Getting back into US as US citizen from Bahamas

[jbinbi]

Friend's boat is in the Bahamas. Need to fly there from FL, and then bring it to New England. Possibility of doing it straight through if the winds are good for a week, but if it is going to take longer than a week, we are going to have to stop in either Hatteras, Baltimore, NJ to resupply and rest.

Either way, wherever we make the stop, whether all the way to MA or a stop in between, I am assuming we need to clear customs. How does one do this? Say we make it to MA, or have to stop in NC. Where and how do we get to customs?

[Dsanduril]

Go the CBP website and get a Customs Decal (sign up for DTOPS, purchase a decal). This pays your fees for the year and means you don't have to see a Customs office just to pay fees.

Download the CBP ROAM app from the app store of whatever phone you use. Use the ROAM app to complete profiles of all crew who will be on the boat before you leave the US (names, passport numbers, etc.). Also complete a profile for the boat, including the decal number from the CBP decal purchased above.

When you get to US waters you use the ROAM app to contact Customs/Immigration (it's all CBP now) and check in. In theory you can be required to go to a port of entry, but if there are no suspicious circumstances and you don't lose the random choice lottery they'll clear you in over the phone (they may require a video call so they can see your faces) and send you an arrival approval. You're apparently more likely to get the easiest treatment if all crew are trusted traveler members (Global Entry, TSA Pre, etc.) - that information goes in your profile - but I can't cite proof of that.

If you don't go the ROAM route (or can't for some specific reason) then you have to arrive at an official port of entry, stay on the boat, call CBP (if no phone on boat then skipper may leave boat for sole purpose of making phone call), and they will check you in, but that may be a less easy road.

CBP Pleasure Boat Overview

CBP List of Entry Locations for Pleasure Boats

CBP ROAM Info

[jbinbi]

Excellent. Thanks for quick response. I have global entry and also have the cbp app on my phone, but I think you are saying the owner of the boat should have the ROAM app for the entire crew to get cleared in. We don't do this individually but rather together?

[Dsanduril]

Yes, it is a boat thing, and the boat contains the crew. The decal is the fee for the boat, the people just come along for the ride. I've personally only ever used ROAM as the skipper of the boat (definitely doesn't have to be the owner, that can be a separate person from the skipper - owner might not even be aboard), so don't know if someone else can do it, but there is only one voyage profile in ROAM for the entire boat and all crew.

And all of the above assumes a US boat and all US crew, otherwise it gets a bit more complex.

[dougweibel]

Originally Posted by jbinbi

Excellent. Thanks for quick response. I have global entry and also have the cbp app on my phone, but I think you are saying the owner of the boat should have the ROAM app for the entire crew to get cleared in. We don't do this individually but rather together?

Yes, that is correct. The entry report through CBP ROAM will have info for the boat and all aboard.

[dougweibel]

I was just looking at the CBP website and that brought up a question maybe someone can answer. It seems like when we started using CBP ROAM a couple years ago it was a requirement that to get an entry clearance with out a physical appearance all aboard had to be Verified Travelers. It looks like that may no longer be the case and being all Verified Travelers may just get you expedited processing.

Is this the case and does anyone have experience clearing in (with ROAM) with a crew member who is not a Verified Traveller?

[Dsanduril]

One other minor thing, when you get in US cell phone range, check for updates to the ROAM app before you even open it. Twice I've tried checking in with ROAM only to have failures because in the few weeks we were underway the app was changed and the old version no longer worked.

[cdcorl]

Another thing to expect is for the customs agent to to do video conference call with you. Instead of either asking you to come in to the port or not, they are setting up video conference calls and then you walk your video around and show them everybody in the boat and talk to them as part of your clearance. It is very efficient.

[Montanan]

Originally Posted by Dsanduril

Yes, it is a boat thing, and the boat contains the crew. The decal is the fee for the boat, the people just come along for the ride. I've personally only ever used ROAM as the skipper of the boat (definitely doesn't have to be the owner, that can be a separate person from the skipper - owner might not even be aboard), so don't know if someone else can do it, but there is only one voyage profile in ROAM for the entire boat and all crew.

And all of the above assumes a US boat and all US crew, otherwise it gets a bit more complex.

Indeed, non-US citizens will require a B1/B2 visa to be issued from a US foreign consulate or embassy, prior to departure on the voyage to the USA, and those are presently very difficult to obtain given that most offices remain closed to processing of visa applications and those that have returned to operation are backlogged. Such visas will not be something that can be obtained in a reasonable time.

Arrival by private yacht precludes the the use and availability of the visa waiver programs that are available for normal commercial carrier arrivals by airplane or by cruise ships for citizens of many countries.

[j.g.evans]

Before Covid 19 I have cleared in from the Bahamas a dozen times. Even before I got the frequent boater decal all I did was call upon arrival. You have to be anchored or at a dock. All but one time I was cleared over the phone. The one time I went to a port of entry (an airport ) they asked why I was there. Don't have a gun.

[Moontide]

Also, as of now, you do not need a Covid test to come back into the US if traveling by private boat.