It does not matter whether you are a US citizen or a traveler with citizenship of any other country; when you enter the United States, you are obliged to submit a specific document: CBP Declaration Form 6059B. The acronym “CBP” stands for US Customs and Border Protection. The governmental institution ensures that the country’s borders are protected, and everyone who arrives and enters the US is eligible to do so.
The document mentioned above is issued to all passengers entering the US regardless of the means of transport they use and their nationality. The form gathers basic information about a person (or a family) arriving: their name, birth date, nationality, passport details, address in the US, and the carried items.
You, as an arriving person, will not spend much time filling this form out. It is pretty simple, and you can complete the process while landing on the US territory (if you are traveling by plane) or moving closer to the borders (if you are in a vessel).
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Probably, you will get this form in the aircraft or vessel (or train if you travel from Canada) that brings you to the United States. The plane or vessel’s personnel will provide you with a copy of the CBP Declaration Form 6059B and ask you to fill it out and give it back to them. They will also answer all your questions that might occur when you create the document.
So, it does not make much sense to download the form in advance. However, you can use our form-building software anyway to get the template and see how it looks. Apart from the template, we also have prepared a guide describing what details one should include in the document. Below, you will find detailed instructions on the line-by-line form completion.
Open the template using our software and your laptop or PC and follow the guide.
Read the Note
Before you complete any fields, you have to read a short notice. It says that every traveler who arrives in the US must fill out the form. If you come with a family, only one such document is needed, and the responsible family member should complete the template. By the term “family,” CBP means a group of people who share one household and are relatives (by marriage or blood; adoption or domestic relationship are also accepted).
Enter Your Name
You should indicate your full name: last, first, and middle name. The last name in the template is called “family name,” in case you fill it out for your whole family traveling with you.
Write Your Birthdate
Insert your date of birth in the required format (the month first, then the day, and the year). It may seem unusual or wrong for travelers from other parts of the world; however, this format is widely used in the United States. Be careful and do not mix up the numbers.
Insert the Number of Family Members Who Are with You
If you travel together with your family, enter the number of its members in Line 3. If you are alone, you can write “0” there.
Indicate Your Address in the US
All travelers who cross the borders and arrive in the US must reveal their full address in the country. For travelers, it can be the hotel’s or rented apartment’s address (where they will stay during the trip). Another option is to provide the address of relatives in the US (if a traveler has any).
You will probably be asked to give the address when you apply for a visa; so, it should not be a surprise.
Residents, obviously, will put their home address here.
Provide Info about Your Passport
In Line 5, you should state in which country your passport was issued. Line 6 is for providing your passport’s number.
Define Your Country of Residence
Write the country of residence in Line 7.
Tell about Countries You Have Been to Before Arrival
You might have visited other countries (not the ones you are a resident of) before going to the US. If yes, list those countries in Line 8.
Write the Flight or Vessel Number
If you enter the US by plane, enter the flight number. If you travel by vessel, insert the vessel’s name or number. Use Line 9 to provide details.
Answer Various Questions
You will now see a set of “yes or no” questions about your trip. Check all suitable answers with crosses.
The first question asks if your main reason to travel is business. Then, you are asked if you bring different products or substances with you. Read each line carefully and provide an honest response. Answer if you or your family members who travel with you have been in close proximity to the livestock.
Then, answer about the sum in US dollars you have with you (if it is more or less than 10,000 dollars) and commercial merchandise that you bring (if any).
Determine the Sum of Money You Carry
Use the first line of Line 15 if you are a resident and the second line if you are a visitor. Regardless of your status, here, you must state the total value of goods (including commercial merch) that you bring and that will remain on the US territory.
Sign the Document
Double-check everything you have written in the form. Remember that tricks or lies do not work when you complete any forms for CBP. You can face various punishments, including deportation and huge fines if the info you give is not true and this fact is discovered by the public authorities.
When you are confident about the document’s content, sign the form and insert the current date (date of arrival) on the right.
Declare the Items You Bring
You can familiarize yourself with the rules by reading the notice in the template. You will see an empty chart that you have to fill out with the articles’ description and their value.
It is worth mentioning that you can import agricultural products (with various restrictions) and monetary instruments and currency. There is no way you can lawfully bring prohibited (toxic or controlled) substances.
When you leave the aircraft or vessel that brought you to the US, you should take the completed form with you and give it at passport control. You may be asked questions about the form’s content. Remember that you must provide honest responses; otherwise, there might be some problems, up to deportation as well.
In most cases, no, besides your passport and a valid visa. Consult with the US embassy in your country to define what the general procedures are (if you need to get a visa or a passport to travel to the US). Normally, all info you need is given on the embassy’s official webpage.
There is an exception: if you are a refugee, or asylee, or a person with parole documents, you will also need to provide the completed CBP Form I-94. You will be notified about that and given the template prior to your arrival.
