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I will be travelling to the US as a tourist for a few days (I have an ESTA, I'm from an EU contry). When you arrive at the border, you must fill a U.S. Customs and Border Protection Declaration Form 6059B, which the flight attendants usually give out during the flight. What should I put in the box "US street address (hotel/destination)"? I will be living on a boat that will not stay in the same port.

edit: a private boat, not commercial

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3 Answers 3

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For APIS data, CBP says the following:

Transit to a cruise ship: CBP will accept, "transit to Cruise Line and Vessel/Cruise Name" in the address field. The city of cruise embarkation should be included.

Example:

Street Address: Transit to MV Princess of the Seas

City: Miami

State: FL

ZIP Code: 99999

Presumably the same information is appropriate for the customs form. If the boat you will be staying on is not a commercial vessel, I would still supply its name and, as specifically as you are able, the place where you will embark.

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    That's a transit, not an arrival address. If it were me, I'd just list the place that you get on the boat and that address.
    – insidesin
    Commented Dec 18, 2017 at 4:25
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When I traveled in the USA (a few years back) I did not have more than the first night booked, when I talked about that with the immigration officer he said I was right in putting in that first address, as that is what they needed.
So I would say that the name of the boat and the address where you get on should do for you.

When asked about it, you can explain the boat will be on the move and have the itinerary in your hand luggage, in case they want more addresses.

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    If asked about it. You very possibly won't be.
    – Muzer
    Commented Dec 18, 2017 at 8:31
  • @Muzer I'm not sure about U.S. incoming since that's where I live, but outgoing, U.S. to Canada, Canadian officers have asked all sorts of questions and probed for lots of detail about where, how long, why, etc.. Is the U.S. much more lax than Canada?
    – Aaron
    Commented Dec 18, 2017 at 16:16
  • @Aaron the US system these days seems to be very automated if you're an ESTA user. I only had very brief/basic questions asked by an actual human - if I recall, just how long I'm staying and why I'm here. I've been a few times and though I had to answer questions about the place I stay on the ESTA, I wasn't asked any of this by an actual person.
    – Muzer
    Commented Dec 18, 2017 at 16:56
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I actually asked an immigrations officer about this about 15 years ago (before ESTA, you filled out the same questions on a paper form on the arriving flight) as I was going to stay in 3-4 different locations during my stay in the US, and the answer was simply: Pick one, preferably one with either a resident or a hotel/motel. I've done that ever since. Nobody I've used has ever been contacted by INS or similar either so it's probably just for reference - in case it's needed.

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