Travel English: How to go through customs at the airport

1,310,876 views ・ 2014-12-05

Adam’s English Lessons


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Hi. I'm Adam. Welcome back to www.engvid.com. Today's lesson is a little bit specialized.
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We're going to talk about going through customs at a U.S. airport, more specifically, at an airport.
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Now, before I begin, why am I doing this lesson? Not too long ago, I flew... I had to go out
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of town and I had to fly through the States. I flew through Detroit, it's a big hub. In
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case you're ever flying through a hub, a hub is a central area where many flights come
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and connect to other flights. And I was in line at the customs, and ahead of me was a
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couple, they were tourists, I think. And I could see the panic on their faces when the
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custom guy... Customs guy started speaking to them and asking them questions, and they
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were so nervous, and they could barely speak. And the more nervous they became, the more
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questions they got from the customs guy. So, I want to make going through customs as easy
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as possible for you by giving you a few tips.
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First thing you have to remember when you come to the customs guys: have all your forms
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completed properly. So, if you're coming into a States, you're going to be given a form,
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I think it's an I-94 form with all kinds of questions. Fill out everything correctly,
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properly. If you're not sure what something means, ask a flight attendant to help you,
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they will. Fill everything before you get to customs. Have all your documents; your
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passport, your return flight ticket. If you're going as a student, have your Visa. If you're
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going there to work, have your Visa, your work permit, whatever you need. All documents
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ready, all forms complete, ready to go.
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Then the most important thing that you can do when going through customs at an U.S. airport
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is relax. Okay? Very important to relax. Now, one thing you will notice about American customs
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officers, they never ever smile. They will never smile. They are always going to look
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mean, and tough, and questions, questions, questions. That's their job. They're nice
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people. Don't think anything badly of them. They're doing their job, they want to scare
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you so that you give them the information that they need.
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So, relax. Answer all their questions quickly and as short as possible. If they ask you
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a yes/no question, answer yes or no. Almost... In most cases, in 99% of the questions, don't
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say: "I don't know." You do know. You know everything that they're going to ask you.
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Yes, no, there, there, this long, that person, done. Okay.
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So, they can ask you any number of questions, but here are a few of the more common questions
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that they might ask you. Okay? So, be prepared, answer them quickly, go on your way, enjoy
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your vacation in the U.S.
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What is your final destination? It means: where are you going? Where is your last stop?
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So, if you're flying in to New York and then you're catching another flight to Kentucky,
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your final destination is Kentucky, not New York. So, you're going to Kentucky. If you're
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going to another country, so for example I was coming back to Canada. What is your final
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destination? Toronto. I was just flying through the U.S.
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How long will you be staying in the U.S.? Again, never say: "I don't know." You do know.
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You have a return ticket out. If you have an open ticket, say you have... "I have a
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one-year open ticket. I'm not sure when I'm going to go back, but within one year." Have
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that ticket ready to show him or her. Okay?
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How long will you be staying? Two days, a week, two weeks, whatever.
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What is the purpose of your visit? Why are you here? To visit family, work or business,
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tourism, vacation, or transit. Okay? I was there, just transit. Transiting. I was just
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catching a flight to my next place, which is Canada. I was just here to transit. No problem.
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Where will you be staying? Now, this is a very important question. If you are staying
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in the U.S., make sure you have your hotel address ready to tell the customs officer.
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If you're staying with a friend, have your friend's address ready to tell the customs
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officer. If you're staying in a dorm, if you're a student, say the name of the school, the
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dorm, have the address ready. Never say: "I don't know. I haven't figured it out yet."
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They want to know where to find you if they need to find you. Okay? Make sure you have
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an actual place to stay.
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How much currency are you carrying? Or: are you carrying with you? It means: how much
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cash? Traveller's cheques, they don't care. Credit card, they don't care. How much cash?
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You are allowed $10,000. Hopefully, you're not carrying $10,000 because they will take
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you to the back, and see it, ask you more questions, etc. If you have $100, say you
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have $100, that's it.
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Now, in some countries, for example, when I go somewhere and I have to go through the
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States, in Canada, we go through U.S. customs in Canada, so they will ask some security
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questions. Who packed your bags? Only one answer: "I did." Sorry, if you heard that.
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I did. Nobody packed my bags. I packed my bags. That's it.
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Did anybody give you a gift? No.
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Did any...? Did you leave the bag alone at any time? Did you leave it unattended that
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somebody else could touch it? No. Okay? As soon as you say yes, you're going to the back,
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they're opening your bag, they're looking around to make sure.
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Are you carrying any guns or knives? If you are, you probably don't want to be going through
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customs anyway, so, no.
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Do you have anything to declare? Now, this is a very tricky question. You need to know
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the rules. Okay? If you're bringing plants, you have to declare them. If you're bringing
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more than $10,000, you must declare it. If you're bringing any meat or other food items,
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you must declare it. Before you travel to the U.S., get on their U.S. government website,
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customs website, find out what you're allowed and what you're not allowed to bring, what
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you have to and what you don't have to declare. You don't want trouble later if they open
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your bags. Okay?
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Now, they may ask you many other questions. The more nervous you are, the more questions
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they will ask you. I generally get these questions and they let me go. Okay? Everybody has a
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different experience. Some days, they're looking for more, so they'll ask people more questions.
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Some days, they will take a random search. I'll just put it here. They will just take
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somebody at random, and take them, and open their bags, and look, and let them go.
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There's something called a secondary... A secondary questioning. If they think they
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want to ask you more questions, they will take you to a room in the back, they will
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ask you more questions. Again, relax. If you have nothing to hide, then they have nothing
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to find. Okay? So don't worry about it.
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So, if you're travelling through the States, remember: it's not... Don't worry about the
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English. Keep your questions short and answer them quickly. You don't need full sentences.
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You definitely don't need perfect sentences. Answer the question, go on your way. Okay?
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I've put a few of these... A few examples of answers and questions that you might face
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on www.engvid.com's quiz section. You can ask me questions there as well. And don't
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forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel. See you again. Bye.
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