We love souvenirs as much as you do, and we'd never suggest that you skimp on keepsakes that you'll always treasure (though we'll try to find you bargains whenever we can!). But there are a few no-nos that U.S. customs will confiscate if you try to get them past the border—some for health reasons, others for complex economic and cultural reasons. In the interest of saving you time, money—and embarrassment—here are 10 you should be wary of...
1: Absinthe
Try as you might, seeing the green fairy probably isn't going to happen these days: Modern absinthe is different from the low-quality, toxic sort made with poisonous metal salts and associated with hallucinogenic properties back in Vincent van Gogh's day. However, it's still illegal to bring certain kinds of absinthe in from other countries due to lack of regulation there. In particular, bottles that claim to contain 10 parts per million or more of the chemical thujone are Food & Drug Administration no-nos.
2: Certain plants (and crafts made from plants)
Gardening enthusiasts, prepare to present any plant item that you want to bring into the States—even crafts made with straw—to a customs officer for inspection. You'll need a permit even for innocuous-sounding items like nursery stock, seeds and cut flowers with berries attached. Other fauna, like "noxious weeds," aren't allowed, period (even if some do sound quite pleasant, like apricot cape tulip).
3: Ivory (including jewelry made from ivory)
It's safe to assume that you'll need a permit from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (fws.gov/permits) to bring any ivory into the country, due to the Endangered Species Act. (Unless the item in question is from a warthog, but, really, who wants that?) You can import an antique ivory item if you have special documentation showing it's more than 100 years old, but thanks to rampant poaching, any object that's younger is generally not allowed.
4: Ancient artifacts
So many items have been stolen from museums and churches that any ancient artifact (like pre-Columbian objects, Native American artifacts, Byzantine items, culturally significant Iraqi property, etc.) requires an export permit—and a real one at that: There are many fake certificates floating around. The U.S. National Stolen Property Act prevents individuals from legally owning a swiped item, regardless of how many people have since possessed it.
5: Big souvenirs from Cuba, Iran, or much of Sudan
prevent visitors from bringing items back from these countries (Cuban cigars, for example). You can apply for a license from the Office of Foreign Assets Control if you wish to import something, but it's rare that you'll actually get one.
6: Meat-based products (even soup mix)Bush meat made from African wildlife and anything imbued with meat products—like bouillon, soup mixes, etc.—from most countries could introduce serious pathogens into the U.S. and spread unpleasant conditions like foot-and-mouth disease, African swine fever, mad cow disease and the avian flu. That goes for canned and dried meats, too.
7: Most fruits and vegetables
carried onto an airplane caused the great California Mediterranean fruit fly outbreak of the early 1980s. The pestilence threatened the state's agriculture—and set the federal government back $100 million to eliminate. (Think about how bad that person must have felt.) If you're determined to bring fruit back, the USDA has a long list of what's permissible (aphis.usda.gov/favir)—nearly every fruit and veggie (possibly with the exception of an apple you bought in an airport, for example) requires a permit.
8: Some Haitian goat hide drumsHauling an animal-skin drum through an airport seems ripe for a comedy of misunderstanding anyway (the ceremonial snake bowl that Renée Zellweger brought back from Thailand in the second Bridget Jones movie didn't do her any favors). But some goat-skin drums aren't treated properly and have been tied to a cutaneous anthrax case, putting them on the Centers for Disease Control's restricted list. Same goes for some African drums.
9: Designer knockoffs and cartoon-character paraphernalia
Tempting as it might be to stock up on faux labels when you're out of the country, goods like fake Chanel bags and nearly real Mickey Mouse knickknacks are subject to U.S. copyright and trademark protections. The government is so serious about enforcing this that your haul of "confusingly similar" trademarked merchandise could be seized.
10: More than $10,000 cashTo make it rain on the plane, you'll have to report the cash first. Smuggling "bulk currency" (an offense under the Bank Secrecy Act) is the kind of thing drug traffickers are known to do, so U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement doesn't take kindly to it. Money orders, travelers' checks, and foreign coins—not just paper bills—count, too.
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