Counting down to Zimbabwe and gradually checking things off the list. Went to CBP in Austin to get my 4457 signed and stamped. The office is an hour away, so had to make time. Prepared the forms ahead of time - typed since my handwriting is somewhat illegible. The CBP officer seemed clueless, perhaps from inexperience, perhaps from poor training. He looked over one rifle of the 2 I brought - and never indicated he found the serial number (kept holding it upside down for some reason). Never even looked at the other. Never checked serial numbers on either rifle, scope, or the cameras I brought. Then signed the form in the wrong @#$%^& place! I told him that could cause me grief when I returned - and pointed out that in my 4 previous trips CBP initialed each item and marked over blank spaces to keep items from being added later. He said - "It'll work. There's no standardization between ports and everybody does it different."

How reassuring.

You seem to have run into a real bonehead. He was wrong regarding the general requirement that blank space be marked out, and he was also and obviously wrong to sign in the wrong place. I'd get a new form from another agent.

Acer

I would not be traveling with a 4457 as you have described. As Mike said that Customs guy was bonehead. He didn't know WTF he was doing but wanted to be right even at your expense. How about sending a letter to his supervisor?

Mark

I'm not confident that anyone in that office knows anything. The officer went back inside the secure area to check with somebody about what he was supposed to do.

I plan to re-do the forms and take them by the Dallas office to see if ignorance is as widespread as I fear.

That's 2 hours of my life I'll never get back...

The above gents are correct. Don't travel without a 4457 that is 100% correct. If another bonehead questions it elsewhere (US or foreign) you won't have a suitable explanation. Be polite but get it done right!
Cal

I went to the Atlanta office and was given a hard time because my guns were not in a locked airline approved case in my suv!! The agent said I had to go home and get my case and bring the guns back to get the 4457. I told her I did not have to do that and asked for her supervisor. The supervisor came out with 4 other officers and repeated the same thing. Finally after 40 minutes and a copy of my drivers license which I never had to do before. I got out of there. I called my congressman's office and the are going to file a congresional complaint. Ther is a lot more but to long to wright about. Dumbass leadership and ignorant enforcers. This just was last Monday.

quote:

Originally posted by Acer:
I'm not confident that anyone in that office knows anything. The officer went back inside the secure area to check with somebody about what he was supposed to do.

I plan to re-do the forms and take them by the Dallas office to see if ignorance is as widespread as I fear.

That's 2 hours of my life I'll never get back...

Done the maneuver many times in Dallas...never a hitch and went in with rifles in soft cases.

I have some 4457's with stamps and some without and never had a problem. If you ever have a problem the officers star number and port of entry is on the bottom if they need to verify. I had one supervisor not even know what a 4457 was.

When i had new forms filled out after moving.

I called and made an appointment.

They provided instruction to me on how i was to bring my 2 - rifles in for the 4457 paperwork to be filled out.

after parking in the airport parking lot i was to bring the rifles in to the airport and walk to there office and they said that the rifles had to be in a case soft or hard case.

I had to Waite about 10 minutes for the prior person to be taken care of and it was about 10 minutes total and i was out the door.

I had the 2 forms filled out going into the office, however they elected to fill out there own copy's.

This is insane. I deal with a Customs guy that's been doing it for many years. You send him via e-mail your gun info and he sends you a 4457 through the mail. There is absolutely no need nor are there any laws requiring this process to be the struggle that Impalaslayer and Acer described.

Mark

My frustration is - this ain't my first rodeo. I have gotten 4457s done at Dallas and Austin on 4 other occasions, and all were very familiar with the process and professional. I know what should be done - but this is the agency that makes the rules - AND THEY DON'T KNOW THEIR OWN RULES!!!

I'm a believer in sweating the small stuff in advance so I don't have to when the stakes are high. So I'll drop in at the Dallas office the next time I'm visiting the grandkid, and roll the dice again. If they are more knowledgeable and I can get a form filled out properly I will contact the Austin office to get the problem corrected for future travelers - but I'm not painting a bullseye on my forehead until I have a properly filled out form in my hands.

Acer, not sure where you are located, but I have had good results with the San Antonio office over the years. Very easy to get in and out with rifles in soft cases and I've never had a problem with an agent not having familiarity with the 4457 or how to fill it out properly. The office is located in Terminal 1 downstairs near the bottom of the escalator as you head to baggage claim.

No issues in Corpus Christi.

If you have problems with these guys, nothing gets their attention like a complaint to CBP HQ in D.C.

Sad to hear your problems-I weas at the Austin office twice last summer and things went slick-just took a few minutes-in fact i left my truck at the curb the second time I was there. In and out in 10 minutes.

Sorry to hear this. The competency of some of our gov’t employees sometimes leave much to be desired. I had a similar experience at the Atlanta office in May of 2012. I downloaded the electronic PDF 4457 form off the C&BP website which allows you to type in your information and then print it. I did so for my rifle, camera and a couple other items. Took them to the C&BP office along with my items to get stamped. When I told the lady agent behind the desk what I was there and gave her the forms, she refused to even look at them and gave me new ones to complete. Would hear nothing of me saying that I downloaded the forms off their website and they were exactly the same as the form she just gave me. She just kept saying I had to complete new ones. A total bee-yatch with room tempature IQ. So I had to spend 20 minutes copying all the information to the new forms. A different agent came out to my truck and looked over my stuff and stamped the forms. He was nice enough and we discussed hunting and guns for a few minutes and then I showed him the forms I downloaded and completed told him that the desk agent insisted I complete new forms. He rolled his eyes and gave me a funny grin but didn’t say anything. I think he knew the woman behind the counter was a moron, but didn’t want to say anything.

Can you place the unlocked ammo box in the Tuffpack with the rifle? If so I think I can do the Tuffpack and carry ons. Has anyone done this? I head to Zim in two weeks.

I cleared customs yesterday in Atlanta. They are now typing in every serial number of every rifle in a computer and checking to see if they are stolen.

I really let them have a piece of my mind. I told them this whole policy is out of control and is doing nothing to prevent crime or terrorism.

I understand that we are all upset by the rash of horrific shootings that have taken place recently but it seems that the government's solution is not to look at a solution but to come up with a bunch of knee jerk policies that do nothing to solve the problem. Does the majority of our population that are not gun owners have not a clue that the government is just "doing something" with no real effect on anything except to encumber the sport we choose?

Who in his right mind would think that a returning hunter from Africa would be reentering the US with a gun that was reported stolen in the US. God help us!

Mark

quote:

Originally posted by AnotherAZWriter:
I cleared customs yesterday in Atlanta. They are now typing in every serial number of every rifle in a computer and checking to see if they are stolen.

I really let them have a piece of my mind. I told them this whole policy is out of control and is doing nothing to prevent crime or terrorism.

They were doing that when I came back last September--its not new- they had 7 armed agents in the cubical where they were checking guns-----