Under 21, Bringing back wine to the US

I am not a legal expert. But I'm guessing it won't be a problem. Liquor laws vary by state. In this summary of California law, for instance, it appears that "delivery of the alcohol under the direction of a parent" is a valid defense. And it was legally purchased in Italy.

I think that both customs and immigration agents have a different mandate than this issue. Do declare the bottle to customs upon entering the US, since the penalty for not declaring something that they later discover (if they decide to search you) is stiff.

Under US customs rules you must be 21 and over to bring alcohol in the US:

http://tinyurl.com/7lehh9c

Some food for thought, my brother was caught bringing Cuban cigars into the US via Canada, They confiscated them, fined him and his name was entered into a database so whenever he enters the US from international travel he always get a hand search.
Don't do the crime if you can do the time or in this case pay the fine;)

I have a different opinion. I looked at that statute for California - I'm assuming you're in California. The exception for delivering alcohol at the request of a parent would likely be more like a situation where you're carrying a drink to them at a swimming pool from the bar or something like that. I would not risk the criminal issues arising from arriving in the US with a bottle of alcohol when you're not 21. It's not worth the potential headache it could cause. In addition, it appears that carrying it under orders from your parent is a DEFENSE, which means that you have to raise it on your behalf. This would mean that you could be arrested for it and then, in the process of being charged with a crime and trying to sort the whole legal case out, you would raise the defense that you were just delivering it at the order of your parent.

I would really suggest you not do this and in my day job I am a criminal defense lawyer:)

I would say put it in you bag, write it on declaration and hope for the best. If I had to guess it will likely be a non-issue. I've never even had them look at my customs form closely.

It all depends who you get with customs, so I wouldn't risk it. Instead, I would buy a few more bottles & ship them to your mom! :)

I will revise my thinking based on the US Customs link above. So maybe you should just drink that wine now, yourself, while you're still in Europe.

Don't do it!

I agree that you shouldn't do it, but I give you full credit for the sentiment. Your mom will be proud of you.

You can buy hundreds of Italian wines in the US. It is not worth having your name permanently in a data base as a smuggling risk and getting those hassles to bring back what is probably an indifferent bottle of something not that different than what could be obtained in a good wine store in the US.

Drink that bottle of wine before you leave Italy and don't risk it!

No one under the age of 21 can bring liquor into the United States.

I know this from experience. I brought a tour group into California from Mexico and one of my passengers brought a bottle through Customs. She was 20. The officer stopped her and told her she couldn't bring it in. However, since it was a tour, the officer allowed the passenger to give the bottle to someone else to carry in.

You risk losing the bottle if caught. If you don't declare it, you could subject yourself to a very serious search of your stuff and even a fine. And all of that will be on your records so when you enter the U.S. again, you will be searched. And don't even think about getting either Global Entry of TSA Precheck in the future.

Well, the snobby retort is that there are no Italian wines worth carrying home.

Realize that the law being broken is state not federal.

If you flew directly from Europe to Puerto Rico where the drinking age is 18 and did your US customs there it would not be an issue.

Am I missing something? Unless you are over some $$$ threshold I thought there was no need to declare anything.

If there is a federal statute or rule link it. The cbp link above is to a policy, not a statute and not a rule. Statutes have USC in them, rules have CFR in them. It would be nice if the policy backed up the requirements listed with footnotes to the various relevant statutes or rules all through the text-- it footnotes nothing.

All I said was that US customs in Puerto Rico wouldn't stop a 20 year old with a liquor bottle and I believe this is true. I'm guessing that as a courtesy to the states the CBP people won't knowingly allow people to enter a US state in violation of local laws and that is where the policy comes from, and not from a federal law.

I haven't imported anything in 15 years so maybe things have changed. I try to return with less than I left with. Not a shopper.

My sister and I got to watch our duty free liquor (presents for mom and dad, really) go bye bye when we thought it could be brought into the US. Being of legal age to buy it overseas doesn't cut it with US Customs. They do look at the forms and the luggage. You may not end up on a list, but you will waste the money.
Legal drinking age is 21 in all fifty states.

Here's another idea, easier, as much fun, no-risk and lighter in weight: wherever you are traveling or studying, buy a nice bottle of wine and locate a clean and sparkling wine glass; find a beautiful background, like a sunset, a white-capped mountain or a beautiful beach; then pour a glass and display the bottle, label and glass of wine in front if the selected background. Then, take a photo and send it to your mother, with the simple message: "Thinking of you mom, with my love. Soon I'll be home and we can enjoy a glass together!" Finally, drink up! Problem solved.

If you were my daughter here is what I would suggest. Bring the bottle in your checked luggage. Enter it as a purchase on your customs declaration form.. A sample is here:

https://www.cbp.gov/sites/default/files/assets/customs-declaration-6059b.jpg

Note that they do not ask if you are carrying alcohol, or your age, Chances they will glance at the form and wave you through. On the rare chance they stop you and ask question, be honest --- it is a gift for your mother. If they do take it away (which I doubt they will) you have lost little. Your name will not go on some unnamed blacklist.

When I arrived from Germany years ago, age 20 and carrying a bottle of Sylvaner Riesling in my luggage, the question asked was, Are you carrying any hard liquor, young lady? I answered honestly that no, I was not. He waved me on and that was that.

This is a Federal issue / jurisdiction; State Laws have no affect on bringing in alcohol into the USA. From meeting some customs officers they know their job and they do not play fair. "It ain't worth it".

Maybe this clarifies what is going on with under 21 and alcohol:

...state law will be enforced by CBP, even though this may be more restrictive than federal regulations.

from https://www.ttb.gov/importers/personal_importation.shtml

Note that saying alcohol is a gift may not be wise, since then the bottle would have to have the health warning sticker affixed.
http://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?c=ecfr&SID=3eedb16f069b9dc3c90030a06b7f8dda&rgn=div8&view=text&node=27:1.0.1.1.12.3.45.2&idno=27

We haven't heard back from this poster since (s)he made this one and only post last Thursday so I guess we won't.

Sorry for the delayed response, I took a long weekend to travel and had limited wifi. I took everyone's thoughts into consideration and although I'll be 21 just a few days after I return I think I'm just going to leave the bottle here rather than risk something happening in customs. Thanks for the advice!

Quick update based on entering the USA using the smartphone app instead of CPB Form 6039B:

The old days are back if you enter the USA and use the smartphone app (Mobile Pass) rather than the blue and white form handed out on the plane. If you enter using the app, there is no longer a requirement to declare and itemize all items you are bringing into the US if you are bringing in less than $800 of new items. Just like it used to be.

It appears only US and Canadian passport holders may use the app.

http://www.wsj.com/articles/get-through-airport-customs-faster-with-this-free-app-1467221118?mod=djemptech_t

But, Tom_MN, what happens if you fail to declare something that is required to be declared - like alcohol for example, which is required to be declared for the smallest quantity?

If you watch the video in the link, the wording is that there is no need to declare individual items if you are under the duty free limits. It's a completely different process than the written form where itemization is required. As to alcohol, there's no need to declare it using the app. Sorry the better video showing close-ups of the screens might be behind a paywall, but you can see in the first video at the top the question if you pause it at 1:03.

The 4 questions are
1. carrying more than $10,000
2. are you under the duty free limits, (total item worth less than $800, liquor limits, tobacco limits, etc.)
3. fruit, plants or animals
4. been on a farm