CBPGuy
7 Years Experience
SouthWest, US
Male, 25
I am a U. S. Customs and Border Protection Officer on the southwest border between Mexico and the United States. I know the ins and outs of the job as seen on TV/News and things intentionally hidden from the media! There's more to this job than "Anything to declare?" I dont know all but I'll do my best to answer any questions you have! All answers are my opinion, and my opinion only!
There is nothing against policy regarding dating a foreign national. There is, however, a policy that forbids you to associate with illegal aliens. A DREAMer is considered an illegal alien, by law.
There is also nothing against policy regarding "Sanctuary Cities", so I can confidently say that there are no issues with you living there. As long as you are honestly unaware of the immigration status of the people you deal with outside of work, nothing "bad" would happen to you. So, if you unknowingly go to a restaurant with illegal waiters and there happens to be a raid, theoretically, you should be in the clear because you did not know. However, if you were to hire illegal aliens to perform work for you at your home, then that would be a different story.
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You are paid every day that you are at the job. When you are hired, you go to your assigned port for "Pre-Academy". During this Pre-Academy time your doing mostly clerical work. You are filling out paperwork for your health benefits, TSP (401k), etc. You are also doing online training courses that help you prepare for the job. You are also doing tours of the port and watching officers work. Every port has their Pre-Academy set up differently. Housing is not paid for while your at the port for Pre Academy.
At the academy, you work Monday through Friday with varying start times, but all are only 8 hours a day. You are paid during all the training hours. You sleep in a dorm which is provided by the agency and you eat the meals at the cafeteria, which is also paid for by the agency. All books, supplies, and uniforms are provided by the agency. You really only need to bring a pair of running shoes, boots, shoe polish, toiletries, and off training clothes. You are only allowed to wear the academy's uniform in the gym (on or off training hours).
For Veterans, your given Veterans preference points up to 5 points, i believe, for the initial written test.
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Every port has different duties. Our primary assignments are at the Ports of Entry conducting primary and secondary processing. However, there are many details that are outside of that. Traffic stops, drug/money runs, prisoner transport etc.The airport can get fairly boring. For the first several years of your career, you will be posted at "Primary" where you either grant admission to alien's (Entry for US Citizens) or refer suspect individuals for further scrutiny.
Once you have a few years on your belt, you can bid for a secondary position. This is where you will be determining with you will allow someone to enter the United States or return them back to their home country.
There are also other specialty teams where you patrol the airport in vehicles, perform hot stops, interview subjects etc. Those positions, however, are few far and between at airports.
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When I went through FLETC, we had 1 to 2 classes graduating every week. Now its slowed down a bit, so its about 1 a month. FLETC is 4.5 months long, not including 6 weeks of Spanish training. In CBP, all armed positions and Agriculture Specialists go to FLETC, the others do not.
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CBP Officer
What are the telltale signs you look to indicate someone's lying?
Dry Cleaner
Why do dry cleaners have autographed pictures on their walls?
Radio program/music director
What's the secret to actually getting through when you call in for a radio contest?
There are many reasons why we ask where you work. Ill explain the best I can.
For one, the officer is trying to have a conversation with you to get a base line feeling of your natural behavior. When you are asked a simple question, you should be able to answer it easily. We pick up on how you answer that question (body mannerisms, eye movement, stutter). Now, when we ask a more difficult question in which you want to lie about (Something that could incriminate you), your body will act differently than when you answered the more simple questions. That's when we know you just lied to us.
All the questions we ask you is to help with our inspection. Say, you work at a location thats open only Monday through Friday. Today is Saturday and your crossing the border saying your going to work. This would lead me to ask you more questions because you dont have work today but your telling me you do.
Ultimately, every new person we interact with is like a blank canvas. We are trying to paint a picture of who you are (if your innocent or a potential criminal) and the only way we can do it is by asking questions.
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One thing I will say from personal experience, I had to hold someone for about 45 minutes before I was able to clear him in our system. His name was similar to a convicted felon wanted for child endangerment. My job was to determine if this person in front of me was the same person who was wanted. I cordially explained to him why he was back there and what I was trying to accomplish. He was very friendly and thanked me for doing what I was doing. About 4 days later, I read a news article that and this person was on it. He told the news outlet that he was locked in a room for 2 hours, denied food and water, and was treated like a criminal. I couldn't believe it! I treat everyone with professionally and with respect, this person even acknowledged it, and yet here he is in the paper saying all of this.
Needless to say, the news, or the person being interviewed, may not always portray the accurate truth.
To answer your question as best I can, we are not legally allowed to make a determination based on religion. It is against the law for anyone (CBP, local police, even an employer) to make a decision based on religion.
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As a GS-12 (pay scale), I earn about $110,000 a year with overtime. The pay scale goes like this:
GS-5 (first year) = $35,000GS-7 (second year) = $43,000GS-9 (Third Year) = $52,000GS-11 (Fourth Year) = $62,000GS-12 (Fifth Year) = $76,000
After you hit GS 12, every year or so you get a raise of about $2,000 to $3,000. All the numbers mentioned above are approximate and include my additional locality pay.
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