Chicago Customs Attorney

Chicago Customs Law Services

Great Lakes Customs Law serves clients throughout the Chicago metropolitan area and across Illinois from its downtown Chicago office at 333 S. Wabash Avenue, Suite 2700. Attorney Jason Wapiennik is barred in Illinois and has represented importers, travelers, and businesses facing U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) enforcement actions at O’Hare International Airport and ports of entry throughout the region.

CBP maintains a significant enforcement presence at O’Hare, one of the busiest international entry points in the country. Currency seizures, failure-to-declare violations, and merchandise seizures occur regularly — and the window to respond is narrow. If CBP has seized your cash or issued a Notice of Seizure, acting quickly is critical to preserving your options.

For importers and businesses, Chicago’s role as a major freight hub means CBP penalty exposure is a real operational risk. From 19 USC § 1592 penalty notices to liquidated damages claims and prior disclosures, Great Lakes Customs Law helps Illinois-based importers and their brokers respond effectively and minimize financial exposure.

What We Handle from Our Chicago Office

Currency seizures at O’Hare and other Illinois ports — If CBP seized your cash for failure to report, structuring, or bulk cash smuggling, we handle the administrative petition process and all subsequent proceedings. Learn more about your options on our currency seizure practice page.

CBP penalty defense — We represent importers responding to fraud, negligence, and gross negligence penalty notices under 19 USC § 1592, as well as liquidated damages and other civil enforcement actions. If you have received a penalty notice, do not respond without counsel — the positions you take early in the process can affect your outcome significantly.

Tariff and trade compliance — Illinois importers facing Section 301 China tariff issues, antidumping and countervailing duty scope questions, classification disputes, or country-of-origin challenges can work with our office directly. Visit our import compliance practice page for a full overview of services.

Prior disclosures — Voluntary prior disclosure under 19 USC § 1592 can significantly reduce penalty exposure. We advise Illinois importers on timing, scope, and strategy before CBP opens a formal investigation.

Serving Clients Statewide and Nationally

While our Chicago office is located in the heart of the Loop, we represent clients throughout Illinois and handle customs matters at ports of entry nationwide. CBP enforcement does not stop at state lines, and neither does our practice. Attorney Jason Wapiennik has over 15 years of experience focused exclusively on customs law and has handled more than 700 cases for clients across the country.

To speak with Jason about a customs matter, call our Chicago office at (773) 920-1840, text or WhatsApp +1 (734) 855-4999, or submit your information online for a free case review.