US Customs and Immigration

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Neo
Major: International Business
Status: Light Keeper

A person with strange ideas in my head and strange feelings in my heart...

US Customs and Immigration
Andy Neo

Restricted Items according to the US Customs Department

Books, Video Tapes, Computer Programs & Cassettes. Pirated copies of copyrighted articles--that is, unlawfully made reproductions; articles produced without the copyright owner's authorization--are prohibited from importation into the United States. Pirated copies will be seized and destroyed.
Photographic film. Customs will not examine film you bought abroad and are bringing back unless the Customs officer has reason to believe it contains prohibited material, such as child pornography. You won't be charged duty on film bought in the United States and exposed abroad, whether it's developed or not. But film you bought and developed abroad counts as a dutiable item.
Food Products. Bakery items and all cured cheeses are admissible. The USDA's Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) publishes a pamphlet called Travelers Tips, which offers detailed information on bringing food, plant, and animal products into this country. Imported foods are also subject to requirements of the Food and Drug Administration .
Medication.Narcotics and certain other drugs with a high potential for abuse-Rohypnol, GHB, and Fen-Phen, to name a few-may not be brought into the United States, and there are severe penalties for trying to bring them in. If you need medicines that contain potentially addictive drugs or narcotics (e.g., some cough medicines, tranquilizers, sleeping pills, antidepressants, or stimulants), do the following:
· Carry all drugs, medicines, and similar products in their original containers.
· Carry only the quantity that a person with that condition (e.g., chronic pain) would normally carry.
· Carry a prescription or written statement from your physician that the medicines are being used under a doctor's supervision and that they are necessary for your physical well being while traveling.
Money. There is no limit on the total amount of monetary instruments that may be brought into or taken out of the United States, nor is it illegal to do so. However, if you transport or cause to be transported (including by mail or other means), more than $10,000 in monetary instruments on any occasion into or out of the United States, or if you receive more than that amount, you must file a Report of International Transportation of International Currency or Monetary Instruments (FinCen 105) with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (Currency and Foreign Transactions Reporting Act, 31 U.S.C. 1101, et. seq.). Failure to comply can result in civil and criminal penalties, including seizure of the currency or monetary instruments. Monetary instruments include U.S. or foreign coin, currency, travelers checks, money orders, and negotiable instruments or investment securities in bearer form.
Alcoholic Beverages. Nonresidents who are at least 21 years old may bring in, free of duty and internal revenue tax, up to one liter of alcoholic beverage—beer, wine, liquor—for personal use. Quantities above the one-liter limitation are subject to duty and internal revenue tax. In addition to federal laws, you must also meet state alcoholic beverage laws, which may be more restrictive than federal laws. This means that if the state in which you arrive permits less liquor, wine, or beer than you have legally brought into the United States, that state’s laws apply to your importation of alcoholic beverages for personal use.
Tobacco Products. You may include in your personal exemption not more than 200 cigarettes (one carton) or 50 cigars or two kilograms (4.4 lbs.) of smoking tobacco, or proportional amounts of each. An additional 100 cigars may be brought in under your gift exemption.
Personal Effects. Wearing apparel, jewelry, toiletry, hunting and fishing equipment, cameras, portable radios, and similar personal effects are exempt from duty if they are for personal use they belong to you and they accompany you into and out of the United States.

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