DP Watson's Trips, Tips and Coming Home

There's always one thing that, if you forget all else, you should remember. This is it: Upon arrival back in the U.S. Get the carnet validated. That means get it stamped and signed by customs.

Exactly what is "it?" "It" is the yellow re-importation counterfoil in the carnet. The reason is that, if there is any problem with foreign customs and your carnet, you will have evidence that you re-imported the items back to the U.S. That means they cannot have been left in any foreign country.

And more wisdom from our friend Andrew David Watson:

"Don’t forget, you have to do your customs paper work at the first port of entry.  So if you are flying back from Mexico with a layover in Houston en route to LGA, you’ll have to show your Carnet/4455 in Houston.  It’s extremely important to make sure you schedule a long enough layover to get this done.  While I have never had a customs officer take more then 10 minutes to look through my kit, I have had to wait in secondary line for up to 45 minutes for my turn."

The boomerang carnets®' airport maps can be helpful for this purpose as well but usually it is obvious where to go to find customs upon arrival.

So, my friends, that's a wrap! We hope Andrew's words of wisdom have been helpful and that your first international shoot is a success.