STERLING, Va. — A handful of international travelers learned of the value of truthfully reporting all currency they possessed to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers at Washington Dulles International Airport recently. That value came to about $113,000 in seized currency.
There is no limit to how much currency travelers can import or export; however, federal law requires travelers to report to CBP amounts exceeding $10,000 in U.S. dollars or equivalent foreign currency. Consequences for failing to comply with federal currency reporting requirements include seizure of all currency, a mitigated seizure penalty, and potential criminal charges.
CBP officers seized a total of $112,819 during five seizures over the last 10 days for violating federal currency reporting requirements. These currency seizures included:
- $36,639 from a family departing Washington Dulles for Laos on October 25;
- $14,221 from a woman departing to South Korea on October 24;
- $22,034 from man who arriving from Ghana on October 22;
- $17,946 from a man and woman departing to El Salvador on October 18; and
- $21,979 from a man departing to Belgium.
including those governing the reporting of currency
travelers bring to or take from the United States.
In each incident, CBP officers allowed the travelers multiple opportunities to be truthful, and to read, understand and acknowledge the currency reporting law before officers inspected the travelers. In each incident, CBP officers found additional currency above what the travelers repeatedly claimed they possessed.
None of the travelers was criminally charged. CBP officers released all travelers to continue their journey.
“Customs and Border Protection is our nation’s border security agency, and currency reporting is one of hundreds of laws that CBP officers enforce every day at our nation’s ports of entry,” said Wayne Biondi, CBP Port Director for the Area Port of Washington Dulles. “These travelers learned a very valuable lesson. The best way for travelers to keep their currency is to truthfully report it all to a CBP officer.”
The total of these seizures tops the $73,900 that CBP officers seized from a man and his son-in-law who departed to Serbia on October 3. Read more details about that seizure here.
CBP routinely conducts inspection operations on arriving and departing international flights and intercepts narcotics, weapons, currency, prohibited agriculture products, and other illicit items at our nation’s 328 international ports of entry. On a typical day, CBP officers seize and average of $356,396 in undeclared or illicit currency. View CBP Snapshot to learn what else CBP achieved ‘On a Typical Day’ last year.
Travelers are encouraged to visit CBP’s Travel website to learn more about the CBP admissions process and rules governing travel to and from the U.S.
Learn how CBP's Office of Field Operations secures our nation’s borders at international Ports of Entry.
The Privacy Act prohibits releasing the travelers’ names since they were not criminally charged.