philippines: Travel from the Philippines

Friday, March 07, 2008

Travel from the Philippines

Dear friends,

Sharing with you are some incidents forwarded by a friend which would be helpful to us travelling to and from the US or Philippines or from other countries too.... just to be safe.

You may want to share this with your friends too..God bless.

1. U.S. Immigration , US Dept. of Homeland Security & TRAVEL ADVISORY

FYI......... .. This information is very alarming and I think it's
worth sharing to save you from trouble and embarrassment.

A Filipino friend shared this email. His friend who works for Homeland
Security as Immigration Inspector at LAX ( Los Angeles International
Airport ) called him yesterday to share the information that happened
last weekend. A FIL-AM citizen who was flying to the Philippines for
vacation was apprehended by an Airport Immigration agent while she was
checking in her baggage and going through the X-ray machine. For some
reason, she was randomly checked and was told to open all the
envelopes inside her carry-on Coach bag.

They found 10 envelops addressed to different people in the
Philippines. When all the envelops were opened, a total of $11,000
cash was discovered. They asked the traveler if she knew the contents
of the envelope. She said no, because all the envelopes are just
"padala"and the senders didn't tell her whether or not there was money
inside.

Immigration agents showed her a Policy and guidance stating that it is
illegal to import and export over $10,000 in any Asian countries to
prevent the possibility of supporting terrorism. She was fined $500,
her name was "red labeled" by Immigration (means every time she enters
and exits the airport, she will be searched 100%),and she also missed
her scheduled flight to the Philippines for being held almost 5 hours.
Hard to believe that departing passengers from the U.S. are also
subject to the policy but looks like it is being strictly enforced
now.

The lessons learned is before you accept any "padala", make sure the
envelopes are open and you physically see the contents of it or just
plainly say "sorry but I can't accept any padala" for your own safety.

This email came from a former U.S. Embassy employee and this could be
useful to all balikbayans

2. Subject: TRAVEL ADVISORY FROM AMERICAN EMBASSY MANILA

Please share this with your friends and relatives.

Please be informed of the recent travel advisory to the United States.

However, not only pirated VCDs/DVDs are on the hot list. Customs
officials are also looking into fake bags like Louis Vuitton, Coach,
etc.

Please be informed that the American Association of Publishers (AAP)
has also alerted the American customs officers to check out for
pirated books. This information; was given to me by Patricia Judd of
the AAP.

Please warn all nursing graduates who plan to take the NCLEX and CGF
exams in the States not to bring in these pirated books because there
will be a penalty of automatic deportation as violation of
intellectual property rights. If you know anyone going from the
Philippines and coming back to the USA , with "pasalubongs" and
"padalas," please read this important enclosed advisory from the
American Embassy in Manila.

Please share with your friends.

Just a friendly reminder: if you have plans of going to the
U.S.,please take precautionary measures on all "padalas," especially
those containing fake/pirated compact discs/DVDs. US Embassy employees
have been given an advisory that as US Gov't employees, we should
abide by the U.S.laws, including Intellectual Property Rights
(anti-piracy) laws.

As an additional incentive, the Consular Section recently received a
report that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) searched the bag
of a Filipino entering the U.S. on NW 72 in Detroit.

During the search, 70-80 compact discs, 30-40 empty DVD jackets and
10-20 DVDs were found. Since the travelers were not American citizens,
their visas were canceled and they returned to the Philippines . If
they had been Americans, they could have been subject to arrest and
criminal prosecution in addition to civil fines and penalties.

Please remember even ONE pirated item can jeopardize your trip.

Also, the fingerprinting system has successfully been instituted in
all port of entries. I suggest you bring extra identification cards in
addition to your passport to facilitate your entry in the US
Immigration. I hope this is helpful to you.

posted by mingsworld.com @ 9:51 AM

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