Minor reflections on US Customs

So, I finally got around to reading the "warning letter" we almost received for our late entry into the country at Port Townsend earlier this month. We had been cautioned by the CBP officer that we had violated the law by showing up after office hours, and that hefty fines could apply, and that we should look over the pertinent regulations to ensure that future behavior was within acceptable margins.

Today, I read the letter quoting the relevant sections of US Code... and I can't find a single one of them that we violated!

I've quoted a couple sections below; though there is additional language in the letter, these are the only sections I can find with relevance to our entrance.

Section 4.2 of the Customs and Border Protection Regulations (Title 19, Code of Federal Regulations, section 4.2) which states that upon arrival in any port or place within the U.S., any vessel from a foreign port or place... master of the vessel shall immediately report the arrival to the nearest Customs and Border Protection facility or other location designated by the port director.

That's the only bit I see that has any wiggle room in it that we might have somehow failed on... the "other location designated by the port director." There isn't a facility in Port Townsend, strictly speaking... on the other hand, it was the closest locale with an office to our point of entry.

Report of arrival of vessels: The arrival report shall be made by the master of the vessel to a U.S. Customs and Border Protection Officer at the nearest port of entry by any means of communication. (italics mine)

Which is exactly what we did. I stress the "any" because they made it sound like our major failing was arriving too late to report in person, and the after-hours phone call was an unacceptable method of making contact. If I were reading their own letter as instructions for properly entering into the US, I would have the impression that we were being instructed to do exactly what we had done.

Now, I am sure that the underlying code can be twisted or interpreted so that we could be guilty in almost any circumstance... that's the beauty of a complex legal system. But I can't see in any way, shape, or form how we violated anything as explained by the violation letter!

More of your tax dollars at work....

Okay; that's my last CBP rant until next year! Return to your regularly scheduled programming.