Lying when Entering the US

[robert5]

Originally Posted by CarlF

...ever see those auctions for boats seized by customs and immigrations? Some of those guys probably had the same thought you did. I expect the word "voluntary" gets a good chuckle around the Homeland Security office lunch table...

Originally Posted by Dick Pluta

...So, can you leave a US port, sail around the Caribbean and come back without reporting in? Legally, yes, as long as you don't touch land. Otherwise, if you clear into another country you are obligated to check back into the US and fill out the forms. Will the TSA know? Very probably. Do you want to chance it? Your choice. If you decide to try and have a nice boat let me know. I'll go to the auction...

Originally Posted by zeehag

your visa from checking in and out of places will rat you out-- there is a way to get around that-- bynot having yur permanent records stamped, but i dont know xactly how to go about this-- spozedly is (according to someone who has been there recently) a way that cuba and that mexico do this for ye without the main record of boat or human being stamped by cuba---- gooodluck.

Originally Posted by skipmac

...Even if you aren't bringing in any contraband it's still very illegal and can get you hefty fines and possibly jail time. As Zee pointed out, if you enter another country the records usually make it back to the states sooner or later and will come back to bite you in the butt if you don't clear back in.

humm.. thanks for the input guys - lots of good information in those posts.

[Blue Stocking]

In 1979, a little freighter, suspected of drug running, was chased into Bermuda by 2 USCG cutters from the Carolinas area. The ship had been under surveillance by satellite from the Gulf, Red Sea, Med,across the Atlantic, up and down the East coast, and to Bermuda.
I was involved at our end, and was told by the skippers of the cutters, that they had watched her progress every 90 mins from the eye in the sky.
They know where you are.

[jim767]

Originally Posted by MarkJ

Oh yes there is!

Your Big Papa has got the Eye in the Sky and I doubt you could sail a bee's dick into Key West without Uncle Sam's Man knowing all about you.

But don't let me stop you trying

Now that is hi resolution surveillance.

[DeepBlueSea]

Why not simply do it legally?

[Hudson Force]

To better clarify the offense, it should be noted that traveling to Cuba is NOT illegal for Americans, but provisions of the "Trading With the Enemy Act" prohibit spending money in Cuba without authorization. If caught, unauthorized US tourists can face civil fines up to $55,000. Theoretically an American citizen could be in Cuba at the guest of another foreign national that pays for all expenses, but accounting becomes very important with this ploy.

[David_Old_Jersey]

In the UK the only people who need any permission to leave (or re-enter) the Country are those on the Sex Offenders Register (and I believe only those convicted of more serious offences)....and folk on Terrorist control orders.

Different ideas of Freedom I guess............

[sailronin]

I visited Cuba in 2001. We sailed (motored) from Key West to Havana, Veradero and returned to Key West. Prior to departure I checked with USCG, filled out all the forms (with ETA including Lat/Lon for entering and departing Cuban waters). Upon our return to Key West we declared where we had been and produced the clearance papers into and out of Cuba. This was with 8 American and 2 foreign people aboard a foreign flagged motor yacht.
Nine months later all the Americans received an 11 page stack of questions from the "Bureau of Foreign Asset Control" (didn't know that existed) requiring details of travel, expenses, etc. We had to account for all food, fuel, etc. but since we ate onboard (had receipts from US grocery stores) and fueled in Key West prior to departure and upon return and documented fuel use, and were able to produce all the receipts, no problems.
It is not (was not, maybe different now) illegal to travel to Cuba for Americans, it IS illegal to spend any US money in Cuba.

As far as omitting (lying) prior ports of call when entering US...don't even think about it! The "eye in the sky" is watching, they know every boat moving in the Caribbean.

[skipmac]

Originally Posted by robert5

humm.. thanks for the input guys - lots of good information in those posts.

Humm.. I guess the follow up question is why you feel the need for this information?

If, as you say, you plan nothing illegal then why ask? If you are contemplating something contrary to the rules and regulations why are you asking in such a public forum?

[Dick Pluta]

Originally Posted by David_Old_Jersey

In the UK the only people who need any permission to leave (or re-enter) the Country are those on the Sex Offenders Register (and I believe only those convicted of more serious offences)....and folk on Terrorist control orders.

Different ideas of Freedom I guess............

Just for clarification, a US citizen doesn't need permission to leave or enter. When you leave, you just go. When you return, as in just about any country, you do have to go through a re-entry procedure that includes filling out a customs form. In this case, the US form includes a statement of all the countries you have visited. It is the act of lying on this form that started this thread. Whether you go to Cuba, Afghanistan, Swaziland or, for that matter, Canada if you intentionally lie by omitting a country you visited you have committed a crime. Whether it makes sense or not, as much as I would like to visit Cuba, it just ain't worth the risk to me. I cancelled a planned trip to Egypt this year because of the turmoil. I'd love to go to Petra, but it ain't worth the risk. In every case the risk is the result of some political situation that doesn't involve me. Cuba is no different. It ain't worth the risk.

Dick Pluta
AEGEA

[stilldreamin]

Lying when returning just seems like asking for trouble.

The US State department tells you what you need to do to travel to Cuba legally at http://travel.state.gov/travel/cis_pa_tw/cis/cis_seeking out1097.html . If you really want to go to Cuba, I encourage any American interested to follow the procedures outlined there.

I've never really considered it and have no idea how hard it is to get all the required authorizations, but it looks like they'll even let you spend up to the daily per diem rate for lodging, incidentals, and meals.

They say they'll seize anything you try to bring back, but if you really want to see Cuba it seems like you might be able to do it legally and that seems a whole lot less risky than gambling your boat.

Just my thoughts...

[capstan]

Cuban officials will not stamp americans passports if asked.
If you use cash and no credit cards, there will be no trail. Americans do it every day from the Bahamas or fly from Canada.

[kismet]

I hereby declair myself a free person.

[goboatingnow]

Just for clarification, a US citizen doesn't need permission to leave or enter. When you leave, you just go. When you return, as in just about any country, you do have to go through a re-entry procedure that includes filling out a customs form. In this case, the US form includes a statement of all the countries you have visited.

The EU doesn't ask its member state citizens to fill anything out on return, wave the passport thats all.
Nor does it require visiting foreign yachtsmen to do anything specific, other then clear into the Schengen area once. ( if your from a non-visa country thats it.)

What an enlightened place
Dave

[sneuman]

What if you had to make landfall in Cuba as a port of refuge?

[rev412]

Originally Posted by Dick Pluta

Just for clarification, a US citizen doesn't need permission to leave or enter. When you leave, you just go.

Unless you're leaving in a private aircraft. Pilots of small planes are now (as of the past two or three years) required to notify Customs and Border Patrol on their way out as well as coming back in. Being somewhat cynical of government, I expect this requirement to spread to other means of travel in due time.