CBP Issues Draft Following Palm Beach Boat Show Seminar

The Marine Industries Association of South Florida invited U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to speak during a seminar at this year’s Palm Beach Boat Show. The audience was invited to ask an officer any questions they had. Unfortunately, the officer sparked confusion with his answers, which spread throughout yachting social media.

Following this meeting, several industry stakeholders asked CBP to clarify the information. This led to CBP hosting a meeting at their Fort Lauderdale location on April 3, 2025, to answer any questions relating to the Palm Beach Boat Show misinformation. During that meeting, attendees requested CBP issue a draft on the information discussed, which was issued today to clarify and correct any misinformation. The following is CBP’s statement from the desk of the assistant director of border security in the Miami and Tampa Field Offices.

“CBP assess each applicant for admission on a case-by-case basis. A foreign national with a valid unexpired passport and B1 nonimmigrant visa (unless otherwise exempt) who maintains a foreign residence may be admitted to the U.S. to serve as a private vessel crewmember (see 9 FAM 402.2-5(C)(5)), providing: 

• The individual has a contract to work on a private vessel.
• The crewmember maintains a foreign residence they do not intend to abandon.
• The crewmember will perform “traditional” crew duties necessary for the normal ongoingoperations of the vessel.

• The crewmember’s movement onboard the vessel is connected to the vessel’s international arrival, departure, or both. For example, the crewmember is serving or joining a private vessel which is arriving from foreign or departing foreign during their period of admission to the U.S.

Non-immigrant crewmembers may not perform any major repair, refits, or shipyard work while their vessel is undergoing dry dock maintenance at a U.S. shipyard unless otherwise permitted.

While a private vessel is in dry dock crewmembers may perform the routine repairs and maintenance to the vessel they would normally undertake in the course of their duties when the vessel is not in a shipyard.”

The statement also included an introductory caveat from CBP that stated, “Noting that time was of the essence, I worked with the local CBP team on the below statement, which summarizes our conversation on April 3, 2025. Because the admissibility of every applicant for admission is based on the facts unique to that applicant at the moment they present themselves for inspection, it is difficult to prepare a document which states a person is admissible as long as the following occurs.”

Image via CBP.