WE are living in a time in which cash has become one of the least attractive legal tenders to carry around. However, when travelling overseas it is always best to have some cash at hand as you never know what to expect — it is both the best and the worst thing about the experience!

We often choose to exchange our legal tender to that of our destination but one thing we should all be aware of is that most countries have a customs cash limit — restrictions on how much cash you can cross their borders with — and the United States is no exception. The reasoning behind the US customs cash limit is to catch criminals and prevent money from being used to fund illegal activity like money laundering or drug trafficking. It is important, therefore, for general travellers to inform themselves about cash limit requirements when entering and leaving the States as failure to be knowledgeable on what is required can result in law-abiding citizens being caught illegally travelling with too much cash.

It is legal to transport any amount of currency or monetary instruments into or out of the United States. However, if you decide to embark on this and your total amount is equal to or above US$10,000, you must declare it with US Customs and Border Protection by filing a Report of International Transportation of Currency and Monetary Instrument Form.

SPLITTING UP CASH

Trying to outsmart the Customs and Border Protection Agents when taking a large amount of cash (equal to or greater than US$10,000) into the US is not a good idea. Any combination of ‘cash’ and foreign currencies counts towards your total amount. It is always your responsibility to understand this and to verify conversion rates before attempting to cross the border.

Any item that can be reasonably used to purchase items is considered ‘cash’, therefore please note that the following will be considered part of your US$10,000 undeclared cash:

• Coins and banknotes, both domestic or foreign

• Travellers’ cheques

• Money orders

• Personal cheques, cashier’s cheques, business cheques

• Securities or stocks in bearer form

• Cheques or money orders made out to someone other than the bearer that are endorsed without restriction (i.e. for deposit only)

• Incomplete cheques, money orders, promissory notes that are signed but on which the name of the payee has been omitted/left blank.

Travelling with any combination of these will not exempt you from the law and does not constitute a ‘loophole’. The US$10,000 limit applies whether you are travelling alone or with a group. Therefore, four family members travelling together cannot decide to split US$30,000 so that each person carries US$7,500 into the US; the full US$30,000 must be declared.

Recently, in a Miami airport, four flight attendants were charged together for carrying a total sum of US$22,671. The US Custom and Border Protection Agent treated them as a group because they were travelling together on one flight and may have been delivering the total sums to one person in the US. Another example is travelling on a connecting flight from, for example, England to the US, to then travel on to another country. As a euro is usually worth more than one US dollar, attempting to cross the border with £9000 would likely exceed the US customs cash limit of US$10,000. In this case, bringing money into the States would require a declaration, as would then leaving the States.

FAILURE TO DECLARE

Failure to declare monetary instruments for amounts valued at more than US$10,000 can result in their seizure. If you are caught crossing the border with any amount of undeclared cash in excess of US$10,000 that you cannot explain by showing proof of how you came by it, you will almost certainly have it seized from you. In addition, your visa may be revoked and you may be charged with money laundering and acting as an unauthorised money transmitter.

According to the US Customs and Border Protection, there are circumstances in which a fine of up to US$500,000 may be given. Failure to file a report (declaration), or filing a report with incorrect or missing information, could lead to imprisonment of up to 10 years. If you have your cash seized, you can seek legal counsel. It may be possible to recover the cash, but expect a thorough and lengthy legal investigation.

After a forfeiture action is initiated against you, Transportation Security Administration, Homeland Security, and US Customs and Border Protection will create a record on your immigration file — and if you travel internationally in future you might be subject to more frequent searches, detentions or seizures.

RECOMMENDATIONS

• Do not split up money among friends, family or groups traveling together to avoid having to declare.

• Use credit or debit cards and/or a small amount of cash when travelling.

• Keep in mind that conversion rates change daily, so be sure to check and make sure you are aware of how much cash you are actually travelling with, according to the countries you are entering.

• Visit the website of the US Customs and Border Protection and fill out the Report of International Transportation of Currency and Monetary Instrument Form to declare the monies you are travelling with if there is a chance the total is over US$10,000.

Venice Williams is an attorney-at-law with Lewis, Smith, Williams & Company. Email her at: vwilliams@lswlegal.com