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If you're a Global Entry member with goods purchased purely for your own personal use (not biological or otherwise subject to special considerations - just everyday stuff like clothes, electronics, etc.), and they clearly fall within your personal exemption, do you have to declare anything when going through customs? Will they penalize you if you don't?

From what I have read online, some people say you will annoy the officers if you do, and some say you are required to declare everything even within your exemption. I don't get what the rules are.

P.S. I get that "always declare everything" is the safe advice, that's not the point. I'm asking what the actual rules are, not for mere guidance. A link to an authoritative page would go a long way.

user541686
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2 Answers2

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Global entry memberships doesn't affect any requirements for customs declarations. You must declare all the items imported regardless of your membership status.

See the CBP webpage:

Also, anything you bring back that you did not have when you left the United States must be "declared."

Official regulation:

All articles brought into the United States by any individual must be declared to a CBP officer at the port of first arrival in the United States, on a conveyance en route to the United States on which a CBP officer is assigned for that purpose, or at a preclearance office in a foreign country where a United States CBP officer is stationed for that purpose.

user541686
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oh whatever
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For entries by land into the USA, one must declare every items even those acquired in the USA, see What am I supposed to declare when driving from Mexico to the United States, as a US lawful permanent resident? quoting an official document:

NOTHING TO DECLARE means you have nothing in your vehicle but yourself. It does NOT mean "nothing illegal" to declare!

That does seem to annoy some officers but they are the ones who annoyed me at the first place by sending me to secondary. I was send to secondary once when entering the USA from Mexico for failure to declare because at that time I was unaware of that rule. A US immigration officer told me during a secondary inspection when I was driving from Mexico to the United States that I should have declared items that I were already in my car when I entered Mexico from the US. When I asked him what specifically I should declare, he mentioned as example that I should have declared my clothes present in my car's trunk as well as my electronics. I was advised that my Global Entry privilege would be revoked if I do the mistake again.

And by everything I mean literally everything, i.e. everything single object. Typically they stop me after 5 or 10 items (it's done when discussing with the officer at the booth): "1 Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra, 1 iPhone 12 mini, 1 blue pen, 1 bottle of water, 2 t-shirts, 1 pair of shoes, 1 passport, 1 MSI laptop, etc."

Franck Dernoncourt
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