In this video, we’ll go through the process of what actually happens at the secondary
inspection when someone enters the US at a port of entry. Stay tuned, and I'll see you
on the other side. In this video, we'll talk about the process of secondary inspection,
and what happens at the port of entry when someone enters the US. But before that, if
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over there. So, let's talk about the process of entering the US before we talk about the
secondary inspection. So, when an individual arrives at the US, whether they come by land
from Canada or Mexico or when they arrive by plane at a port of entry, the first step
before you’re actually able to come to the United States, to set foot on the US soil,
you must pass an interview, a short interview with a US Customs and Border Protection person.
And typically, when you come in from the airport, you see there’s a booth, there's a big line,
you are all waiting. Usually, the lines are separated into US citizens and green card
holders. And all the other people that have visas or tourist visas or ESTA. It is important
that at that point, the US Border and Customs Protection officer will conduct a short interview
with the person to determine if they are admissible if they're eligible to enter the United States.
And what did they typically want to find out? They want to know first of all, why are you
coming to the United States? What is the purpose of your visit? Another question they're asking
is what other countries have you visited before coming to the United States? Again, the reason
why they’re asking why you're coming to the United States is because if you are here
on a tourist visa, and you are going to tell them or they'll determine that you're coming
here to work, then you're not admissible, because as a tourist, your only purpose should
be tourism. Right? So, that's why they’re asking, what is the purpose of your entry?
The reason they ask you what other countries have you traveled to is because there's some
countries that may raise an issue, maybe a problem for the person that is coming to the
United States right now, to be able to come here. For example, if you just visited Iran
before coming to the United States, it could be an issue. They may ask you more questions.
So, that's another common question for them to ask upon entry. And finally, they want
to know if you have the right documents needed to be able to come to the United States. For
example, if you have the right visa, if your visa is not expired, they're going to check
that. And finally, they want to know the duration of your stay. So, maximum, you can stay on
any visa, is typically six months. So, they'll verbally want to check with you if you really
are going to be within the limits of your visa. So, those are the kind of things they
do in the initial inspection. They want to know where you're coming from, where you traveled
before entry, do you have the right documents to enter, and what's going to be the duration
of your stay. Now, after this initial preliminary discussion, they may determine that you have
some issues that will cause some doubt as to whether you're actually admissible to the
United States. At that point, the officer will send you to secondary inspection. So
it's a separate area, it's a separate room. At most airports, they have different officers
there. And the purpose of the secondary inspection is actually to determine if they're going
to let you in on that visit. What are they checking at the secondary inspection? So,
in secondary inspection, it's much more detailed. They're going to ask the history of your immigration
history. They're going to ask questions about your travel history. They're going to ask
questions about who you're traveling with? They are going to subject you to a personal
search, they can look at your phone, your computer if you have that. They can look at
CBP records for your prior visits and see if they contradict what you just told them.
For example, if somebody is coming to the US too often as a tourist visa, and they will
ask you how many times have you visited and you say, “I've only been here two times.”
But the system shows seven times. That's an issue. They're going to… they also are now
searching the internet. So, if they Google your name, they can Google your records and
see what social media is out there about you. So, if you're, “Yeah, you say I'm coming
to visit,” but in fact, you're coming to work, because social media shows that you
have a speaking event somewhere. So, those are the things they do, kind of they're trying
to get an overall picture. We had a case wherein secondary inspection, the officers search
the person's belonging and they found a business card. So, that created an assumption. A business
card with a US address on it with the person's name on it. So, that created the presumption
that that person is working in the US. And he was not allowed to enter. Another search
revealed a US bank account. It opened the door for questions. “Why do you have a bank
account?” And the person explained that it's just safer for them not to carry money
and put in the bank account. So, that was not a reason for them to deny their entry.
So, those are the things that happen in secondary inspection. Remember, the key is for CBP officers
to understand if you're admissible, whether you have enough proof to show them that you’re
admissible or not. What happens if they determined that you're not admissible? So, what's going
to happen is that they're either going to turn you away, send you back on the next flight,
or they're going to issue a notice of expedited removal, removing you from the United States
for five years, or they're going to issue a Notice to Appear where you're going to have
to go to court because the violation is more significant on whatever they find in the record.
So, this is typically what happens, we had a lot of cases where people were sent back
because they just didn't satisfy the CBP officer’s requirements. And typically, you get a form
to sign. They issue an interview, will ask you questions, “Have you ever worked in
the US? Have you ever did this? Have you ever did that? All the questions they ask you,
they'll actually have you sign the form with your picture on it and your fingerprints,
and you'll be given a copy of that form. It's very important because that will help in the
future to try to get your visa back if you get denied from entering the US. So, that's
typically what happens when you arrive at the port of entry, and more specifically,
in secondary inspection, would have much more power to check, to search your belongings,
to search you, and research your history coming to the United States. So, hopefully, this
video helps. I think a lot of people were subject to secondary inspection recently.
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And thanks for watching. We'll see you in our next video.