Post #195110 by thejab on Thu, Oct 27, 2005 11:08 AM

On 2005-10-26 23:46, tikipedia wrote:
BTW, I think customs changed the rules, and you can now bring 1.5 liter of alcohol per adult aged 21 or over. So if you go with a significant other and you are both over 21, you can bring back 3 liters without paying extra.

The law in California has not changed. It is (from the State of CA web site):

California adult residents returning from Mexico by motor vehicle or on foot may only bring in one liter of alcoholic beverages (the duty-free amount) for personal or household use.

The law varies for non-California citizens returning through California, or citizens of California returning through other states. For example, Californians returning through texas can bring up to 4 liters.

But just so nobody misundertands, these limits apply to legal puchases only. No cuban rum can be brought back legally into the US unless you have a government issued permit to travel to Cuba, in which case you may bring back up to $100 worth (in US dollars?) of Cuban rum or cigars or both.

The law was not more lenient under Clinton. Since 1982 the law bans Americans from spending money in Cuba and has not changed, so bringing back rum from Cuba is proof that you spent money there. However, under Bush the issuance of permits to travel there legally were restricted, so that many non-profits that traveled to Cuba to do volunteer work or scientific study with legal permits during the Clinton administration are unable to get permits now. And some people have said that customs have been searching luggage more frequently since Bush was "elected", which is probably a result of increased security after 9/11 more than any other reason.

I don't want to get into another discussion on whether the US law against American travel to Cuba is right or wrong, as it has been discussed to death here before, but I'm going to Cuba next year, legal or not!