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Not sure what the hot tag is used for but soil from any country is prohibited entry into the US. If your bags were coming from outside of the US, possibly the tag is to flag the bag for secondary inspection by the USDA?
You likely had a short connection in Narita on your way to Singapore. Hot means first in line, as it has to go NOW. Either that or you checked in very close to the cutoff.
It is indeed tagged as a short connection- move that bag fast. For all the criticism the airlines get for lost or misdirected bags, they do have strategies for trying to keep everything going correctly to its final destination.
soil from any country is prohibited entry into the US. If your bags were coming from outside of the US, possibly the tag is to flag the bag for secondary inspection by the USDA?
This is so true. A few rocks or soil from your vacation may seem innocuous but to the USDA they definitely are not. YOU are responsible for EVERYTHING in your bags and believe me, US Customs/Immigration/USDA, etc. have very little sense of humor. They can make your life miserable.
This is so true. A few rocks or soil from your vacation may seem innocuous but to the USDA they definitely are not. YOU are responsible for EVERYTHING in your bags and believe me, US Customs/Immigration/USDA, etc. have very little sense of humor. They can make your life miserable.
Lol! Actually some of the things I used to find in baggage as a former ag officer in a large port city were pretty funny but you had to work with a poker face.
I mentioned the secondary inspection by USDA since a declaration of rocks in primary would have probably "triggered" a Customs officer to have an ag officer look at the items more closely in secondary. I'm not sure how all that works anymore. It's been over 30 years since I did that sort of work with the USDA or even flown internationally.
Yes I do recall some US Customs fellers who were seriously serious about their work.
BTW, back then soil was prohibited due to the possible presence of exotic nematodes. My guess is that the concern remains the same today for incoming international travelers but I don't know.
Lol! Actually some of the things I used to find in baggage as a former ag officer in a large port city were pretty funny but you had to work with a poker face.
I mentioned the secondary inspection by USDA since a declaration of rocks in primary would have probably "triggered" a Customs officer to have an ag officer look at the items more closely in secondary. I'm not sure how all that works anymore. It's been over 30 years since I did that sort of work with the USDA or even flown internationally.
Yes I do recall some US Customs fellers who were seriously serious about their work.
BTW, back then soil was prohibited due to the possible presence of exotic nematodes. My guess is that the concern remains the same today for incoming international travelers but I don't know.
I apologize for my digressions.
I mention that because a couple yards ago I did a Tel Aviv trip. One of the other pilots brought back some sand from the beach. She told me that she was registered with the USDA to bring back earth from Israel for people from the diaspora to have buried with them. Part of the Jewish culture to be buried with some part of the homeland.
This is so true. A few rocks or soil from your vacation may seem innocuous but to the USDA they definitely are not. YOU are responsible for EVERYTHING in your bags and believe me, US Customs/Immigration/USDA, etc. have very little sense of humor. They can make your life miserable.
What exactly can the US Customs/Immigration/USDA do to make a person's life miserable in a case such as the one presented by the op?
Assuming the op is not up to any illegal shenanigans and his intentions with the rocks are totally innocent and legal, the way I see the story playing out, the govt agents at the airport open the "hot" luggage and they see that it's nothing but a bunch of rocks and dirt.
So, now the govt agent must make a decision and there are 3 choices:
A.) the rocks and dirt are harmless enough to allow the man to take his suitcase full of rocks and dirt with him into the United States.
B.) the govt confiscates the suitcase full of rocks and tells the man he won't be getting his rocks back. Ever.
C.) the govt confiscates the rocks and sends them off to a lab for inspection by certified govt inspectors, and that could take as little as a few minutes, or a few hours, or a few days, or a few weeks to get the results back from the lab, depending on the distance between the op and the lab and how far the lab is backed up with inspections. If the rocks and dirt pass govt inspection, the owner can go to the airport and pick them up.
I don't see how any of those choices would make a person's life "miserable" unless they are just really fragile.
Annoying? Unquestionably.
An inconvenience? Absolutely.
Time consuming? Most definitely.
Govt over reach? Possibly.
Overly dramatic? Exactly.
But, "miserable"? Please.
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