Customs Officials

The customs territory of the United States is divided into four regions, including the Southwest Land Border, the Northern Land Border, the Maritime Border, and Interior/Airports of Entries. In these regions there are some 328 official ports of entry along land and sea borders. Customs inspectors may be assigned to any of these ports or to overseas work at airports, seaports, waterfronts, border stations, customs houses, or the CBP headquarters in Washington, D.C. They are able to request assignments in certain localities and usually receive them when possible.

A typical work schedule is eight hours a day, five days a week, but CBP officers and related employees often work overtime or long into the night. U.S. entry and exit points must be supervised 24 hours a day, which means that workers rotate night shifts and weekend duty. CBP officers are sometimes assigned to one-person border points at remote locations, where they may perform immigration and agricultural inspections in addition to regular duties. They often risk physical injury from criminals violating customs regulations.