[burkaman]

> Such an infraction is normally considered minor, punishable with a fine of up to $500.

I'm also wondering how you are supposed to declare something like this. They don't pass out those customs forms on flights from Europe anymore, you just go through immigration and the officer asks whatever questions they feel like. In my case the only question was "did you buy anything".

[fp64]

I have filled plenty of paperwork for customs, my employer explained me what I had to do, because I imported stuff on behalf of my employer. I could have also just tried to hide it in my luggage, but then it wouldn’t surprise me if my visa was revoked as well. Why would you mess with customs, in particular if you do this not for your personal fun?

[antonkochubey]

Normally, when you are leaving the baggage claim area, there are two customs corridors - green one for people who have nothing to declare, and red for people who wish to make a customs declaration.

[burkaman]

It's hard to know exactly what happened here, but it sounds like she was confronted before she even got to that step.

> Then, as she headed toward the baggage claim, a Border Patrol officer approached her and asked to search her suitcase.

I'm sure there is something she was supposed to do if her lawyer is acknowledging she violated some regulation, I just have no idea what it would be.

[blagie]

Typically, the customs declaration is filled out on the airplane. This can be done through a mobile app (which most frequent travelers do), in which case, customs might have it before you've even left the plane.

If it's done on paper, this is done at the passport check, before you've picked up your checked luggage, and well before picking a customs lane.

I've certainly been randomly chosen for a screening, and when that happened, a customs agent went up to me (deliberately) shortly after I got my luggage. I forget why, but they have flags for suspicious behavior. I think it might have been because I came back with one more bag than I left with, or some intermediate destination.

There are also, in some airports, customs dogs sniffing things between luggage pickup and customs who can also flag for screens.

So none of this sounds too unusual to me, except for the final step: being shipped off to a detention center. I've never brought in anything improper, but I know people who came to the US with illicit food. The outcome was:

1) A rather serious fine

2) Being screened literally every time they passed into the US

The second was more obnoxious. Every time they came into the US for at least the next half-decade, customs would unpack their bags.

[rdtsc]

That's a pretty good description of what happens at most airports I've been through.

> So none of this sounds too unusual to me, except for the final step: being shipped off to a detention center.

It's because her J-1 visa was cancelled. I am not sure if that was warranted or how threatening frog embryos are, so can't judge there. But if the J-1 visa is cancelled, the person usually has to exit the US and re-apply. She didn't necessarily lose her status as a J-1 student, but she may need a new visa. So the procedure here would have been to put her on a plane to Russia. However they asked her if it would be dangerous for her to be there, and it is, so she got sent to a detention center instead.

[fc417fc802]

It's worth considering how remarkably broken that system is. The end result is detention or deportation of a highly skilled professional with ongoing employment in the US. That's not someone who would typically be considered a flight risk or an overstay risk.

Requiring one to return home to reapply also never made any sense for student visas, at least when it comes to graduate level research. Academics at state funded institutions who are paid off of government grants aren't generally people you need to worry about sticking around if their visa is denied. Neither is it clear why you would ever want to deny a visa to such a person to begin with.

[rdtsc]

> The end result is detention or deportation of a highly skilled professional with ongoing employment in the US.

Agree. However, this kind of visa is not necessarily for highly skilled professionals, it can be for general cultural exchange, even for au pairs. They have to be "sponsored" by someone. As such, it can also be a vehicle to get people in the country and overstay the visa, I know someone who did that. Then, once it's cancelled, the general rule is you can't enter into the country. To a port of entry person a J-1 for a nanny for a rich family is just as good as J-1 for a Harvard researcher. Except the Harvard researcher now did break some rule so is in a much worse position.

> at least when it comes to graduate level research.

Most definitely. There should be someone looking here and saying maybe these should different visa types and the requirement to leave sounds excessive. It shouldn't be the default, I think. Maybe with the most visible cases like these, there is more of a chance to change the rules.

> Neither is it clear why you would ever want to deny a visa to such a person to begin with.

They broke a rule or law and seemingly tried to hide it. At that point I guess it depends on the mood of the person at the port of entry. It shouldn't be like that but it is. There is no general right to have a visa or some way to compel the US government to give you one. A lawyer through a court could make a case here. But in general you can't show up and say "You owe me a J-1 visa" or "you'll un-cancel the previous one".

[BobaFloutist]

I haven't had to fill out a form of any sort the past couple of times I entered. Maybe I was breaking the law by not doing so?

[absolutelastone]

You can go online and do everything before your flight or get a paper form at some point at the airport.