[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Weird U.S. Customs Question (Page 1 of 2)
Posted: 11/13/2010 11:24:51 AM EDT
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I am not sure If I should post this here or in the LE forum.
My wife travels to asia for work. Returning she was ask typical questions while the agent was looking at a computer screen. Then he asks "if she had firearms in our house" This supprised her and she of course said "YES" She has been a member of the NRA which I always have been. I also have a CCW permit. What information does he have access of.... Her NRA status, my CCW or was it just one of the weird questions they ask Occasionally? Thanks |
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In about 1979, after I answered an irrelevant question of what my occupation was, I was asked to recite the Rule Against Perpetuities. I did.
I no longer buy things overseas. The last time, a couple of weeks ago, coming back with a girlfriend, I responded to Customs that I had nothing to declare and that the girlfriend was the boss. Worked like a charm. Customs doesn't hold you up or do searches when the female "is the boss". 
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i have traveled quite a bit oversees since 2005 - been asked a lot of strange questions, usually i get the standard 5 or 6 like where am i coming from, if i have fruits or veggies, where am i going to , is all the stuff mine, etc then a bonus round,usually something off the wall –– i think (and have been told by one of the CBP guys) its just to see how i will react. oh and in before "its a giant government conspiracy to oppress the common man and have evil JBT's in black helicopters violating my rights" |
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The only problem I ran into was in a foreign country when I decided to be nice and carry the heavier suitcase. They asked about weapons and such, to which I replied I had several knives in the case. Then asked if I owned any firearms. After the 20 questions and him being nice, he wanted to check the suitcase.
Well, I opened it for him and he had a weird look on his face. It was all of my wife's clothes. She had been out of there for around 10 minutes and he must of assumed I was alone. He grabbed some nice underwear, held them up, shook his head, and told me to go. |
| OP, they are trained to throw in random questions like that just to see how you will react. It helps them to determine which people have been coached on what to say as they proceed through U.S. Customs. The officers keep you off-kilter with the random questions. I travel a bunch and I always get a kick out of the questions too! Don't worry about it. |
they'll check you further.
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Quoted:
Response.....none of your fuckin business................ This and this |
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I would have refused to answer, as the question has no relevance whatsoever.
All 3 times I came through customs, it was rather uneventful. .mil ID, in uniform, two seconds entering info, "Welcome back, and Thanks". Didn't even care that I had an extra M16 with me. (some douche took an empty case home on an earlier flight). |
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Secondary Inspection for BOTH of you.  *grabs his latex gloves*
I am a CBP Officer, so guess what?
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Going through Canadian customs to Alaska they asked me why I was going to Alaska, I said the military was moving me. They asked to see my copy of my household goods I gave it to them then they called me into a room and started quizzing me on why I owned so many weapons.
I used to have a govt passport and now that I fly over seas alot I always get pulled out to go into the back room. They just sit me down and take my passport into a room where a guy sits on the computer for awhile then comes out, stamps it and tells me I can go. I have travelled everywhere and held various secret clearances so I dont know what flags me when I go through. But I do feel special 
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The only time I have EVER been treated rudely by any customs officials were the times when I came back to the US. One idiot tried to pick a fight with me about whether or not I had any seeds with me. I had my seed company hat on was probably why he asked I guess. He kept belligerently asking and threatening and I kept telling him no. He kept being a grade a you-know-what. I finally tossed my bag on the counter and said open it up. He turned and looked away, I walked off through the line.
Several other times had similar things happen. ONE time when I got back into the US a customs officer was actually polite. |
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It's been a while since I've been over seas, but I've never had a problem. They were always polite and the questioning was minimal. I probably would be a dick if they asked me about firearms in my house though.
Going into another country is a different story on how I'd react. It's their country, their laws, and I probably don't know them well enough to get away with being a dick. Besides, it'd piss me off if some foreigner came here and started being a dick just because we did things different than what he was used to. |
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I fly a lot and haven't had any issues with US Customs (thankfully); TSA is another story. I've had Customs throw out some random questions occasionally- I've been asked what I was going to do when I got home- I told him drink a real beer and he laughed and waved me through. I've been asked what type of vehicle I drive before and once what my favorite color was- I said blue, no yellow- augh! He looked at me and I said Monty Python and the Holy Grail and he laughed. Usually I just answer, most of them seem to be pretty nice and just doing their jobs.
The craziest was still some dipshit in Amsterdam play twenty stupid questions* until I loudly exclaimed that I wasn't Muslim but just another dumb southern Presbyterian who was trying to get home from work. The folks around me started laughing while he tried to explain that that wasn't what what he was asking. When I asked him if my pasty white self with a southern drawl seemed like a Muslim to him he waved me through.  I'm kinda surprised I didn't get a cavity search or something but it was obvious I was moving from annoyed to pissed at that point.
*One of them for example was asking me if I had access to any drugs- after he'd just asked me what I did for a living. I honestly just stood there for a minute before asking him if he recalled how he had just asked me what I did for a living when I told him I was a paramedic.
I love my job, but flying sucks. |
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I was driving from the Canadian side of Niagara Falls back into NY. It was 2am in the morning, the kids were asleep in the back and it was the wife and I in front. I was tired and was just looking forward to the hotel. I just handed them a stack of paper and my US Passport. They looked at me like, ugggh, (Sorry, my kids birth certs, wife's birth cert and marriage license since I was the only one with a US Passport) US Customs asked if I was bringing anything into the US. I was so tired, I looked at her without thinking and said, yea, two bottles of soda, a couple of tee shirts, some pictures, a couple of wet ponchos, and oh yea, a 6 dollar lollipop. I said "You believe that, 6 freaking dollars". She looked at my tired mug, at the sleeping kids and said, welcome home and waved me through. I knew what she meant but wasn't thinking so I rattled off every stupid thing we look home with us. |
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My wife and I went to Scotland last summer to visit my daughter who was doing a study abroad. When we came home they asked us our purpose for going to Scotland. I said, "to drink lots and lots of good scotch". The agent just laughed and sent us through.
When my 20 year old daughter came home several months later they asked if she had and drugs or alcohol. She said yes, she had a couple bottles of scotch for her father and grandfather. The female agent said she couldn't bring it into the country because she was under age. The drinking age is 18 in Scotland The female agent said she was going to confiscate it. My daughter had gotten up real early to get the airport and had flown 10 hours from Europe, she was not in the mood to be jacked with and started to protest. A supervisor stepped in, heard the story and asked he who was picking her up. "My parents are waiting for me," she said. The supervisor made the female agent walk my daughter and bags out to us. She was not happy about it. |
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Customs Officer: "Do you have any firearms at home?" You: "Of course I do. Every good citizen has the right to keep and bear arms." And of course you should maintain polite eye contact with the officer. Don't give them a hard time. Don't be a schmoe and you willl be just fine. |
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Quoted:
My wife and I went to Scotland last summer to visit my daughter who was doing a study abroad. When we came home they asked us our purpose for going to Scotland. I said, "to drink lots and lots of good scotch". The agent just laughed and sent us through. When my 20 year old daughter came home several months later they asked if she had and drugs or alcohol. She said yes, she had a couple bottles of scotch for her father and grandfather. The female agent said she couldn't bring it into the country because she was under age. The drinking age is 18 in Scotland The female agent said she was going to confiscate it. My daughter had gotten up real early to get the airport and had flown 10 hours from Europe, she was not in the mood to be jacked with and started to protest. A supervisor stepped in, heard the story and asked he who was picking her up. "My parents are waiting for me," she said. The supervisor made the female agent walk my daughter and bags out to us. She was not happy about it. See, this is the service that we need to expect from those who SERVE us in the government. Take the law and make it make sense. Besides which, local law is not the concern of the Customs office. There is no Fed law which makes this a crime, is there? |
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The last time I went through Customs was when I returned from Viet Nam. I was traveling on independent orders on Northwest Airlines. We landed in Anchorage, AK at like 3:30 AM and the Customs guys were tearing apart everyone's suit cases and going through them inspecting everything closely. When it was my turn, I put my sea bag on the counter, showed the agent my orders, he read them, and said "Welcome home Sergeant" you are free to go. Now when I got off the plane in San Francisco, it was a different story, there were some overtly rude folks in the airport.
Some say they did not get a welcome home upon returning home, but I did. I often wondered if the Custom Agent was a veteran. |
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Quoted: I am not sure If I should post this here or in the LE forum. My wife travels to asia for work. Returning she was ask typical questions while the agent was looking at a computer screen. Then he asks "if she had firearms in our house" This supprised her and she of course said "YES" She has been a member of the NRA which I always have been. I also have a CCW permit. What information does he have access of.... Her NRA status, my CCW or was it just one of the weird questions they ask Occasionally? Thanks I presume the question is to throw you off. People who are traveling under false pretences or doing something illegal have a script in their mind. They are expecting "What is your business?", "Do you have so and so currency?", "How long are you foing for?", etc. Questions like that are just to look for a unplanned response and throw you off guard. Could have just as easily been "What kind of car do you drive?", "How long have you owned those shoes?", "Have you ever visited New Zealand?" So on and so fourth. I don't suspect your firearms history would pop up on their screen at a POE. Brilliant! |
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Gotta give you my story about crossing back into the U.S. from Canada at Ste. St. Marie in Michigan.
Wife and I and the two kids had been camping in Canada for a week. We had two vehicles. Wife and the daughter was in one behind me and the son. Agent at the window asked if we were bringing anything back and I gave some smart ass answer. (MY one and only mistake.) He sent me to get a closer inspection. Wife and daughter pulled over after being passed through. BP agent starts rummaging through the car I'm driving and runs across a Bianchi speed strip with .38 Special HB wadcutters loaded upside down. He pulls them out and demands to know where the gun is. I respond that I don't have the gun, these were left in the car from my last range trip. Again demands to know where the gun is. I'm mildly pissed at this point. I tell him I know that I can't take a handgun across into Canada and I'm not that stupid. And, oh by the way, If I remember correctly there's a couple loose .380 rounds in the ashtray. I also volunteer to help him pull the car apart if he wants help. He looks at me, asks me about the MSP and Branch County Sheriff Department caps on the rear deck of the car. I tell him I just retired from the BCSD Reserves and liked the MSP organization so I kept them in my car. He pulls a speedloader out of his belt and hands it to me. "Know what those are?" I look 'em over and say "Yeah, they're Federal Hydashoks in .357 magnum. Good rounds for your job." He asks me what the hell the rounds in my speedstrip are and I tell him my pocket gun was an O/U derringer in .38 Special and with the HBWC loaded upside down so the short barrel wouldn't hurt expansion. He nodded, said "Okay. Get going." |
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Quoted:
OP, they are trained to throw in random questions like that just to see how you will react. It helps them to determine which people have been coached on what to say as they proceed through U.S. Customs. The officers keep you off-kilter with the random questions. I travel a bunch and I always get a kick out of the questions too! Don't worry about it. On the customs forms last time through I had to check "Yes" to foreign food (chewing gum) and being around livestock (petting zoo trip). Answer yes to any questions on the form and I guess they don't throw any zingers at you. |
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"I want to see your supervisor."
That is my response. My follow up to the supervisor is: "I wish to make a complaint about this officer's conduct how do I do so? I also would like a copy of the complaint form to show to my lawyer." Now we all know it would go nowhere, but at the very least the officer will never ask that question again after having to sweat it out. At the most I will make the CBP change their policy after they have to spend money going to court to defend their actions. Even if they win they will change the policy so the never have to spend the money on legal fees again. If you have any sympathy for the officer, don't. |
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Quoted: Quoted: Secondary Inspection for BOTH of you. *grabs his latex gloves*I am a CBP Officer, so guess what? You're a worthless shitheel that feels entitled to answers we don't have to give, and then behave like a power hungry JBT scumbag when anyone dares to question your authoritah? 'Cause that's what the CBP officers in that link are. is this sarcasm and my sarcasm meter is broken - or are you serious? (que - not sure if your serious pic)
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Quoted:
Quoted:
Secondary Inspection for BOTH of you. *grabs his latex gloves*
I am a CBP Officer, so guess what? You're a worthless shitheel that feels entitled to answers we don't have to give, and then behave like a power hungry JBT scumbag when anyone dares to question your authoritah? 'Cause that's what the CBP officers in that link are. 
Now, let's break this down, paragraph by paragraph... "You're a worthless shitheel..." - Really? dunno me and already passing judgement on what you "think" I am? Wow! "that feels entitled to answers we don't have to give..." - If we ask you is for a reason, not because we feel that it inflates our egos, but go ahead... "and then behave like a power hungry JBT scumbag when anyone dares to question your authoritah" - Not my fault you learned Grammar at South Park Elementary right next to Cartman, Kyle and Kenny; won't hold it against you. "that's what the CBP officers in that link are." - have you even worked with US CUstoms & Border Protection in the past? Have you served in any function within the Law Enforcement community? If not, then spare me the drama; because your Internet bravado doesn't work with me or anyone else that works with me; when you put in a paycheck's worth of the crap I have to deal with daily, then you can talk. You look like the one that has no respect for law enforcement and I kinda pity you (kinda), because it's going to end up with one of these days you needing a "power hungry JBT scumbag" like me to come help you and you will be singing a different tune. (edited per request) |
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Quoted:
1. I have plenty of time...2. I will only allow you to go so far with your search of my body....oh and if your serious your part of the problem adolph...
Secondary Inspection for BOTH of you. *grabs his latex gloves*
I am a CBP Officer, so guess what? |