Americans entering Cuba from Canada and then going through US Customs?

Hello, just spent an amazing week in Cuba. I'm coming back from Montreal to New York via the Amtrak train (tomorrow!) and wanted to know how to get past US customs (the customs procedure takes place literally on the train). Do I lie on the customs document and say I haven't been anywhere else? If so, what if they see and question my Canadian entry stamp from Cuba? I would then be lying to a border guard on my customs document. Or do I just come clean on the form and say I've been to Cuba? What would be the easiest and most painless way for me to get past customs. I know the reality of me actually getting in trouble for going to Cuba is slim but what would be the best way for me to get past customs without lying?

Leaving in less than eight hours-hope someone answers this on time!

-B

I know the reality of me actually getting in trouble for going to Cuba is slim but what would be the best way for me to get past customs without lying?

Given that not a single USer has been even minimally fined in the past EIGHT years for illegal travel to Cuba perhaps you should be both honest and relaxed.

So just declare Cuba on the customs sheet? Go through with the stern warning at best?

I'm tempted to suggest that you should have thought about this prior to your trip but will restrain myself LOL......
The middle course of action is to only list Canada and if asked further to say you forgot/made a mistake by not listing Cuba. The very very high probability is that you won't be asked irrespective of the stamps which may or may not include a Cuban one. The even higher probability is that none of this matters unless you lie in response to direct questions and then even then.....
BTW I don't really get why someone travels to Cuba knowing it is technically illegal and then doesn't have the guts to be up front about that.

Yeah, but it seems its the regular course of action to just not declare it on the customs sheet (albeit thats what people do via Mexico, not sure about Canada which is why I'm asking)

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Lying t customs officers is a felony. Don't do it. Write down Cuba, tell them you went there as a tourist. They may yell at you and tell you that you have been naughty, but they are not going to arrest you, and as a US citizen you can't be denied entry.

Please let us know how it goes.

Ouch balkan, the reference to sending US travelers back to guantanamo is particularly ironic....

"No wonder we start hating the USA .."
I reckon you must be using the 'royal we'.

Balkanexpress: When I return to Miami on a flight coming direct from Havana or Holguin, US Immigration says to me:

"WELCOME HOME!"

Bob the return thru Montreal is not quite so friendly, I still feel like a criminal even tho I have not actually been bothered for several years.... This might be true of all entries into the taciturn northern climes......

Hi beasamel! Can you follow up with a post on your experience? Did Cuba stamp your passport upon entry/exit? I've been reading that they are now doing so but was wondering if I could ask them to not stamp it.

Also, what did you end up saying to the custom's agents at the US border and how did it go? Thanks!

I've been reading that they are now doing so but was wondering if I could ask them to not stamp it.

Of course you can but no one can guarentee that request will be honoured.
Statistically one can almost guarantee all this is irrelevant.

Remember that the overwhelming majority of Americans who visit Cuba do so legally. If you are one of those small numbers who go without a license, do not tip them off by acting guilty when they are probably are assuming you are innocent.

But do people who go through legally with a license have to show the license to the US border people? I'm just wondering what the best course of action would be at the US border if Cuba does stamp my passport...

Dear Beasamel:

Use your head:

#1. You went to Cuba to visit "Family"
#2. You have a half sister who lives in Habana.
#3. You went to take your Family much needed medicine.
#4. You stayed with family NOT in a resort.
#5. You travel thru Montreal because you can't stand Miami.
End of story.

But do people who go through legally with a license have to show the license to the US border people?

I have never been questioned or asked to show my license. I also have never had anyone comment about my 3 full pages of Cuban immigration stamps.

But do people who go through legally with a license have to show the license to the US border people?

A general licence is not something that you actually apply for and receive as a bit of paper.
So IF someone e.g. has family in Cuba and choses to travel there via Mexico or Canada or the moon they are travelling under the general licence provisions of ODAC.
Why not actually read the actual OFAC regulations?

I have been to Cuba over 20 times and the last 2 times Cuba stamped my US passport (April and September).

I always lied to customs and I always looked forward to it but you can't lie with a stamp in the passport. My passport has extra pages and it full of stamps but still it is there if they look so I said I was in Cuba.

First time. "I met a girl on the internet". Agent said he "wasn't going to bust my balls" and advised me to get a permit if I plan to go back"

Second time. I was taken into the secondary inspection. Lots of questions. I filled out the OFAC forms. I joke that I have a girlfriend in Cuba and any fine you possibly give me is cheaper than my divorce. After 30 minutes I overhear an annoyed voice "I got a guy born in PA here who has been to Cuba 12 times, nobody cares, why should I?". Then after another 15 minutes "So are you going to prosecute or not? So you don't care? Should I just let him go?" Then he comes out and let me go. I never said I was there 12 times but that is approx. how many times I was there via Canada so they certainly have access to flight manifests, etc... (cuba->canada flights pass over US airspace so they know you were there if they want to look)

(Note: For me this is part of the adventure. I'm always super cooperative, positive, friendly, honest and open with customs officials because I have nothing to hide. I just think it is ridiculous I can't go to Cuba for something that happened 60 years ago)

Unless you have a very good excuse (your sister lives in Montreal for example) to explain yesterdays Canada entry stamp by air in your passport don't lie. Tell them you were in Cuba. It is illegal to go to Cuba but nobody cares. The worst they will do is question you for a while. Definitely don't bring any souvenirs and it would help to say something stupid like "Obama made it legal".

People on these Amtrak trains get stopped carrying dope/guns/slaves/etc every day. Maybe some questions if you admit travel but get caught lying and you are missing that train.

Dear Beasamel:

Use your head:

#1. You went to Cuba to visit "Family"
#2. You have a half sister who lives in Habana.
#3. You went to take your Family much needed medicine.
#4. You stayed with family NOT in a resort.
#5. You travel thru Montreal because you can't stand Miami.
End of story.

Lying to a federal officer is a felony and they are trained to tell if you are lying and ask follow up questions. Giving them an elaborate false back story is a terrible idea. Just tell them you went to Cuba as a tourist. Decline to answer any other questions and decline to fu=ill out any forms. As a US citizen, they have to let you in to the country. They worst that will happen is that they will yell at you and bluff and tell you that you are in big trouble if you don't answer this question or fill out this form, but it's an act.

But do people who go through legally with a license have to show the license to the US border people? I'm just wondering what the best course of action would be at the US border if Cuba does stamp my passport...

They don't have to show the license any more. They just have to have gone for an "Approved" reason, like visiting family.

As mentioned above, there has never been a general license to show. A general license is a state of being, not a piece of paper.

And of course, they know far more about you than they let on. They know that you have been to Cuba whether or not there is a stamp in your passport.

.......horses and flogging

Citizenship has its privilege and after reading this thread I feel blessed that I don’t have to give false, incomplete or misleading statements and jump through hoops of fire through different countries and time zones to spend a week in Cuba. I am less than an hour from the airport and from take-off to landing I can be there in 3 hours on a direct non-stop flight. I can have breakfast in Toronto and lunch in Cuba and been a member of my airline I can take advantage of seat sale like the one last month Toronto to Varadero $300 including taxes for stay up to 6 months and naturally members don’t pay for carry-on or check-in luggage.

Oh thanks Rick for pointing out the absurdity of our (US) relations with Cuba- we are painfully aware of it already! But from theTT perspective, this thread SHOULD and hopefully WILL inform other US travelers that they can travel to Cuba without hesitation even tho the Customs people will be pretending to uphold a law which they clearly have no interest in. It is a charade, and every traveler deals with it differently but the basic message is: Go on to Cuba and have a great time!

I was not making a political statement and I couldn’t care less or lose any sleep if Americans have to jump through hoops of fire flying under the radar to get there. Life is not fair and I feel blessed when I compare my travel experience with others how easy it is for me to travel there. Cuba is not for everyone and if anyone feels uncomfortable about breaking the law than don’t go. There are thousands of places more interesting than Cuba.

#25 Cuba is a thousand times more interesting to me than most other places personally traveled

Different strokes, soyjin.

Tranquilo.

Cheers,
Terry