SECONDARY INSPECTION AND CBP CUSTODY
There is no single fixed number of minutes that applies to every CBP secondary inspection. Routine secondary inspection may take considerably longer than primary inspection, while a traveler placed into secure CBP custody is governed by additional detention standards.
The duration of secondary inspection depends on what CBP must investigate, including immigration status, documents, customs issues, database checks, interviews and other admissibility questions.
Do not confuse ordinary secondary-inspection waiting time with CBP’s policy for people formally held in secure detention.
CBP’s Transport, Escort, Detention and Search standards state that every effort must be made to hold detainees for the least amount of time required for processing, transfer, release or repatriation, as appropriate and operationally feasible.
CBP policy states that detainees should generally not be held longer than 72 hours in CBP hold rooms or holding facilities.
The policy says “generally,” not that every traveler has an absolute right to release at exactly 72 hours.
Current CBP public guidance states that inadmissible travelers arriving at a port of entry are generally processed for immediate return rather than held by CBP for long-term detention.
The actual period can depend on processing requirements and transportation arrangements.
If CBP moves from ordinary inspection into expedited removal, officers may conduct a sworn interview, prepare Forms I-867 and I-860, obtain supervisory review and arrange return transportation.
See Form I-860 Expedited Removal Order and Form I-867 Sworn Statement.
Some travelers or noncitizens may be transferred from CBP to another agency such as Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Once that occurs, different detention procedures and locator systems may apply.
Current CBP guidance states that the ICE online detainee locator can show certain individuals who have been in ICE or CBP custody for 48 hours or longer. CBP also warns that it generally will not provide family members with information about an inadmissible traveler being held at a port of entry for expedited removal.
No general federal rule guarantees completion of every secondary inspection within two hours.
No. The 72-hour language is a general CBP secure-detention standard, not a promise that every secondary-inspection traveler will be held for or released at that exact time.
It can occur when processing or return arrangements cannot be completed immediately, although CBP states that port-of-entry inadmissible travelers are not held for long-term detention and are processed for return.
These government materials describe the principal CBP custody and detention standards discussed on this page.
The legal and practical analysis changes once CBP moves from routine inspection to expedited removal, secure custody, transfer or repatriation.