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!
Yes, the unfortunate part of life is working 16 hour days for this job. Depending on your location, this could happen twice a week, once a month, or never, etc. If you are serious about this job, you have to accept the fact that you may be forced to work overtime. In my honest opinion, I dont think there is any officer in this agency who has not been forced overtime.
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I do not know where you would find that information.
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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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Everyone applying for admission at the Port of Entry is treated the same. We will be conducting an interview to determine admissibility.
For non-immigrants, you need to make sure you visited the doctor and your family member filled out the I-864 properly. Also, you need to make sure you apply for admission before your passport and/or your visa expires. If all of those check out ok, you will be fine.
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On your first year, it is extremely unlikely you will hit $75k. For approximately 6 to 9 months you will be training (depending on if you need the Spanish academy). During training, there is zero overtime. Also, in your first year, depending on your qualifications, you will be hired as a GS-5 (approximately $36k base) or GS-7 (approximately $44k base).
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) = $36,000 GS-7 (second year) = $44,000GS-9 (Third Year) = $53,000GS-11 (Fourth Year) = $63,000GS-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. All these numbers are approximates and varies.
Under law, we can earn a maximum of $35k a year on premium pay alone. Most officers earn that $35k almost every year.
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You have a high probability of getting the job if your willing to go to the southwest border.
At the academy, you work Monday through Friday with varying start times, but all are 9 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). You shoot twice a week and you do PT between 2 to 4 times a week. On the weekends your free to do as a you please, you just need to make sure your back in time before class.
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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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