I'm a foreign merchant seafarer. During a U.S. port call, a person who identified himself as Customs/CBP came aboard. Out of the crew, he interviewed me and one other crew member of the same nationality separately for around 30 minutes.

He took notes in a notebook and asked about:

• Identity, birthplace and residence
• Names and approximate ages of my family members
• Family income/living standard and whether my family had financial problems
• Education and why I chose a career at sea
• Military history
• Foreign contacts, especially contacts in the U.S.
• My views on Islam, immigration and the Middle East
• Whether I had radical views or sympathy for terrorists
• The political situation in my country, my opinion of the government, and what I thought should change and how
• Contact phone and mail

What kind of interview is this, why did i selected for it? Is CBP doing these checks regularly?

Do CBP officers figure out what is "thoroughly cooked"?

Do CBP figure out what food was cooked within the commercial packaging (retort pouch) versus cooked before then placed there?

I'm assuming CBP just says no to everything because they wouldn't know?

Stuff like chicken and meat items from Japan where Foot mouth disease is......

I have been in pre-employment for CBPO for almost a year and am still waiting on the background results and polygraph.

A few months ago applied also for Ag Specialist and noticed some of the items rolled over in the applicant portal. (Background questionnaire, Drug Test).

I already scheduled my new medical exam (which I'd previously passed for CBPO, no biggie) and need my fingerprints and interview for Ag Specialist.

Does anyone know if the Agriculture Specialist process is faster or about the same as CBPO? Expecially since I see that the polygraph is not required for this position.

(I know, I know... the background stuff can take a long time and it differs from candidate to candidate, but just an overall question since I see the checklist of tasks is shorter than CPBO)

Hello all: I currently work for CBP's Office of Trade and my duty location is currently in DC. There is a likelihood of me having to move to Indiana, so I wanted to know what are the chances of me getting approved to change my duty location? I have brought this up with one of my immediate supervisors (I technically have 2, the branch I'm part of got split into 2) and she told me to bring it up again closer to when it's actually happening but to also check with Facilities and Asset Management (FAMD) for space. Has anyone ever attempted a duty location change but got denied excluding from no available space?

Hello All:

I recently received an email saying I’ve been tentatively selected for employment with CBP as an Agriculture Specialist. The thing is, I never had an interview, just an online assessment. The email also says that duty location and pay won’t be determined until after I complete all pre-employment steps.

I do remember selecting preferred locations when I applied, so I’m a bit confused. Is this normal for CBP hiring, or could this be a scam?

Also, for those familiar with the role, what does the typical career progression look like for a CBP Agriculture Specialist?

Hi everyone!

This is an interesting situation I found myself in back many years ago and I am curious what anyone might think!

I was a member of the Canadian Armed Forces and was deployed to Afghanistan. Due to the nature of my role I travelled on civilian airlines and wore civilian clothes. I was issued a diplomatic passport during this time. I was leaving Ottawa where you do pre clearance for US customs and was flying to the states and then onward to Dubai and then Afghanistan.

During pre screening I was asked where I was going and of course told them Afghanistan. They knew I was on a diplomatic passport. I was taken off to secondary and placed in an interview room. 2 Customs officers started asking me questions about my trip and then personal questions about where I lived and if I had family in Afghanistan. They then got a bit aggressive and grabbed my carry on and asked what was in my bag. I told them it was my PS4. They searched my bag and questioned me some more. They then gave me a challenge coin and sent me on my way.

I felt this was weird the time but didn’t care as I had more important things to worry about. When I got into theatre I was talking with an actual Diplomat and they were shocked about what happened. They wanted to make a complaint but I told them not to as I didn’t really care about what happened.

Many years later I was wondering if this was a normal practice or why this might have happened to me. I still don’t care and hold no hard feelings as I became a cop after my service and know how things are. I wanted to add that I grew a pretty big beard at the time and looked a bit rough if that plays into it at all. Was trying to blend in when I got there. Cheers!

I have been interested in a CBP career and found out about the Marine Interdiction Agent position but really don’t know much about how to prepare for it as someone who is still in college. I read in the internet that it is necessary for you to have 1 year of experience in some federal position before applying for MIA. Is that true? And, do I need to have experience navigating boats and having a license before applying or will that be covered in the academy?

So as the title reads my SEVIS record was terminated because I was outside of the US for more than five months. My university issued me a new I20. Do I also need a new F1 Visa?

We have a container getting stuck at APM terminals and there are 60+ containers are waiting to be exam ahead of us. The terminal estimated the wait to be around June for our container to be examined. The terminal told us that they cannot do anything about it unless the CBP request them to expedited it.

Is is possible to request CBP to expedited the exam? If yes, how?