Have you flown into USA from another country with > $10k cash
 

curious if anyone here has ever flown into the USA with large amounts of cash from another country.. like $10k+, did you declare it? did customs harass you?

I would highly recommend declaring it...

put 5k in ur pocket and 5k in ur carry on
You ll be Fine.
or take $9999.00 and legally u dont have to declare it at all

i never travel with that kinda cash just cause im worried about customs harrasing me.. just curious if any of you have, and what happened

what are the chances of customs telling you to empty your pockets?

Zero.

Follow the advice above about 9999.00 and forget about it.

i think $9999.00 is more suspicious than declared $15k.. they'll know you are trying to evade reporting requirements.. so if customs never makes u empty your pockets, then why not take $10k cash in pocket, $5k in hand luggage :D

won't a bundle of cash show up on the baggage xray?

9999.00 is legal so what is the issue if it is suspicious? You did nothing wrong.

If you declare it, they'll ask you where it comes from. If they think your story is fishy, then you're in trouble.
When I used to export sporting goods from the US to Europe, I often landed in New York with 50 to 100k in cash, that was in the early 90's and when you were buying from Chinese wholesalers in NYC, it was cash or walk. Never had a problem with customs, just showed them my business cards and previous invoices and that was it...

I was getting my shoes shined at the toronto airport right behind where security emptys out to the gates. I said to the shoe shine guy "do you see many people run thru here with tons of cash?" He says "All the time, especially the asian people with cash strapped to their legs and chests."

I said "what happens when they get caught my security?" He says "Nothing much, they just have to go back to customs and declare it".

Interesting... I think most of them say they won it at the casino and don't want to declare it but most likely it's money of illegal gains being shipped back to asia on human mules.

well ive never had customs tell me to empty out my wallet or my pockets.. its pretty easy to hold $10g in pockets

When being questioned by your average not-impressed-with-his-job customs guard one time, he asked me if I had over $10k on me. I laughed and said no. He went on to say that this includes credit cards and any other "monetary instruments" including cheques addressed to me. I said no just to shut him up, but yes, my credit card limits total over 10k. Who doesn't?

Stupid customs.

Mistake costs dishwasher $59,000

...
Two years ago, Zapeta was ready to return to Guatemala, so he carried a duffel bag filled with $59,000 -- all the cash he had scrimped and saved over the years -- to the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport.
...

http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/09/27/imm...ney/index.html

you're fucked

just hide it in your anus and you'll be fine

Lots of countries kill you on fees when you bring in money through the legal route. This is probably legal cash that they are taking in to avoid the govt getting a cut.

That's stupid, no I haven't and I won't.

if its legal money its really not a problem to declare

I did it a few times and didn't declare it.
But then again I have never been picked out the line to have my stuff searched though.

The reason I don't declare it is because I am not a US citizen and I already have to wait hours normally to get through customs so after a 8 hour flight I just want to get to my apartment or hotel asap.

The money was always legit though, just didn't feel like waiting hours to explain. Since two years I have a bank account in the US so it is not really an issue anymore these days.

If you're flying into the US and look suspicious, guess what? It's not like you HAVE to have committed ANY crime for them to refuse you entry. It's not like you're dealing with a cop...there is no justice system. If they're having a bad day and you look suspicious, you just might not get in. It doesn't matter if it's "legal".

There is a simple solution to the problem.....you are allowed to bring in $9,999 LEGALLY....they can count if they like and NOTHING will happen to you....of course, this also means that your girlfriend can bring in $9,999 and so can your best friend, and his girlfriend, and your assistant, and his driver and anyone else you want to take. So....in a nutshell, take some friends on a free vacation ;)

--T

not done, but declare it

Put it in the bank in your country and use your credit card. Problem solved. For everything more than 10k euro you can use target wire transfers instead of credit card. They are instant and cost some money, but when you transfer 50 - 100k that cost is practically zero. My bank charges me 60 euro per target transfer.

Said that... unless it's a cash or walk operation... use your bank.

You people are all wrong and paranoid. It is not illegal to bring in 10k or more into the us, I do it all the time, what is illegal is to lie and not declare it on that stupid form they have you fill out. I happen to do (way to much) gambling. I go out of the country often and always declare the 10k plus when returning and at worst they ask you why, and or where the money was from and I say gambling and general spending cash and that is the end of that. If however you do not declare it and for some reason they search you and find it they can and most likely will sieze it. As a matter of fact my 47th b-day was 2 weeks ago (Jan 17th) and I took the family to the Atlantis in the Bahamas and not only me but one of my 2 sons both had over 10k on us and declared it. No biggie, the agent joked and asked me to adopt him and said glad to see someone had some luck.:2 cents: Little does he know the money we had was not as much as we went with..:(


:pimp

holy fuck i am in walmart right now i am gonna buy this shit and solve all my canada/usa border crossing problems in one simple step. thanks for the tip homie

http://photos-h.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos..._5729811_n.jpg

Look at the state you all live in now. WTF?!?! Scared to enter or leave the USA with over 10k of YOUR hard earned money. No one sees anything fucked up about that? Afraid to travel with your own money.

Declare it, and tell them to piss off. It's your money. If they ask you where you got it, tell them you work for a living and not everyone makes a shit wage busting the balls of successful people at the airport.

I think <10k no forms to fill out, over >10 you have to fill out forms, tell them exactly where they money came from, etc... if the story sounds shady they can probably lock you up until the details you provided are verified...

I drove down to US from Canada and we were asked if we had any cash on us and my buddy had $6k on him and we declared it. Well that cost us about 2 hours of bullshit, they had the dogs go through our car they made us empty out our wallets and any bags we had with us.


I also know of a Canadian guy that was driving down from Canada, had $50k+ in cash and over $200k in jewelery he didn't declare any of it and they found it when they searched his car...he was arrested they took the cash the jewelery and his brand new 5 series BMW and he was not allowed back in the US for 5 years...:Oh crap

I think in the end he did manage to get the car back but lost the cash and jewelery

10k is nothing, it would be hard to see that in an xray

:thumbsup:thumbsup:thumbsup

I must apologize about my response above....I guess I read too much into this thread because I thought this conversation was how to get the money in the country WITHOUT PAYING TAXES ON IT. Jim is absolutely correct, you can bring in as much money as you want to....there is no limit....as long as you declare it.....but know with certainty that any money over $10k that you declare WILL BE TAXED based on how and where you obtained the money. If you tell them you won it gambling, for example, you will be sent a 1099 for gambling winnings and unless you can show losses that total more than $10k you will absolutely have to pay ordinary income taxes on it (some of the highest taxes there are). If you can prove that it is dividend income, for example, then you will pay 15% Dividend Taxes on it as long as the country has a tax treaty with the US.

Sorry if I was misleading in my previous post...it was not my intent.


--T

Customs guards remind of what Tommy Lee Jones says about FBI agents in MIB - They don't have a sense of humour that they are aware of.

I've had a few scraps with them, always as I return to the USA from being abroad for over a year at a time. It's the same old song and dance:

Why were you in XXXXX so long?
Because I live there.
Where are you coming from?
XXXXXX
What takes you there?
I live there.
How long were you there?
You are holding my passport, you tell me. No one cares how long I was there but you.
What do you do for a living?
I work.
What is your profession?
What's your wifes name? Where does she work?
Don't get smart, what do you do for a living?
Let the IRS worry about that. Do you see the valid passport you're holding? It says I'm a citizen of the United States of America. That means I am free to come and go from the United States, at will. If I'm not being detained, am I free to go now?
You are not being detained.
So then I'm free to go. Give me my passport please. My sick mother is waiting on me.
We're going to have a look in your bags. Step over there please.
The tranny porn is in the top zipper. I know your type is into that sort of thing so I brought it just for you. By the way, that's a nice thick mustache you have.

It usually goes downhill from there.

I hate those pricks and don't have a problem busting their balls right back. I figure the worst they will do is not let me enter (lol) and send me back to the place I didn't want to leave in the first place. It would give me a good excuse. "Sorry mom, your failing, fucked up country won't let me enter for no reason at all, you'll have to come visit me next time."

I've been through it with them bringing porn into the USA, and that was a nightmare. However, it only cost time and after it was all over and they saw I didn't have CP, I was free to go.

man maybe you guys are white thats why..

im black, i get harrased everytime i come back to new jersey..last time they looked at my passport, saw i had stamps all over, then they wanted to know who is financing my trip, how i can afford to travel..

i say i do affiliate marketing, then they want business cards, they also want some kind of proof of how much i make, luckily i had some undeposited checks and i showed them, then they wanted my company website link, i spent like 2hrs cause of BS, only BECAUSE my passport stamp showed i basically left/returned to the USA every 3 weeks..

fucking usa.. i wont even try taking anything near 10k.. if i declare it they will still think its drug money and seize it..

Man I didn't realize they weren't allowed to ask you basic questions.... if you hate the US so much, why are you a citizen?

the folks I know who fly internationally buy gold coins and fly with them. TSA says no problems for gold coins, they only have to report US currency over 10K.