4457 changes this past week

sestoppelman said:

RogerH, thanks!! Royal, I think its the RSA end that states no older than 6 months. Or am I missing something?

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1. We haven't seen anything official from the SA end that I'm aware of.
2. Why would SA make a requirement that a 4457 be less than six months old, but not make the UK license to have a less than six month requirement?

sestoppelman said:

Written by PHASA and forwarded by our CBP folks. Sounds official to me.

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JimP said:

Without reading through 4 pages on this subject, has anyone thought to contact Henry at Rifle Permits and see what he knows? You would figure that he is doing this daily and might just know something.

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AfricaHunting.com said:

I emailed Henry Durrheim at riflepermits.com in regards to this issue and here is his reply:


Hi Jerome

We don’t have any issues currently with the SA Police, they still do accept old 4457 forms, we did however had a problem last year when the SA Police at the airport refused to issue permits as they referred to the expiry date on the CBP4457 customs form and informed the client that the form had expired, we then enquired with US customs and this was the feedback from US customs:

Recently you requested personal assistance from our on-line support center. Below is a summary of your request and our response.

If this issue is not resolved to your satisfaction, you may reopen it within the next 7 days.

Thank you for allowing us to be of service to you.

Subject
Form 4457 has an expiration date of 2/29/2016 and we are told will not be accept...


Discussion Thread
Response Via Email (PIO Butler)
12/16/2015 08:17 AM

Thank you for contacting the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) INFO Center.

Although this form is widely accepted in other countries, the purpose of CBP Form 4457 is to prove the item was in the U.S. prior to your travels, not proof of ownership to other countries. As long as the Certificate of Registration is for the same equipment, it can be used more than once. The description of the item and serial number must match. The expiration and subsequent replacement of the form does not negate the validity of the registration. Please check with the South African embassy to see what alternative documents they will accept as proof of ownership in the event the form is not accepted. The expiration is just the date that triggers a review of the form by the Office of Management and Budget. These types of forms continue to be valid until they are replaced by a new form.

If you have any other questions or concerns, please feel free to call our toll-free number 877-CBP-5511 (877-227-5511). From outside the United States, please call 202-325-8000 - you may incur charges from your telephone service provider for this call. Our service hours are Monday through Friday from 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Eastern Time. We are closed on all U.S. federal holidays.

We hope our answers ease your entry into the United States. Please understand these answers are informational only, The CBP officer who speaks with you upon arrival determines the admissibility of goods and visitors.

Thank you again for contacting the CBP INFO Center.

Sincerely,
CBP INFO Center


Kind regards,
Henry

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RogerHeintzman said:

Guys,

It is RSA not USA that the requirement comes from. Did you see the posted email from PHASA that Jerome posted for me?

Seems pretty clear. Read the highlighted line , without the proof, no permit and confiscation of firearm(s). Why would USA have anything to do with this?

It is a pain in the A%% for me to get to customs, I have updated my 4457 and not taking chances, whether or not I have a pre-approved permit.

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Areaonereal said:

Hope this is not another boondoggle overreaction like the export permit fiasco was last year. The most current 4457 still has a expiration date from February 2016.

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Royal27 said:

I also guess I missed the post where Henry from riflepermits stated there wasn't an issue, other than an over zealous officer it appears. That happens everywhere, including here.

.

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Royal27 said:

Wanted to follow up on this.

Went to SA and checked guns at Tambo upon arrival, at Tambo again to go to PLZ, again at PLZ to come home, and finally again at Tambo.

I had two 4457s, one with the "expiration date," one without. As with both of my previous trips I was never asked for the 4457 while in SA. The only time it was required was at U.S. customs back in Atlanta for its true and intended purpose.

In my opinion the expiration date is moot, and there certainly wasn't any "policy change" that impacted me. As always, your mileage may vary.

And I didn't use any type of rifle service this time either as I wasn't worried about connecting flights.

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Royal27 said:

Wanted to follow up on this.

Went to SA and checked guns at Tambo upon arrival, at Tambo again to go to PLZ, again at PLZ to come home, and finally again at Tambo.

I had two 4457s, one with the "expiration date," one without. As with both of my previous trips I was never asked for the 4457 while in SA. The only time it was required was at U.S. customs back in Atlanta for its true and intended purpose.

In my opinion the expiration date is moot, and there certainly wasn't any "policy change" that impacted me. As always, your mileage may vary.

And I didn't use any type of rifle service this time either as I wasn't worried about connecting flights.

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PHOENIX PHIL said:

I'm surprised SAPS didn't ask you for the 4457's. They've always asked me for mine as part of getting the rifle permit.

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sestoppelman said:

Guessing he means since he did the license on the ground, they didn't ask. I would not expect SAPS to want to see a 4457 either,

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sestoppelman said:

I don't quite understand this last part. You would normally really want to use the service IF you WERE hunting in RSA as opposed to moving on to another destination would you not? Because if you are only transiting RSA, no permits are needed.

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