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CBP provides tips to international travel during busy summer season
U.S. Customs and Border Protection 
June 16, 2008 

The summer travel season has kicked off and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) would like to remind international travelers this is the busiest travel time of the year.

CBP would like to provide useful tips to those individuals that will travel internationally this season. These travel tips will assist travelers in making their arrival to the United States as trouble free as possible.

On a typical day, CBP welcomes more than 1.1 million international travelers into the United States at land, air and sea ports. CBP officers use the latest technologies and procedures to assure that travelers from throughout the world are processed rapidly while ensuring that individuals who have ties to terrorism or a criminal background are barred from entry. CBP would like to take this opportunity to share some travel tips.

Here are some travel tips offered by Customs and Border Protection for your visit or return to the United States:

• Have all the required travel documents for the countries you’re visiting, as well as identification for re-entry to the United States. Passports are required for all arrivals into the U.S. by air.

• Make sure you find out the rules and regulations concerning food and agricultural items before you travel, some items are prohibited or have special requirements for importation. Also, all live birds and bird products, whether for personal or commercial use, may be restricted and/or quarantined.

• When you arrive at a port of entry in the United States, a U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer will inspect your documents and ask you questions regarding your travel. Be prepared to tell the officer the purpose of your trip and those items you purchased or obtained abroad.

• If you are a visitor to the United States, the officer may require you to provide your biometrics – digital finger scans and photograph – to verify your identity against your travel documents. This is a simple and fast collection of information preformed during your processing for entry into the U.S.

• As visitors to the U.S. make sure you return your I-94 to the airline gate agent as you board the aircraft for your departing international flight.

• Visit CBP’s Web site at www.cbp.gov to view our “Top 10 Travel Tips” and “Know Before You Go” as well as a wealth of Frequently Asked Questions concerning international travel.

• The CBP Web site has information on airport wait times. This is helpful information to assist you in gauging how long your entry process could take.

If you are traveling by air to Mexico or Canada, please keep in mind that the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative requires all travelers, to and from the Americas, Caribbean, and Bermuda; to have a passport or other accepted form of documentation to enter or depart the United States.

Since January 31, 2008, CBP officers no longer accept an oral declaration of citizenship but require that all individuals entering the country at land and sea ports of entry, from within the Western Hemisphere, have documentary proof of identity and citizenship. Documents that can be used to gain entry into the U.S. include official passports, passport cards, or your birth certificate along with government-issued photo identification, enhanced driver’s licenses and SENTRI cards.

"Customs and Border Protection is the frontline at our Nation's borders and ports of entry. We are responsible for keeping terrorists and terrorist’s weapons from entering this country. We are committed to facilitating legitimate trade and travel while providing a welcoming environment to all,” said Jeffrey B. Baldwin, Sr., CBP Director of Field Operations in Houston. “As we enter this peak travel season, it is imperative that the traveling public be familiar with current travel requirements and procedures when arriving from abroad."

For more information on the latest travel tips and regulations, please visit the CBP website at www.cbp.gov  and view the “Know Before You Go” page.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control and protection of U.S. borders at and between official ports of entry. CBP is charged with keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country while enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws.

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