CBP at Washington Dulles International Airport seized $33,868 from a U.S. citizen departing for Egypt after officers discovered he was carrying significantly more than he had reported. According to CBP’s account:
The traveler, a U.S. citizen male who CBP is not identifying because he was not criminally charged, verbally reported to officers that he possessed $20,000 and completed a U.S. Treasury Department form for his reported amount. During a baggage examination, CBP officers discovered a total of $33,868. Officers seized the currency and released the traveler.
Two Problems in One Case
This case actually involves two distinct violations layered on top of each other, and understanding the difference matters for anyone trying to evaluate their own situation.
The first problem is how the report was made. The traveler verbally told officers he had $20,000 — he did not proactively file a FinCEN 105 before being approached. Under 31 U.S.C. § 5316, the reporting obligation is not satisfied by answering an officer’s question honestly. The law requires that you file the FinCEN 105 form — either online before your trip or in writing at the port before you cross. Waiting until a CBP officer asks you how much money you have and then answering verbally is, at best, an attempted compliance after the fact. It does not satisfy the statute, and CBP does not treat it as though it does.
The second problem is the underreport. Even setting aside the issue of how the report was made, the amount declared — $20,000 — was nearly $14,000 short of what officers actually found. Whether the traveler miscounted, deliberately underreported, or was unaware of some of the currency in his bags, the result is the same: CBP found a material discrepancy between the declared amount and the actual amount, and seized everything.
Together, these two problems — failure to proactively file and a significant underreport — mean this case will be treated as an intentional violation by CBP’s Fines, Penalties and Forfeitures office. That matters enormously in the petition process. CBP applies different mitigation standards depending on whether a violation is characterized as negligent, grossly negligent, or intentional. The closer the declared amount is to the threshold (suggesting the traveler knew the requirement existed and tried to stay just under it) and the more the reporting only occurred after being asked, the more CBP leans toward an intentional characterization.
What “Verbally Reported” Actually Means for Your Case
I want to spend a moment on the verbal reporting issue because it comes up frequently and people consistently misunderstand it. The FinCEN 105 requirement exists independently of anything you say to a CBP officer. Officers ask travelers at secondary examination how much currency they are carrying as a matter of routine — and many travelers believe that answering that question honestly satisfies their legal obligation. It does not.
The obligation under 31 U.S.C. § 5316 is to file a report — a specific government form, submitted before or at the time of crossing, with specific information including the amount, the type of currency, the source, and the intended use. An oral statement to an officer is not a report. Completing a form for only part of your money after an officer has already asked the question is not a compliant report either — it is a record of what you were willing to admit to at that moment, which is exactly how CBP will treat it.
The correct procedure is simple: if you are traveling internationally with more than $10,000, file the FinCEN 105 online before you leave for the airport, or ask a CBP officer for the paper form when you arrive at the port — before you are referred to secondary, before you are asked any questions, and before any inspection begins. Filing proactively, accurately, and before being asked is what the law requires and what protects you.
The $227,000 Seizure the Month Before
CBP’s release notes that the month prior, Dulles officers seized $227,539 from four groups of travelers. That context is worth keeping in mind. Dulles is not an airport where currency enforcement is occasional or unpredictable — it is sustained, active, and well-staffed. The airport handles a high volume of direct international traffic to the Middle East, Africa, and Europe, and CBP’s outbound enforcement operations at Dulles reflect that. Travelers departing for Egypt, Ghana, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Yemen, and similar destinations are not going to slip through with undeclared cash. The dogs, the imaging equipment, the secondary examination procedures, and the experienced officers are all there specifically for this.
A Note on Dulles FP&F Specifically
Dulles CBP’s Fines, Penalties and Forfeitures office is among the more aggressive in the country in how it handles petitions for return of seized currency. Unrepresented petitioners — people who write their own letters or fill out the forms without legal counsel — consistently get worse outcomes at Dulles than the facts of their cases warrant. That is not unique to Dulles, but it is particularly pronounced there. A petition is a legal document that needs to address the specific standards CBP applies in evaluating the violation and the mitigation factors. A personal letter explaining why you needed the money is not the same thing, and Dulles will treat them very differently.
As CBP’s Acting Area Port Director noted in this release: “It is less painful to complete a simple form than it is to surrender all their currency for violating U.S. currency reporting laws.” That is true. It is also true that once the money is seized, having a lawyer handle the petition is less painful — and more effective — than trying to navigate the FP&F process alone.
Has Dulles CBP Seized Your Cash?
If CBP at Dulles seized your cash, contact us before doing anything else — before calling CBP, before writing a letter, and before attempting to file a petition on your own. Read our customs money seizure legal guide or watch the video series, and reach out for a free consultation using the contact options on this page.