CBP Will No Longer Allow Attorneys in Secondary Inspection at all Ports of Entry

New CBP Policy will have consequences at all ports of entry for US immigrants and EB-5 Visa applicants

The United States Customs and Border Protection department has announced that they will no longer be allowing attorneys into secondary inspection areas of ports of entry into the United States. This new policy is effective as of August 21, 2017 and it is considered a national policy. The initial reports of the new policy have risen from attorneys actively serving clients in New York and dealing with the Buffalo, NY office of the U.S. Customs and Border Protection service. This will affect any immigrants chosen for secondary screening including EB-5 Visa applicants.
This new policy opposes the CBP’s previous policy which allowed attorneys into secondary inspection depending on the circumstance. In 2008 the Buffalo Field Office had a policy which stated that “When an attorney is late to meet a client attempting to enter the United States and seeking L-1 processing, the issue is handled on a case-by-case basis. It is not agency policy to deny admission if an individual’s attorney is late, suggesting that attorneys are permitted in secondary inspection in certain situations.”
The policy has not been completely consistent across the board with every port of entry. Boston and LAX have had a no attorney representation policy in secondary inspection since 2010, while ports of entry like Vermont and Washington have allowed attorneys to be present in the past.
These initial reports indicate that the policy is intended to have national scope as of August 21. The new CBP policy has the potential to cause more trouble for immigrants including EB-5 visa applicants who are already experiencing further scrutiny at ports of entry due to Trump’s Travel ban.