travelers’ rights when encountering U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) at airports and other ports of entry. As international travel continues to grow, coupled with increase national security efforts, it is imperative travelers know their rights when entering or exiting the U.S. Travelers enjoy taking their electronic devices with them for pleasure and/or work. Electronic devices hold considerable amounts of our personal or privileged information.

What is CBP’s Policy? […]

By Jennifer Diaz|2021-11-05T14:50:11-04:00December 19, 2017|Best Practices, International Travel, Seizures, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP)|3 Comments

Travel to the U.S. with an Unlimited Number of Cuban Cigars and Rum – Courtesy of New Revised OFAC and BIS Regulations

On October 14, 2016, President Obama issued a Presidential Policy Directive on United States-Cuba Normalization to further ease travel and trade restrictions with Cuba. As a result, Monday, October 17, 2016, amendments to both OFAC and BIS regulations will take effect.

Below are the top changes from both OFAC and BIS:

OFAC is making additional amendments to the Regulations with respect to health, trade and commerce, civil aviation safety, travel and related transactions, humanitarian-related activities, and certain other activities. Below is a recap:

Health
- Persons subject to U.S. jurisdiction are now permitted to engage in commercial and non-commercial joint medical research projects with Cuban nationals. (Section 515.547).

Travel and Related Transactions
- Importation of Cuban merchandise: Not too long ago we alerted our readers that CBP was targeting Cuban Cigars at American Ports. We haveBIG news for cigar and rum lovers… As of Monday, October 17, 2016, persons subject to U.S. jurisdiction are now able to return home from Cuba (or any other country where Cuban rum and cigars can legally be purchased) with an unlimited amount of rum and cigars. However, the number of cigars and amount rum must be for personal use and such merchandise must be imported as accompanied baggage and are subject to the normal limits on duty and tax exemptions. This is a huge step forward from OFAC’s initial limit of $400 or less (with no more than $100 of such […]

By Jennifer Diaz|2021-11-09T14:15:28-05:00October 17, 2016|Best Practices, Cuba, Export, International Travel, U.S. Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC)|2 Comments

International Travelers Beware – U.S. Customs WILL Seize Your Money…

International travelers often contact me with the same distraught face as the man pictured to my left, after their money is confiscated by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) as a result of not properly declaring currency on hand.

Declaration Form 6059B will look familiar to all international travelers as you fill it out when entering the U.S. Many times, the rationale for seizure is that parties traveling together split their currency, and even though together they have over the $10,000 minimum, the travelers advise they are each carrying less then the $10,000 minimum requirement for reporting (in question 13 of Form 6059B), resulting in ALL of the currency on hand being seized. On a Typical Day in Fiscal Year 2015, CBP seized $356,396 in undeclared or illicit currency.

Recently, CBP seized $82,000 of currency, and arrested the female driver, after discovering three packages of bulk currency hidden within a vehicle as a female driver attempted to exit the U.S. and enter Mexico.

During this holiday season, this post will tell you what you need to know to assure it’s NOT YOU that has their currency seized when traveling internationally!

[…]

By Jennifer Diaz|2021-11-09T15:11:34-05:00December 13, 2013|Currency Seizure, International Travel, Seizures, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP)|9 Comments

Ready to Travel to Cuba? OFAC Simplifies Process

Want to travel to Cuba? Well, on April 18, 2013, the Office of Foreign Assets Control ("OFAC") announced its effort to streamline license processing. Read on to see if your able to partake in OFAC's new electronic filing system.

By Jennifer Diaz|2021-11-10T14:19:43-05:00April 29, 2013|Best Practices, Export, International Travel, U.S. Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC)|1 Comment

Follow Me To Quickly Clear U.S. Customs as an International Passenger

Have you heard of the Global Entry program operated by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP)? If you are one of the 100,000 U.S. citizens or permanent residents who are members, then congratulations to you. If you are one of the millions of international travelers who do not like to wait in long lines at U.S. Customs when arriving at an airport in the United States after a long intercontinental flight, I have got a deal for you.

By Jennifer Diaz|2011-02-12T18:37:34-05:00February 12, 2011|International Travel|Comments Off

10 Symptoms To Diagnose You as a Road Warrior

I have traveled way too much recently, and thought I would help you out with some simple test questions to identify if you too are a road warrior who needs a break. If more than 5 of the below 10 test sample comments seem all too familiar, I recommend you slow down or go home. Enjoy this blog post, and let me know the results of the test questions for you.

By Jennifer Diaz|2010-10-12T20:58:46-04:00October 12, 2010|International Travel|6 Comments

Frequent Flyer Miles Getting Harder to Use

Are you also having a tough time turning in frequent flyer miles to travel internationally? My wife and I will travel to the beautiful area of Tuscany, Italy, this summer. I wanted to fly non-stop on Delta or Continental, or their code-share partners, but their roundtrip frequent flyer mile minimum requirements were very high - 90,000 and 100,000 miles, respectively!

By Jennifer Diaz|2010-05-16T05:56:52-04:00May 16, 2010|International Travel|Comments Off

Carrying Cash When Traveling Internationally

Declaring money or monetary instruments when going through U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

By Jennifer Diaz|2009-08-03T12:36:40-04:00August 3, 2009|International Travel|2 Comments