US Customs

[jetpig32]

Anyone played with eAPIS. Making a manifest is a joke. It has to be .xml file conforming to their xml schema. In laymans terms, you have to have software or be good with .xml reading. I'm just not that sharp.

 

[jross]

You'll still get it in March....maybe April or June. lol

Maybe you misunderstood my post. We paid for the expedited shipping and received our decal within two weeks of purchasing it online.

 

[ksu_aviator]

Maybe you misunderstood my post. We paid for the expedited shipping and received our decal within two weeks of purchasing it online.

I understood. This is the government you know.

 

[ksu_aviator]

Anyone played with eAPIS. Making a manifest is a joke. It has to be .xml file conforming to their xml schema. In laymans terms, you have to have software or be good with .xml reading. I'm just not that sharp.

I'm playing with it right now, and I am able to enter the information via the website. No xml required. I think the xml is for advanced users.

There is one serious flaw with the system. There is no way of making changes unless you can get on a computer. Fat lot of good that will do me in Mexico where internet service is spotty and many airports don't have internet.

BTW, Laredo (my favorite place to go) has told me that pilot's should still fill out the 178. So, nothing has changed except you have to get online before you cross the border. You still have to call. You still have to file a Customs Notification Flight Plan. You still have to have the 178. You still have to have the passenger fill out a personal decleration. Couldn't all of this have been solved by just requiring pilots to fax the Form 178 instead of just walking in with it?

 

[Hawker800]

Ours came in over the weekend finally. 7 weeks start to finish. Now for this Apis business.

 

[jetpig32]

Perhaps I am missing something on eAPIS. There are 3 steps, right. You need a notice of Departure, notice of Arrival, and have to upload a manifest. This manifest must be in .xml, does it not?

 

[ksu_aviator]

Perhaps I am missing something on eAPIS. There are 3 steps, right. You need a notice of Departure, notice of Arrival, and have to upload a manifest. This manifest must be in .xml, does it not?

NO. Two steps. File a notice of departure and notice of arrival. When you do that, you fill in the manifest information. It is four pages: Aircraft info, Flight info, Crew info, Passenger info. It is all very easy...unless you can't get to a computer. Then you are f******.

 

[AC560]

You'll still get it in March....maybe April or June. lol

I ordered one on the DTOPS site on 7JAN not exactly sure how long it took to get as I was traveling but when I got home on 25JAN it was in my mail box.

 

[jetpig32]

Got it now. Was just looking too deep in to the eAPIS handbook.

 

[Pez D. Spencer]

I'm assuming you used your new number?

I just bought ours a week ago, hopefully it gets here before our trip in March.

ours took nearly 8 weeks. lousy. hope you get 'em in time.

 

[ksu_aviator]

BTW...I've been going back and forth with CBP on this eAPIS deal. It appears there is no way to make changes via phone. Your only option is to find an internet capable computer. If you can't get to a computer, you can't come to the US. You can designate someone to make submissions for you and you can file weeks and months in advance. I have a company secretary and my wife checked out on eAPIS so that I don't get stuck.

If you have changes to the passenger manifest, you have two options.

*If you have a deletion, you do nothing more than call the local CBP of landing and report the deletion (this is the only exception to the computer rule).

*If you have an addition, you can go online and submit a new manifest with only the new passenger's (and the crew member's) information under the same tail number.

All other changes require an entirely new submission.

EAPIS replaces nothing. You still have to call the local CBP and inform them that you will be arriving. They don't automatically get the manifest. They have to pull the manifest off the computer and they won't know to do that if you don't call. My understanding is that you still have to have Form 178 and the Personal Declaration, even though all the information on the eAPIS is on the 178 and P-Dec. You no longer have to fax the Form 178.

As always, you still have to file a flight plan with the US and activate it before crossing the border. That probably goes without saying, but I threw it in there just in case.

Hope this helps...if anyone has anything else to add, I'd love to hear it. I'm learning new stuff everyday. The tutorial is woefully lacking in information.