What is Customs and Border Protection (CBP) role?

What is Customs and Border Protection (CBP)? The organization responsible for managing and controlling the U.S. border. It combines customs, immigration, security, and agricultural protection.

Which family-based green card applicants does CBP interact with? The applicants that are filing from outside the United States. CBP sees them at the ‘port of entry’, that is the airport, harbor, or border town where the applicant enter the United States with a temporary green card visa in his or her passport.

What is CBP’s job? The CBP agent at the port of entry is the person who ultimately decides whether to admit an applicant into the United States.

Can they deny entry to an applicant whose green card has been approved at an embassy or consulate outside of the United States? Yes, although it is rare. But CBP likes to point out that they look at an applicant through a different lens than the consular officer, and looks for different things.