Customs

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Customs Border Protection
Entry/Clearance Procedures For U. S. Gulf of
Mexico
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Entrance Clearance Procedures for the OCS

• Michael Hebert
• Supervisory CBP Officer
• Port of Morgan City
• [phone]
• michael.hebert_at_dhs.gov

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Customs Definitions

• Clearance Approval to depart the United
  States to a foreign port or place,
  outside the 3 miles of the U. S. coastline.
• Entrance Approval to enter the United States
  from a foreign port or place beyond 3 miles of
  the U. S. coastline.
• Stacked Not in production/drilling mode. In
  repair status or idle mode, with or without crew
  on board.
• Free floating When an American or foreign
  flag vessel is not attached to the outer
  continental shelf.

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Vessels required to Enter

• Pursuant to 19 CFR 4.3
• Any vessel from a foreign port or place
• Any foreign vessel from a domestic port
• Any vessel of the United States having
  merchandise on board which is being transported
  in-bond (not including bonded ship's stores or
  supplies), or foreign merchandise for which entry
  has not been made or
• Any vessel which has visited a hovering vessel as
  defined in 19 U.S.C. 1401(k), or has delivered or
  received merchandise or passengers while outside
  the territorial sea.

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Vessels required to Clear

• Pursuant to 19 CFR 4.60
• All vessels departing for a foreign port or
  place
• All foreign vessels departing for another port or
  place in the United States
• All American vessels departing for another port
  or place in the United States that have
  merchandise on board that is being transported
  in-bond (not including bonded ship's stores or
  supplies), or foreign merchandise for which entry
  has not been made and
• All vessels departing for points outside the
  territorial sea to visit a hovering vessel or to
  receive merchandise or passengers while outside
  the territorial sea, as well as foreign vessels
  delivering merchandise or passengers while
  outside the territorial sea.

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Emergency Medical Flights
All medical emergency flights are allowed to
travel and transport ill or injured personnel to
the nearest hospital or medical unit. The pilot
or aircraft company must notify their shipping
agent of all flights in order for local CBP
offices to be notified and also file all proper
documentation APIS. Therefore, NO MEDICAL
FLIGHT should be delayed for any reason, but CBP
must be notified to avoid fines penalties.
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Penalties for Violation of Vessel Entry/Clearance
Requirements

• 19 U.S.C. 1436 Penalties for violations of
  arrival, reporting, entry, and clearance
  requirements
• a) Unlawful acts. It is unlawful
• to fail to comply with section 1431, 1433, or
  1434 of this title or section 91 of title 46,
  Appendix
• to present or transmit, electronically or
  otherwise, any forged, altered, or false
  document, paper, information, data or manifest to
  the Customs Service under section 1431, 1433(d),
  or 1434 of this title or section 91 of title 46,
  Appendix, without revealing the facts
• to fail to make entry or to obtain clearance as
  required by section 1434 or 1644 of this title,
  section 91 of title 46, Appendix, or section
  1644a(b)(1) or (c)(1) of this title or
• to fail to comply with, or violate, any
  regulation prescribed under any section referred
  to in any of paragraphs (1) through (3).

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Penalties for Violation of Vessel Entry/Clearance
Requirements

• Violation of arrival or entry requirements may
  result in the master being liable for civil and
  criminal penalties.
• 19 U.S.C. 1436 Penalties for violations of
  arrival, reporting, entry, and clearance
  requirements
• (b) - Any master, person in charge of a vehicle,
  or aircraft pilot who commits any violation
  listed in subsection (a) of this section is
  liable for a civil penalty of 5,000 for the
  first violation, and 10,000 for each subsequent
  violation, and any conveyance used in connection
  with any such violation is subject to seizure and
  forfeiture.

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Penalties for Violation of Vessel Entry/Clearance
Requirements

• 19 U.S.C. 1436 Continued
• c) Criminal penalty In addition to being liable
  for a civil penalty under subsection (b) of this
  section, any master, person in charge of a
  vehicle, or aircraft pilot who intentionally
  commits any violation listed in subsection (a) of
  this section is, upon conviction, liable for a
  fine of not more than 2,000 or imprisonment for
  1 year, or both except that if the conveyance
  has, or is discovered to have had, on board any
  merchandise (other than sea stores or the
  equivalent for conveyances other than vessels)
  the importation of which into the United States
  is prohibited, such individual is liable for an
  additional fine of not more than 10,000 or
  imprisonment for not more than 5 years, or both.

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Penalties for Violation of Vessel Entry/Clearance
Requirements

• 19 U.S.C 1436 Continued
• (d) Additional civil penalty If any merchandise
  (other than sea stores or the equivalent for
  conveyances other than a vessel) is imported or
  brought into the United States in or aboard a
  conveyance which was not properly reported or
  entered, the master, person in charge of a
  vehicle, or aircraft pilot shall be liable for a
  civil penalty equal to the value of the
  merchandise and the merchandise may be seized and
  forfeited unless properly entered by the importer
  or consignee. If the merchandise consists of any
  controlled substance listed in section 1584 of
  this title, the master, individual in charge of a
  vehicle, or pilot shall be liable to the
  penalties prescribed in that section.

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Advanced Passenger Information SystemAPIS

• What is the Advanced Passenger Information
  System (APIS)?
• APIS is an automated system capable of performing
  database queries on passengers and crewmembers
  prior to their arrival in or departure from the
  United States.

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Advanced Passenger Information SystemAPIS

• When was APIS initiated?
• APIS as a voluntary program in 1988 to collect
  biographical information (name, date of birth,
  nationality, etc.) from air passengers prior to
  departure from foreign and into the U.S.
• On June 6, 2006 the APIS Final Rule (AFR) amended
  CBP regulations pertaining to the filing of
  commercial vessel and aircraft manifests for
  passengers and crew members.

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Advanced Passenger Information SystemAPIS

• When must APIS be transmitted to CBP?
• Arrivals
• Legislation requires all commercial air and sea
  carriers arriving in the United States from any
  place outside of the United States to
  electronically transmit an arrival manifest on
  all passengers and crewmembers to CBP.
• Further information can be found in 19 CFR 4.7b
  for vessels and 19 CFR 122.49a 122.49b for
  aircraft.

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Advanced Passenger Information SystemAPIS

• When must APIS be transmitted to CBP?
• Departures
• Legislation requires all commercial air and sea
  carriers departing from the United States to any
  place outside of the United States to
  electronically transmit an arrival manifest on
  all passengers and crewmembers to CBP.
• Further information can be found in 19 CFR 4.64
  for vessels and 19 CFR 122.75a 122.75b for
  aircraft.

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Advanced Passenger Information SystemAPIS

• Are helicopters or vessels arriving from
  free-floating vessels in the OCS required to
  file APIS?
• Yes, ANY commercial conveyances arriving from a
  free floating vessel from the OCS must file APIS.
  
• When does APIS have to be filed?
• 15 minutes prior to departure from the U.S. port
  and at lease 1 hours prior to arrival back to the
  USA.

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APIS Information Required

• Pursuant to 19 CFR 4.7b
• Full name (last, first, and, if available,
  middle)
• Date of birth
• Gender (F female M male)
• Citizenship
• Country of residence
• Status on board the vessel

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APIS Information Required

• Pursuant to 19 CFR 4.7b
• Continued
• Travel document type (e.g., P passport, A
  alien registration)
• Passport number, if a passport is required
• Passport country of issuance, if a passport is
  required
• Passport expiration date, if a passport is
  required
• Alien registration number, where applicable

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Questions Answers

• Question
• If our aircraft is working offshore in the field
  with fixed platforms, drill ships/rigs and our
  flight instructions change, and we now arrive at
  a free floating vessel, geo-research vessel,
  drill ship not in production, are we required to
  make entry upon arrival?
• Answer
• Yes, your aircraft will be required to be enter
  upon arrival back in the USA and all passengers
  /APIS must be filed and entered with CBP in
  accordance with U S Law.

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B1/OCS VISA REQUIREMENTS OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF
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B1/OCS Endorsement required

• Aliens employed on the Outer Continental Shelf
  (OCS) require B1 OCS visa and a U.S. Coast Guard
  letter of exemption for the vessel or
  him/herself.
• Vessels coming from the OCS are not subject to
  immigration inspection unless they have landed in
  foreign territory since last arriving in the
  United States.
• Regulations for work on the OCS are administered
  by the Coast Guard. 

B1 OCS endorsement required for U S Gulf
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Passport Requirements for the OCS

• As long as a vessel does not call at a foreign
  port, immigration law does not consider this a
  "departure" from the United States and therefore
  upon return, is not considered an entry that
  would require a passport.
• The OCS is not considered foreign for the
  purposes of immigration therefore, passport
  requirements will not pertain to the U.S.
  pax/crew movements from the OCS.
• U.S. Coast Guard Merchant Mariner Document will
  still be accepted as a travel document.

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CBP Ruling on OCS

• http//rulings.cbp.gov/
• The Commissioner of Customs and Border
  ProtectionAttention Office of Regulations and
  RulingsWashington, DC 20229

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Websites of Interest

• www.cbp.gov
• www.regulations.gov
• www.access.gpo.gov