Question

I have a felony charge that was back in May 2001 wondering if there be a problem cruising to the Bahamas.everything has been paid and it's been 17 Years ago.I have a letter from the governor were he restored my rights.

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As best I know you will be fine.

Sailing to places such as Canada could be a problem but don't see any issues for the Bahamas.

Keith

Canada is the only country that we hear about here.

Welcome to Cruise Critic.

You will be fine sailing to the Bahamas.

You will probably get flagged by customs when returning. If so, when disembarking, the cruise line staff will call down to customs and they will send someone to escort you to the interview area. They'll look through your bags ask you the standard questions then let you go.

However, if there are other people getting pulled (for similar reasons, or because they got caught with too many duty free items, undeclared high value purchases, etc), you might be waiting a while, so keep this in mind if taking plane/bus/train/etc. after the cruise.

Customs is concerned with the transportation of goods, not a person's criminal history.

I have a friend who the above happened to presumably because they were (incorrectly) under investigation by the FBI - I'm only going to say that it was money related. When asking why they were singled out, the customs officers claimed to not know, but did say "have you ever been arrested?" (my friend hadn't). Depending on the nature of the felony, this could happen to Daisymae as well. Wanted to warn her, better safe than sorry.

Customs is concerned with the transportation of goods, not a person's criminal history.

They are now Customs and Border Protection, so do both.

Yes, in the old days, INS handled passport checks and immigration issues, and Customs handled goods, but that changed over 10 years ago.

Customs is concerned with the transportation of goods, not a person's criminal history.

Perhaps you've forgotten about the "Border Protection" part of "CBP." They are very concerned about one's criminal history particularly if there's a past conviction or, equally concerning to them, an old "charge" and no federal record of the disposition of your case (which happens more than you might think/realize).

OP: the letter from the governor and/or a "no criminal history" report from whoever maintains those records in your state is pretty much useless if that information was not originally sent to the FBI in order to update your federal database arrest record. THIS HAPPENS A LOT - NY Times had an article about it several years ago.

If you are ever "live scan" fingerprinted for a federal background check (as would be done at a "global entry" CBP interview) and the acquittal/dismissal/ et al. exoneration was not sent to the Feds, all they will see is "no disposition." And some things, like "global entry" are (understandably) sort of "guilty until proven innocent."

Making matters worse, and this has happened to several acquaintances, you may live in a state or county where acquittal/dismissal court records are eventually destroyed. Try unraveling that mess!

If you want to put your mind at ease, get a preemptive "live scan" fingerprinting at an approved location, which will net you a certified federal background check for "personal use." It will cost you between $50-$100 and, ironically, your local PD will not do it for you unless you've been arrested (or are applying for a job in law enforcement).

BTW, most fingerprinted background checks for jobs like school personnel only check your record in that state. And, as aforementioned, you may still have an erroneous "no disposition" at the federal level.

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Perhaps you've forgotten about the "Border Protection" part of "CBP." They are very concerned about one's criminal history particularly if there's a past conviction or, equally concerning to them, an old "charge" and no federal record of the disposition of your case (which happens more than you might think/realize).

 

 

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While I’m not disagreeing with you, I’m not sure why border patrol would be concerned with the prior criminal history of a US citizen. A non-US citizen of course because they have to be granted entry. But as long as there isn’t an open warrant for you to be arrested on, they can’t stop a US citizen from entering the country based on their US criminal history. The US owns them at that point, they can’t be deported and forced upon another country.

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While I’m not disagreeing with you, I’m not sure why border patrol would be concerned with the prior criminal history of a US citizen. A non-US citizen of course because they have to be granted entry. But as long as there isn’t an open warrant for you to be arrested on, they can’t stop a US citizen from entering the country based on their US criminal history. The US owns them at that point, they can’t be deported and forced upon another country.

 

 

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Criminal history includes open warrants (and prior arrests) where there is no evidence of any disposition (sufficient to necessitate additional questions).

Even without an open warrant or questionable history, there are numerous behaviors an individual (re)entering the country may exhibit (including US citizens) that would catalyze additional scrutiny. The CBP is a law enforcement agency - one of the first a resident/visitor encounters upon entering the US.

Ergo, they should and do have more than a passing interest in the criminal history of US citizens.

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Criminal history includes open warrants (and prior arrests) where there is no evidence of any disposition (sufficient to necessitate additional questions).

Even without an open warrant or questionable history, there are numerous behaviors an individual (re)entering the country may exhibit (including US citizens) that would catalyze additional scrutiny. The CBP is a law enforcement agency - one of the first a resident/visitor encounters upon entering the US.

Ergo, they should and do have more than a passing interest in the criminal history of US citizens.

 

 

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...... and CBP can certainly detain an American citizen for transfer to local authorities.

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While I’m not disagreeing with you, I’m not sure why border patrol would be concerned with the prior criminal history of a US citizen. A non-US citizen of course because they have to be granted entry. But as long as there isn’t an open warrant for you to be arrested on, they can’t stop a US citizen from entering the country based on their US criminal history. The US owns them at that point, they can’t be deported and forced upon another country.

 

 

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CBP means Customs and Border Protection - which is who clears you upon re-entry to the US and who might have information on outstanding warrants, etc. - leading them to question you.

Border Patrol is the arm charged with preventing illegal entrants fro crossing into the US, and it is unlikely that they would have information concerning their "clients".

History lesson. :)

CBP is made up of several former agencies. Border Patrol is one. Customs is another. They are also made up of part of the former INS (Immigration and Naturalization Service). And also a small part of Department of Agriculture.

In the old days, entering the US, you would see an INS officer first for passport inspection and stamping. Then, while waiting for your bags, the beagle might be sniffing around. The beagle and handler were Ag. And then you would pass by the customs people, who might ask you about what you were bringing in.

When Homeland Security was created, all those agencies pulled in and reorganized. Thus, the current CBP. So when you enter the country now, they are all CBP officers.

And while Border Patrol is part of CBP, they are still doing the job they did before the reorg.

Part of INS is now in CIS. And another part went somewhere else.