www.CostaRicaTicas.com

I have asked this question before my first trips to Amsterdam and Asia and was told i was paranoid unless i plan on bringing drugs but i have heard on some forums(not this one)that customs has harassed people after turning on their laptops and smartphones.All i plan to do is take some pics o fthe chicas with their permission of course for memories.I do have some downloaded movies on my laptop and someone said they dont care what pics of chicks i have but they might delete my movies before giving my laptop back if it got searched,if so that would piss me off as some of these movies are hard to get,should i get a second computer for travelingBy the way i take my laptop to Montreal which is a few hours from NYC and never got searched or stopped at customs.As far as pictures i just email them to my account to be safe.I did read this forum and someone else got the good answer that the chicks are more acceptable to pictures in Costa Rica than Amsterdam since people have gotten thrown in the canals in amsterdam just for asking or trying.So am i paranoid again for asking?!Also same question for bringing condoms.I have done my research and booked a hotel which is chica friendly!The one i originally was given at Expedia i found would be a problem!

When I return from a trip I might get spot check by customs and ask if I have a laptop. Do they have the right to go through the files on my computer, don't know. Don't want to piss them off. Don't want them to do a cavity search on me

cheers,
Attila

I am referring to US Law but for the most part this does apply to majority of countries. Yes US Customs has the right to search anything in your possession and this includes all electronic devices. For the most part they could care less about your photos unless they depict und***ge subjects. This is definitely what they're looking for. As far as movies if they are on an electronic device they have been copied and you are in violation of anti piracy laws a very serious charge if they choose to prosecute. I have movies on my tablet and I always carry the original DVD to prove right of ownership and this allows you to have a copy on another device. Honestly this is seldom pursued but legally it could be if you can't prove ownership. Also be aware, should there be something questionable on an electronic device they have every right to and do confiscate the device for further review and can take all the time they want to investigate. I have seen this happen when someone has a lot of encrypted files and will not give them their passwords.

Your safest bet is to open an online storage account and upload there before leaving. There are also software that can hide files. The worse thing you can do is just leave them hanging on your desktop with the works "click me." So what if the pics are of age? How are you going to prove 16 vs 19?

Thanks everyone,guess i,m paraniod again,i,ll just get a 2nd laptop for travel and work.Just to clarify-i have zero interest in unde#$ge,my preference is chicks in their 20,s so like before pictures should be no concern.Perhaps i,ll mention where i got the majority of this info from-it was the Secret Service incident involving the president,s bodyguards in Columbia a little over a year ago when a few of them were doing what we would travel there to do,i understand it,s legal in Columbia just like it is in Costa Rica.This is what i don,t get that clear ,there was a directive issued i,m not sure if it was to Secret Service personel or all Americans,but it said remember American law applies wherevere you go.,maybe one of you can answer that/ law applies

I'm not a lawyer but I think that pertains to acts with und***ge girls. In some countries age of consent is younger then 18. That is where US law applies as our law states that age of consent is 18

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You do costa rica your way and I'll do it my way

I understand that law,since i don,t deal with unde$#$%ge i,m ok with it,but those chicks the Secret Service guys were with are way past !8,actually between 24-27 since they were all questioned for security reasons and their identities became known.Too bad one of them decided to retire and write a book,i definately would have liked to be with her.By the way anyone been mongering in Cartegena ,Columbia,that,s where this took place,it was reported to be a popilar destination for us mongerers in Columbia along with Medellin,have not been to either .

This is called "extraterritorial law" and is a very grey, arbitrary, confusing, and fluid concept. Those very few lawyers that specialize in it actually probably do deserve the several hundred thousands of dollars that some of them can make in a year if they are very good at what they do. There are a few basic concepts that I will state as simply as I can (please don't bust my balls on nuances, details, and exceptions, this is just a general overview of the concepts of extraterritorial law).

1. The USA cannot do anything to you on foreign soil. The USA has zero authority on foreign soil. However...
2. Other countries can grant the USA authority to do things to you on their soil. It is totally up to the country that you are in, and could include extremely limited or unlimited authority, and everything in between.
3. The USA has agreements with many of its allies and diplomatically associated countries to do certain things to its citizens on the soil of those countries, already established in writing and available at all times to the USA government.
4. Certain international treaties (not necessarily agreed upon by every country in the world, but the vast majority of them) grant authority to most countries (not just the USA) to apprehend, deport, and prosecute its own citizens at will, for certain internationally recognized crimes. For example, as discussed earlier, sexually explicit photos of 8-year-old Ch*ldren or human trafficking will pretty much leave you with very few places on planet Earth to hide.
5. USA law allows you to be prosecuted for any activity that is, by law, illegal in the USA, that you perform in another country, that has an "impact" on the USA, even if you never performed any of this action that is considered a crime in the USA on USA soil. The USA cannot necessarily do anything to you while you are outside the USA, but you can bet the farm that when you hit that immigration desk at the airport in Miami that the hammer is coming down hard. This is where you will really need that lawyer that is the freakin' Bobby Fischer of extraterritorial law. Talk about a minefield of implication, assumption, and wildly open to interpretation law. ?????
6. The USA law states that activities that are crimes in the USA may be prosecuted on persons performing those activities on aircraft or watercraft that made their most recent departure or most recent arrival in USA territory. It has also been stated that a crime anywhere in the world on board a USA-registered aircraft or vessel is fully prosecutable under USA law. There is not really any provision for the possibility that the "crime" may have occurred in international airspace or international waters, or even entirely within the boundary (or boundaries) of territory controlled by a country or countries other than the USA. I am not sure whether anyone has seriously challenged this in the USA court system, but I think that case is winnable. But you better have some stacks of cash ready to fight that battle.
7. USA crimes related to USA government employees or property are considered by the USA to be fully prosecutable under USA law. Once again, extradition, authority on foreign soil, etc. are still potential issues depending on the country or countries involved. However, this is one of those little quirks of law that will definitely bite you in the ass. True Story -- 2 USA citizens are in a bar in a foreign country. Guy #1 punches Guy #2 in some kind of drunken argument. The local police do show up, but they decide it's just 2 drunk gringos having a minor bar fight and kick them out of the bar in different directions. Both dudes go to their respective hotels and go to sleep. No harm done, right? Guy #1 goes back to the USA, and at the immigration desk, to his surprise, he is arrested. Guy #2 has already entered the USA and has filed charges. Guy #1 posts bail, gets a lawyer, who at the first meeting says that assault and battery in a bar in a foreign country is in no way prosecutable in the USA. He tells Guy #1 to relax and go home, and it will be dismissed in court. A day or two later, the lawyer for Guy #1 gets the paperwork from the DA's office. OH SHIT!!!! Guy #2 is a low-level paper-pusher for the IRS. Yep, a government employee. Guy #1 gets 18 months and has to pay (I forget the exact amount) around $25,000.

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The Secret Service guys in Colombia committed no crime. Prostitution is legal in Colombia, and current interpretation in the USA is that soliciting a prostitute is not covered by the USA's extraterritorial law provisions. It's not even as serious as a parking ticket, it's nothing, no crime, no infraction, NOTHING. But anyone, whether government or private-sector employees, can be punished or fired for violating the standards of conduct for their job. That's simply a violation of your contract of employment and has nothing do with government, although in this case it was government employees, which probably threw a lot more fuel on that particular scandal fire. The Secret Service guys did absolutely nothing wrong under USA law. USA law DOES NOT apply to any USA citizen that is not on USA soil, unless the law specifically spells out the conditions under which the law DOES apply on foreign soil. Like I said before, extraterritorial law is tricky-dicky.

Another couple of points here:

1. It doesn't really matter if prostitution IS ILLEGAL in Columbia. USA law simply does not recognize the laws of other countries in this regard. Soliciting prostitution is not covered by extraterritorial law, so it is entirely up to the host country to conduct any prosecution that it sees fit.

2. Prostitution and soliciting prostitution is legal (technically, not addressed and therefore not illegal) under federal law. It is legislated by the states and lower governments (remember, it is legal in certain sections of the USA). This is not really relevant, but it is an interesting point to ponder.

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As for USA Customs (CBP) searching your stuff, yes, they absolutely can. This is another tricky area to understand, and I'm not a lawyer, although I have had extensive training in my job for international travel, including classes on law and how it applies to international travel. It is different in every country, but here is the cliff's notes version of how it works in the USA. The best explanation I have heard is that, for example, at the airport, when you land on a flight from a foreign country, you are in effect requesting permission to enter the USA. As a citizen or resident of the USA, you enjoy certain privileges that foreigners do not. But from the moment you get off the airplane, you are an unknown. You MIGHT be a USA citizen or resident and you MIGHT have a USA passport and your bags MIGHT NOT contain dangerous materials, but how does anyone really know that? In effect, when you left the USA, you voluntarily removed yourself from the USA's sphere of influence and "ceased to exist" in the sense that your person (your face, your appearance, your claims to be who you are) is no longer positively associated with the ID that you MIGHT be carrying. And your bags have been outside of the USA's sphere of influence too, so how does anyone really know that even if you are a citizen, that you are not a subversive bring dangerous items into the USA? The USA has no control over how other countries screen people and baggage, although there are mutual agreements with most countries (ICAO has a big hand in this). Bottom line is that the USA does not trust any foreign country to adequately screen passengers and baggage headed for the USA. Might be a little paranoid, but it is for the protection of all USA citizens and residents that are within the "shell" of the USA's fully controlled territory. Not saying it's right or wrong, it's just the way it is. Basically, before you cross both the Immigration and the Customs checkpoints, you are nobody. Once you have "proven" that you are a USA citizen or resident, and that you have nothing illegal or dangerous in your bags or on your person, and you cross that magic line at Customs, you instantly "exist" again. Anyways, I thought it was a pretty good way to teach the concept.

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Turning on or using your electronic devices (laptop, phone, camera, etc.) is a CBP security regulation that is not strictly related to the process of immigration or entering the USA. The purpose of not allowing electronics operating in the CBP areas is to prevent any recording of potentially sensitive situations and procedures, interference with other equipment, etc. This restriction also applies to airport employees and CBP officers in these areas that are not subject to the immigration and customs clearing process.

Thnak you for a good report that took you a significant amount of time. I'll have to read it a few times more to really get it.

I guess i should have researched before asking.Just did an extensive research into the secret service thing and found out those guys did not get in trouble with the law,just lost their jobs for moral turpitude which i still don,t agree with,by the way it,s slow and discussed this with my boss-he laughed and said he don,t give a f%$# what i do on my own time,let alone in another country.So what i found on research is:Us govt employeee which include secret service,FBI,military etc are under US law 24/7 whereever in the world they are(sucks)that,s what that directive i read about was aimed at those personel,but i believe the media twisted it in a way that steered some-myself included to think otherwise

Thank you for making the effort, and taking the time to post this information.

That is not exactly true (no offense), but once again I will state that these laws are very confusing with some very subtle implications.

I have been a USA government employee in the past and there is nothing that specifically states that USA government employees are subject to USA law when outside USA territory. However, there are quite a few vague statements in most government employee agreements that imply standards of conduct, upholding the laws of the USA, etc., but nothing strictly stating that USA laws apply to government employees in other countries or in international territory. My own government employment agreement, that I had to sign, stated almost verbatim the same thing that is in your USA passport: "I understand that while in a foreign country, I am subject to that country's laws and affirm that I shall to the best of my ability be aware of those laws and abide by those laws, and that I shall to the best of my ability maintain an attitude of decorum and respect in representing the United States of America while I am abroad."

Once again, by USA law, it must specifically be written in the law that it applies to government employees, citizens, or permanent residents, even when overseas, in order to be enforceable. And also once again, even though it might not be law, the very nature of a law or even the general perception of a law may be a condition of employment, even though not prosecutable as a crime if that law is "broken" in foreign territory. That's the point the Secret Service guys learned in Colombia. This is all so grey and vague and interpretable that the lawyers in this field must get a raging boner every time they get a case that involves this kind of stuff.

You,re all welcomw!I aplologize if i wasted anyone,s time,i just get paranoid at times on issues involving my freedom of choice.Just found out if i wanted i have a job at my company till i retire in 4 years,so i guess it,s none of my business what happens to other,s but i feel for someone that wrongly loses their jobs!

My next plan is after i return from my first Costa rica trip if i like it,which i will!I,ll make arrangements to retire there-that i have researched and found i,ll be joined by many Americans and Canadians.Perhaps some of you can give me pointers in the right direction on that,already spoke to the manager of the hotel i booked at and found prices for living are within my range!!!

You didn't waste anyone's time, that's what message and chat boards are for.

As Roy Scheider would say (you must say it dripping with sarcasm ), "I seem to remember a process where I ask you people questions and you give me answers, and you ask me questions and I give you answers, and that's the way we find out things."

i used to hear stories about guys getting their cameras turned on at the airport. so i just started removing the sd card and packing it in my check in luggage fwiw. have never witnessed anyone attempt to open a camera or laptop ime at SJO.

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im way deep into nothing special
riding the crest of a wave breaking just west of hollywood