International Flying: The latest in U.S. Customs and Border Protection regulations.

Over the years, Caribbean Sky Tours (CST) has worked closely with AOPA, EAA and NBAA, as well as with different agencies in the countries where we provide services. As a result, we have been contacted by pilots who have run afoul of U.S. or foreign regulations who were looking for guidance and assistance on how to resolve the dilemma they faced. Just as U.S. aviation regulations change and evolve, so do those of foreign countries.

We have been fortunate to build a close working relationship with the leadership within U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and we meet regularly with CBP Headquarters to review and collaborate on General Aviation issues. Although I was not a proponent of APIS, I am eternally grateful that CBP chose the great people they did to oversee this program. The group has been working hard behind the scenes to improve procedures for general aviation. The following are some of the most common topics regarding CBP that private aircraft operators need to be aware of.

South: CBP differentiates between aircraft arriving from places “south” of the United States versus other places. Basically, every country in the Western Hemisphere, with the exception of Canada and Bermuda, is considered “south.” When arriving from one of these countries “south” of the USA, we must make our first landing at one of 32 CBP “Designated” airports closest to where we cross the USA/Mexico border or the USA coastline unless we have first obtained a Border Overflight Exemption (BOE). Please note that NOT ALL CBP airports in Florida, along the Gulf of Mexico coastline, or the USA/Mexico border are “Designated” airports. However, a few exceptions exist that pilots should also be aware of.

Marathon, FL. While not on the list of Designated Airports, Marathon, FL (KMTH) is a CBP port and can be used in lieu of a Designated Airport. Be sure to contact CBP at the airport to obtain Permission to Land.

Tucson, AZ (KTUS), San Antonio, TX (KSAT), Midland, TX (KMAF): While these airports are Designated Airports, you cannot get to them without overflying another Designated airport. Nonetheless, if you are granted Permission to Land, you may use those airports as your closest airport to the border.

Miami Field Office: The CBP Miami Field Office (MFO) has established that “Flights which are required to land at a nearest designated airport to the border or coastline crossing point may proceed directly to any of the eight designated airports in the MFO Area Of Responsibility (AOR) without an overflight exemption, even if the airport of intended landing is not the one closest to the U.S. coastline crossing point.” The Designated airports in the MFO’s AOR are KEYW, KTMB, KMIA, KOPF, KFXE, KFLL, KPBI and KFPR. So, if you were returning to the USA from Cancun, Mexico, you could overfly KEYW and continue up the east Florida coastline all the way to KFPR and you would be in compliance. However, you COULD NOT overfly the MFO airports on your way to
Tampa (KTPA) when returning from The Bahamas, even though Tampa is a Designated Airport.

Border Overflight Exemptions (BOE): One way to avoid having to land at a Designated Airport is to obtain a BOE from CBP. Over the last several years, CBP Headquarters has simplified and centralized the BOE approval process. Today, you simply identify the operator to whom the BOE will be issued, and any aircraft, crew, passengers and foreign ports are all systematically vetted through APIS when the manifest is transmitted. A BOE holder must ensure that the operator specified in the APIS manifest is the operator to whom the BOE was issued. In addition, to legally utilize a BOE, the flight must be under IFR, fly above 12,500 feet and not make any intermediate stops.

Advanced Passenger Information System (APIS): Since November of 2008, operators of private flights are required to file a DEPARTURE APIS manifest using the Electronic Advanced Passenger Information System (eAPIS) portal when departing the USA for a foreign country and an ARRIVAL APIS manifest when returning to the USA from a foreign country. DEPARTURE and ARRIVAL APIS manifests must be filed and authorization from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) must be received NO LATER than 1 hour prior to departure from the USA or foreign country. This DHS authorization comes in the form of a receipt email which contains a summary of the date, time, departure and arrival airports. Make sure that the information in the DHS receipt email is accurate.

Failing to get the receipt email from DHS means you have not received authorization to depart, so you should not depart. Failing to receive a DHS receipt email may be due to issues with the CBP systems, typos in your email address or emails being sent to SPAM. If you share the eAPIS account you are using with someone else, check to see if they changed the email address and ask them to forward the authorization to you. One last resort is to contact CBP at the port and ask if they can determine if the authorization was issued. Write down the officer’s name or initials in case there is ever a question about having received authorization. As there is no limitation on how early an APIS manifest may be submitted, you can submit it as soon as your itinerary and crew/passenger information is established. CBP always advises, “Transmitting for next week is fine if your plans have firmed up but next Christmas is too far away.” Leaving things to the last minute just invites Murphy’s law.

The rules also require that if you add/remove/substitute crew and passengers or change the travel calendar date in either a DEPARTURE or ARRIVAL manifest, then you MUST resubmit a new manifest to CBP. Any authorizations related to the originally submitted manifest(s) are no longer valid and you must wait for a new authorization from DHS. Changes to departure time, arrival time or arrival location may be made telephonically.

You should NEVER be asked to provide Personally Identifiable Information (PII) such as DOB, passport number or SSN via FAX or email. If you do get such a request, ask for the supervisor, contact CBP headquarters or contact us.

Departing the USA: You DO NOT need to depart the USA from an airport where CBP is present. You can depart from any airport in the USA. In your APIS DEPARTURE manifest, you should enter the airport code of the nearest CBP airport to the departure site and then, in the “Actual Departure Location Description” field, describe the actual place from which the aircraft will depart. This optional field should only be used when the actual departure location differs from the airport listed in the “CBP Airport” field. The “City” field should be the actual city from which the aircraft is departing. When you submit an APIS DEPARTURE manifest to CBP and you receive DHS authorization to depart, the authorization is based on the information that you have submitted, including the departure time.

On occasion, CBP conducts random departure inspections on aircraft departing from the USA, and officers will be dispatched to your departure airport location. If they arrive and you have departed before the time you specified or if you depart after the time specified without being inspected, you could be subject to enforcement action. Always update departure times with CBP.

Returning to the USA: In addition to submitting an ARRIVAL APIS manifest and getting the receipt email from DHS, the regulations specifically require us to also contact CBP at the arrival airport and obtain Permission to Land (sometimes referred to as “Landing Rights”). Historically, different CBP ports have had different procedures for requesting and granting Permission to Land, but that is now becoming more standardized. One significant change is that CBP will no longer grant Permission to Land unless you have first successfully submitted your APIS ARRIVAL manifest. When you are granted Permission to Land by CBP at the arrival port, you will receive an email from CBP (in addition to the one sent by DHS) confirming that Permission to Land has been granted and include specific instructions that CBP may have. If you are denied Permission to Land, you will also receive an email confirming that Permission to Land was denied. Failure to receive the email confirming that Permission to Land was granted is an indication that Permission to Land was not properly issued, and a follow-up request to CBP would be advisable. Remember, the receipt email from DHS alone DOES NOT permit you to land.

The email granting Permission to Land will have several attachments. The first attachment is called “CBP Private Aircraft Arrival Information,” which contains an overview of what the operator of a private aircraft is expected to do to comply with CBP regulations. In addition, you may also find attached a “General Aviation Airport Fact Sheet” containing detailed information on CBP requirements for the specific airport you are landing. These two documents clarify what is expected of you and serve as proof to a CBP officer that you have followed procedures correctly. Lastly, a third document called “Tip of the Month” reviews important topics pilots should be aware of.

The Permission to Land email messages and Port Fact Sheets grant permission based on what you have transmitted in APIS and include port-specific time tolerances; a +/- time allowance based on port operations. If you need to ARRIVE in the USA at a time significantly different from that submitted in your ARRIVAL manifest, you need to contact CBP to re-secure Permission to Land for your new arrival time. CBP officers at the airport must ensure they have the space and manpower to receive and process inbound aircraft.

When arriving in the USA, there is no regulatory basis requiring pilots and travelers to remain onboard an arriving aircraft awaiting formal or direct permission to deplane. CBP officers at some airports may not come out to meet the aircraft and may wait inside the building, whereas at other airports, there may be posted signs with instructions. However, any traveler movement outside the immediate aircraft area or interactions with other individuals is not permitted without specific and direct CBP authorization. In all cases, especially where health and safety concerns present or exist, CBP always emphasizes exercising reasonable and responsible judgment. If your aircraft Auxiliary Power Unit (APU) exhaust is 8 feet or higher above the ground, you do not have to power it down. However, CBP can require you to shut down the APU in cases of enforcement actions.

Canceling or Postponing a Flight: You are required to advise CBP if you are going to cancel your flight or postpone it to another date (which will require that you file a new manifest). This is important because CBP plans its workload and staffing based on manifests they can see in the system. It is unfair and wasteful to have officers assigned to work overtime or for another pilot to be denied an arrival time because CBP was expecting your non-existent flight. When you cancel an APIS manifest, you will receive an automated email confirming that your APIS manifest has been canceled. If you transmitted multiple APIS manifests for the same date, the CBP port may cancel the unnecessary manifests, which can trigger corresponding cancelation emails. Each submitted APIS manifest has a unique eAPIS number, as does the DHS receipt email and CBP cancellation email, so you can match them to determine what has been canceled. If in doubt, contact the port to confirm.

Transporting Currency: Another important point that operators need to be aware of is that you MUST always report if you are taking into or out of a country more than $10,000 USD in monetary instruments. It is not illegal to transport more than $10,000 but failing to report it is illegal. When you transport, attempt to transport, or cause to be transported (including by mail or other means) currency or other monetary instruments in an aggregate amount exceeding $10,000 or its foreign equivalent) at one time from the United States to any foreign country or into the United States from any foreign country, you must file a report with U.S. Customs and Border Protection.

This report is called the Report of International Transportation of Currency or Monetary Instruments, FinCEN Form 105. This form can be obtained at all U.S. ports of entry and departure or on the Web at FinCEN Form 105 (Rev. 7-2003). Alternatively, the report can be filed electronically, an eCMIR, at the following website: https://fincen105.cbp.dhs.gov. Travelers will be able to enter information into an eCMIR up to three days prior to travel, creating a provisional document on the CBP.gov website. Foreign countries will also have their own documents and procedures. Failing to report can result in the seizure of the monetary instruments, fines, or worse.

CBP Officer Says It’s OK: One topic that comes up repeatedly is that a CBP officer “buddy” says it’s OK to land without a BOE or approves some other deviation from the rules. CBP headquarters has made it very clear that NO CBP officer has the authority to override U.S. law. Doing so could get both you and the officer into trouble. Don’t succumb to the temptation of listening to what you want to hear versus what you need to know. Enforcement actions can cost you money, ruin your reputation with CBP and cause you to lose BOE privileges.

Visa Waiver/ESTA: Part of the joy of having a private aircraft is to share the experience with family and friends. However, if any of those are citizens of Visa Waiver countries and they do not have a U.S. Visa, then they cannot fly into the USA on a private aircraft unless you are a signatory carrier or under some very isolated and specific circumstances. Contact CBP before you attempt to do so to avoid unpleasant surprises.

PIC Responsibility: As PIC, you are ultimately responsible for compliance with all regulations in the USA and foreign countries. The PIC is responsible for ensuring that valid passports are brought aboard the aircraft that match the APIS manifest information submitted to CBP and that authorizations to depart are properly received. You cannot blame your spouse or the “person in the office” for any errors or omissions. The buck squarely stops with the PIC. If you ever do face an enforcement action, be honest and forthright. CBP is not out to get us. What they want is compliance and have repeatedly demonstrated a willingness to work with General Aviation to achieve it. This is not a guarantee that CBP will not take enforcement action, those determinations are made on a case-by-case basis, and much depends on the nature and circumstances of the violation. Violations are usually the result of either an oversight or willful intent, don’t give CBP the impression that you willfully violated U.S. law.

Illegal Charters: Unless you have a burning desire to find out more about both the U.S. and foreign legal systems, do not misrepresent yourself as a private aircraft flight when in fact you are operating as a commercial aircraft operator, as defined by CBP (19 CFR 122.1(d)). Note that CBP’s definitions of private and commercial are different from those used by the FAA, so don’t try to walk a fine line with Part 91 definitions as that could land you in serious hot water with both CBP as well as with the civil aviation authorities of foreign countries.

Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI): Flights between the continental USA and Puerto Rico are considered domestic flights if the flight is conducted under IFR, the flight is above 12,500 feet, and there are no intermediate stops. Flights from Puerto Rico to the USA do require a USDA inspection in Puerto Rico prior to departure. Flights from the USA and Puerto Rico to the USVI are considered domestic flights, BUT flights from the USVI to the USA and Puerto Rico are treated as international flights. When departing the U.S. Virgin Islands (USVI) for the USA, always go through the pre-clearance process with CBP in the USVI before departing. APIS must be transmitted as an ARRIVAL into the United States.

CBP is working on other projects that will continue to simplify international operations for both private and commercial general aviation operators. We will continue to work with CBP to support these efforts and to communicate them to the GA community as they come to fruition.