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Office of Field Operations, San Diego is providing this information to clarify to the trade community that employs truck drivers with B-1 visas, to have a better understanding of the cabotage rules to help ensure compliance with federal immigration laws and regulations.
Companies employing Mexican truck drivers with B-1 visas to haul cargo that originates in the U.S. to a destination in the U.S. – is an illegal practice known as cabotage. Cabotage rules prevent foreign nationals in the U.S. on B-1 business-visitor visas from competing with U.S. truckers on loads moving point to point in the U.S.
Cabotage General Principles- Cabotage refers to the point-to-point transportation of property or passengers within one country.
- Goods transported across the United States border must be entering or leaving the United States and remain in the stream of international commerce.
- Drivers may be admitted to deliver or pick up cargo traveling in the stream of international commerce, i.e., the cargo is entering or leaving the United States.
Truck drivers with a B-1 visa may only transport cargo traveling in the stream of international commerce within the meaning of U.S. immigration law.
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Cargo coming to rest - Goods that “come to rest” assume a domestic character (even if they originated from a foreign source), if the continual delivery is stopped for any reason that is NOT considered a “necessary incident” of international commerce. Some examples of “coming to rest” include:
- Parking goods at a drop lot, holding lot or warehouse to be picked up later and delivered (e.g., overnight of the weekend, to make delivery arrangements), unless the goods are parked awaiting clearance by a government agency (CBP, USDA, FDA). Clarification: This includes shipments awaiting exportation to Mexico.
- Switching tractors in the United States, unless the tractors belong to the same company and the replacement tractor makes entry from a foreign country for replacement purposes (i.e. medical emergency, tractor breaking down).
Movements not permitted by the driver:
- Drivers may not pick up a shipment at one U.S. location and deliver that shipment to another U.S. location.
- Drivers may not reposition an empty trailer between two points in the United States when the driver did not either enter with or depart with that trailer.
- Drivers may not “top up” an international shipment with U.S. domestic shipments.
- Drivers may not solicit shipments for domestic deliveries while in the United States
Immigration Requirements – Foreign national truck drivers may qualify for admission as B-1 visitors for business to pick up or deliver cargo traveling in the stream of international commerce. Truck drivers must meet the general entry requirements as a visitor for business (B-1 classification). Thus, the truck driver must:
- Have a residence in a foreign country which he or she has no intention of abandoning.
- Intend to depart the U.S. at the end of the authorized period of temporary admission;
- Have adequate financial means to carry out the purpose of the visit; and
- Establish that he or she is not inadmissible to the U.S.
It is important to remember that when talking about international trade, Title 19 of the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR) concern U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s regulations related to the carrier carrying goods across the border while Title 8 of the CFR relates to admissibility of the visa holder.
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