Every day, at Miami, JFK, Los Angeles and the land borders, Customs and Border Protection officers seize cash from travelers who did nothing more serious than misunderstand a form. The money is real, the deadlines are real, and most of it is never recovered because the owner responds late, responds badly, or does not respond at all. This is what happens in the first thirty days, and what to do about it.
The rule that was broken
Federal law requires anyone carrying more than $10,000 in currency or monetary instruments into or out of the United States to report it. The statute is 31 U.S.C. § 5316 and the form is FinCEN 105. The threshold applies to the total carried by a family or group traveling together, and it covers cash, traveler’s checks, money orders and bearer instruments in any currency.
Carrying the money is legal. Not reporting it is the violation. Reporting the wrong amount is a violation too. Splitting the money among relatives so that no one person carries more than $10,000 is a separate offense called structuring, under 31 U.S.C. § 5324, and it is treated more harshly than a simple failure to report.
When the report is missing or wrong, the officer can seize the entire amount, not only the portion above the threshold. The authority is 31 U.S.C. § 5317(c).
What you were handed at the airport
At the time of the seizure you received a custody receipt listing the amount taken. You may also have been questioned, and you may have signed a statement. Keep every piece of paper. Write down, that day, exactly what you said and what you were asked, because the government’s file will contain the officer’s version of the same conversation.
Within about two months, CBP’s Fines, Penalties and Forfeitures office for the port sends a formal Notice of Seizure. Under the Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform Act, the government must send that notice within 60 days of the seizure. The notice states the legal basis, the amount, and your options, and it comes with an Election of Proceedings form.
The five choices on the election form
The form offers five paths. The choice matters more than most people realize, because some paths close the others.
- Petition for administrative relief. You ask CBP itself to return the money, in whole or in part, under the agency’s regulations at 19 C.F.R. Part 171. This is where most currency is recovered. The petition explains who you are, where the money came from, where it was going, and why the violation happened. CBP applies published mitigation guidelines that weigh whether the failure to report was negligent or intentional, whether the funds came from a legitimate source, and whether the traveler has any criminal history.
- Offer in compromise. You offer a specific sum to settle. Rarely the right first move for a currency case.
- Abandon the property. Never, unless a lawyer has told you why.
- Request court action. You file a claim, and the matter is referred to the U.S. Attorney, who must file a judicial forfeiture complaint within 90 days or return the money. Under 18 U.S.C. § 983(a)(2), the claim deadline is the date stated in the notice, which must be at least 35 days after the notice was mailed. This route puts the burden of proof on the government, which is valuable when the facts are good and the source of funds is clean. It also means litigation.
- Take no action. The money is forfeited by default.
The administrative petition is usually due 30 days from the date on the notice. The claim deadline is separate. Missing either one is the single most common reason seized money is lost.
What a good petition contains
The petition is not a letter of apology. It is an evidence package. For a typical traveler it includes:
- Bank statements and withdrawal slips showing the cash leaving an account.
- Pay stubs, tax returns, a bill of sale, a loan agreement or a gift letter showing where the money came from in the first place.
- Documents showing what the money was for: a property contract, a family obligation, a business purchase, medical bills.
- Travel documents and the itinerary.
- An explanation of the reporting failure that is specific and true. “I did not know about the form” is weak on its own. “I asked the airline agent and was told the form was only for foreign nationals” is better, if that is what happened, and it should be said in a sworn declaration.
A petition that overstates, or that conflicts with what was said at the airport, does damage that is hard to undo. That is why the airport statement matters, and why the petition should be prepared by someone who has read it.
After the petition
CBP can grant the petition in full, remit part of the money subject to a penalty, or deny it. A denial can be followed by a supplemental petition, and the claim route remains available if the deadline in the notice has not passed. The money, when returned, is paid by Treasury check or electronic transfer to the petitioner, which is why the petition must be filed in the name of the true owner.
Interest is not paid on administratively remitted funds. In a judicial case, the government pays interest if the claimant wins.
Why people lose
The pattern is consistent. The traveler does not understand the notice, waits, and misses the deadline. Or the traveler writes a petition without evidence of the source of funds, and CBP treats the money as unexplained. Or a relative calls the port and says something inconsistent with the airport statement. Or the traveler signs the abandonment line because an acquaintance said the money was gone anyway.
None of that is necessary. These cases are document-driven, the agency is bound by its own guidelines, and a well-prepared petition from a traveler with a clean source of funds is usually successful in recovering most of the money.
What to do today
Keep the custody receipt and every later letter. Do not call the port to argue. Start collecting the source-of-funds documents. Note the date on the Notice of Seizure when it arrives and count 30 days. And talk to a lawyer who handles these cases before you file anything, because the first filing sets the record for everything that follows.
Liang + Mooney handles currency seizure cases in every port of entry, in English, Mandarin and Spanish, on contingency. If the money is not recovered, there is no fee.