Crossing the Border by Dog Sled

Customs news of the interesting from newsminer.com. What happens if you’re on a 1,000 mile dog sled race, you are approached by U.S. Customs & Border Protection, and you forgot your passport at home? Let’s see:

In the middle of the Yukon Quest, mushers take the 147-mile trail journey between Dawson City and Eagle. As they sit down to a bowl of moose stew inside the old Eagle school, an officer from U.S. Customs and Border Protection asks for their passport.

In some ways, it’s a formality, since all participants and officials in the race are pre-cleared to make the trip. But as a border crossing, there’s still a check required when anyone arrives.

Mushers probably won’t be turned back without a passport, which Allen Moore proved in 2013 when he arrived in Eagle empty-handed. But having a passport ensures a musher isn’t stalled during the layover in the Yukon River community.

Customs and Border Protection Officer Timothy Woodward said he does his best to offer leeway while following the rules for crossing the border.

“We recognize it’s not a random group of people, that it’s part of an organized event,” said Woodward, who shifts from his job at the Alaska Highway post to Eagle during race time.

It looks the prize for winning is around $100,000. What if you’re mushing across the border with your prize money and you make fail to make an accurate report of how much currency you are transporting and Customs seizes your cash?  If you have had money seized by Customs call our office at (734) 855-4999 to speak to a lawyer, or e-mail us through our contact page (see our case results here). We are able to assist with cash seized by customs nationwide, including Detroit, Chicago, Atlanta, New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Orlando.

Please read these other articles about money seizures by customs:

  1. Seizure of currency and monetary instruments by U.S. Customs
  2. Seizure for bulk cash smuggling into or out of the U.S.
  3. Structuring currency imports and exports
  4. Is it $10,000 per person?  Under what circumstances is filing a report with Customs for transporting more than $10,000 required?
  5. Criminal & civil penalties for failing to report monetary instrument transportation
  6. Is only cash currency subject to seizure by Customs?
  7. How do I get my seized money back from customs?
  8. Getting money seized by U.S. Customs back while staying overseas
  9. How long does it take Customs to decide a petition for a currency/monetary instrument seizure?
  10. Targeted Enforcement for Customs Money Seizures
  11. Statute of Limitations for Currency Reporting Violations