National Application Center :: career details :: Immigration and Customs Inspectors
Career Details :: Immigration and Customs Inspectors
Description
Investigate and inspect persons, common carriers, goods, and merchandise arriving in or departing from the United States or between states to detect violations of immigration and customs laws and regulations.
Experience
Previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is required for these occupations. For example, an electrician must have completed three or four years of apprenticeship or several years of vocational training, and often must have passed a licensing exam, in order to perform the job.
Education
Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree. Some may require a bachelor's degree.
Training
Employees in these occupations usually need one or two years of training involving both on-the-job experience and informal training with experienced workers.
Tasks
- Inspects cargo, baggage, personal articles, and common carriers entering or leaving U.S. for compliance with revenue laws and U.S. Customs Service regulations.
- Reviews private and public records and documents to establish, assemble, and verify facts and secure legal evidence.
- Interprets and explains laws and regulations to others.
- Institutes civil and criminal prosecutions and assists other governmental agencies with regulation violation issues.
- Issues or denies permits.
- Testifies in administrative and judicial proceedings.
- Collects samples of merchandise for examination, appraising, or testing and requests laboratory analyses.
- Determines duty and taxes to be paid, investigates applications for duty refunds, or petitions for remission or mitigation of penalties.
- Keeps records and writes reports of activities, findings, transactions, violations, discrepancies, and decisions.
- Examines, classifies, weighs, measures, and appraises merchandise to enforce regulations of U.S. Customs Service and prevent illegal importing and exporting.
- Determines investigative and seizure techniques to be used, and seizes contraband, undeclared merchandise, vehicles, and air- or seacraft carrying smuggled merchandise.
- Arrests, detains, paroles, or arranges for deportation of persons in violation of customs or immigration laws.
- Examines visas and passports and interviews persons to determine eligibility for admission, residence, and travel in U.S.
Related Careers
- Child Support, Missing Persons, and Unemployment Insurance Fraud Investigators
- Government Property Inspectors and Investigators
- Insurance Adjusters, Examiners, and Investigators
- Licensing Examiners and Inspectors
- Title Examiners and Abstractors
- Welfare Eligibility Workers and Interviewers
Important Abilities
General Work Activities
- Getting Information Needed to Do the Job
- Evaluating Information Against Standards
- Communicating With Persons Outside Organization
- Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events
- Interpreting Meaning of Information to Others
Important Skills
Frequent Work Context
- Job-Required Social Interaction
- Consequence of Error
- Importance of Being Aware of New Events
- Importance of Being Exact or Accurate
- Importance of Being Sure All Is Done
