Part 135 Customs

[h25b]

Thanks for all of the help... Just got back this afternoon. Been in to and out of Canada plenty of times part 91 and just wanted to make sure I covered all of the 135 bases. We went in and no one met us so we got cleared over the phone. Coming in we had no problems whatsoever. The agent was very easy to get along with. Have to go back Thurs. so I hope things go as smoothly..

Possible trip to Central America coming up later this month. There I really have no idea what I'm doing.. My partner speaks Spanish so maybe we'll be o.k.

 

[kilroy]

We got nailed for 5000$$ a couple of years ago because of the Visa Waiver program.. Learned the hard way about bringing aliens back in the country that originaly came in on a commercial flight.

Almost got nailed on a tech stop going thru ILM from Fort De-France. The customs officer asked our pax to come into the terminal to get processed. Once they were in the building the try to violate us for trying to clear a alien into the USA without a visa. And they wanted us to fly them back to Fort -De-france. After some further discussions and 3 calls to the superviser at 3am they let us continue to Canada.

Thing is Canadian customs has the option to inspect you on arrival. But they also have the option to clear you without an inspector appearing.

When you arrive, if nobody's there to meet you, call CANPASS. Tell them you're at CYYZ (or where ever), you're arrival time, and that you have no changes (since your call to them before you left). They'll give you a release number. Record that for future reference.

We cleared in CYYZ last week and two inspectors met us. Most of the time we just get a release number over the phone.

One other thing to watch out for...if you're bringing anyone back in to the U.S. who's not a U.S. citizen they MUST have a U.S. visa. The only exception is a Canadian citizen.

Passengers often mistakenly believe that because they can come in to the U.S. on the visa waiver program, they can do the same thing on a private airplane. Not so. You, the PIC, are liable for $5000 per infraction for bringing an alien in to the country, even someone from, say, the U.K., if they don't have a visa. And they can force the operator to take that alien back out of the country.

Not problems any of us would want to face.

edit:

OMT...there is no consitancy in among U.S. Customs and Immigration inspectors concerning the requirement for a Gen Dec and/or PAESAR 178 form. The regulations say that a commercial (135) flt needs a PAESAR. I always have both ready and hand them both to the inspector. If that inspector doesn't require one or the other, all I've lost is 5 minutes of my time for having filled it out.

 

[eljefe]

Ah...yup.

A real problem arises from the fact that many Customs inspectors are not aware of the regulations themselves. One may give you bad advice, telling you that you can bring a person in on a visa waiver. Then you show up and face a different inspector who knows the real story and you're screwed.

Another problem I used to have is lack of understanding of the rules at embassies and consulates. I'd tell our principle that their guest MUST have a visa. That guest would go to an embassy or consulate, only to be told they didn't need of visa to come in from France, or wherever, because of the visa waiver program.

I finally resorted to writing a letter to the director of immigration at a major U.S. port. I asked him to confirm, in writing, my understanding that a visa was required on private aircraft, and that one should not be denyed to an applicant by an issuing agency because of the visa waiver program. I got a perfect letter in reply and I still use it. When ever someone questions whether or not they need a visa, or if someone has trouble gettnig one at an embassy or consulate, I fax them a copy of the letter.

Bottom line as previously indicated....don't bring anyone in to the U.S. without a visa unless they're a U.S. or Canadian citizen.