CBP officer

[Mole177]

I'm going to assume things.

No amt of reading will prepare one for field work.

However it is nice to see some exposure/literature on some possibilities cbpo may be doing.

[Firebug]

To academy graduates:
I've been through a varience of law enforcement academies in my history. However, none of which have ever had anything to do with Immigration Law. I am assuming that this will be a large part of the education in the CBPO academy. Can someone point me to any pubs, websites or books that will help me get ahead of the curve? Start learning what I can now, when I have the time free?

In addition, if there are any topics that are more intensive, while at FLETC, can you let me know of those as well?

Thank you so much,
Respectfully,
V10

Do not attempt to learn Immigration Law on your own. It will only make it that much more difficult once you are in the academy. There are many nuances to the application of Immigration Law that are not published. This is a really bad idea.

FB

[Firebug]

POSSIBLE News About Polygraphs and Budget:
So I had my border patrol oral board today and passed, got there at 6:40 am and left at 11:00am! Anyway, the agents there said that because of the fact that they made polygraphs mandatory, a lot of the applicants are failing it (too many). Because of this, they are considering overturning the decision to 100% polygraph every single applicant and flipping it back to what it was before: random. The agents said that although headquarters is pleased with the quality of the agents being hired that do pass a polygraph, hence why they bumped it up to 100%, now it has become a problem for them because too many are not moving forward, retirement/attrition rates, and "wasted" money on applicants because of the failed polys. This is still up in the air, so they were waiting to see what will the big wigs up in HQ and D.C. decide. They said they want to send 1000 applicants to the academy in 2013 and start pushing people through in March 2013. According to them, I should expect "the call" in about 6 months... don't know whether or not to get excited, but I sure hope it's true! 6 months please!

Lots of information in these paragraphs that just is not true. It was not bumped up to 100% because anybody anywhere was pleased with the outcome of previous applicants that did the poly test. It was increased to 100% because Congress passed a law that said the agency will poly 100% of applicants. Who are the "they" that are considering flipping it back to what it was before? Unless, it is Congress that is the "They" it is unlikely that anyone in headquarters is going to get to ignore the law because it is inconvenient.

FB

[Get Some]

Interesting. So the likelihood of Cruz12 being "Eligible" is not likely since he was not offered the SI immediately?

Yes it could be highly unlikely.

I don't agree with that. I know of two different people that didn't get there SI on the spot simply because there was no one to do it. There have also been stories on this site where people were told their tapes were being sent to Minneapolis and they would be contacted for the SI.

Hence the 99%, there are rare cases but the majority of them that get turned down for SI is the end of the road for them, I'm speaking from personal experience. You cannot know for sure how you did until you get the letter that says how you did. Don't mean to be the bringer of bad news but know that the possibility of failure is higher than normal for the situation in your position. I wish you the best of luck.

[-USER-]

just passing along the info we were given that the BP agents were given through the grapevine.

[Jturs]

Thank you brother that really helped. I was considering injecting deca and as for HGH it would have been jintropin/somatropin. After what you said I will not do any of them, rather just work really hard and use over the counter supplements than **** away my chance at Customs. Also the only performance enhancing supplements I have taken are over the counter which is HD-Build, that is a blend of creatine and other things but legal of course and is a flavored powder mix. Also pre-workout powdered form and few years back some energy/fat burning pills. All over the counter from GNC or bodybuilding.com

somatropin isnt illegal as far as my knowledge i know people that take it for muscle purposes to sleeding disorders. and ya stay away from the needles it isnt worth it in my opinion i know a few people that juice and its good if thats what you want but my opinion in training for this career being juiced out of your mind isnt going to help your cadrio or endurance running someone down. big dosnt mean in shape its something to think about. stick to over counter supplements and stay away from over seas products and you should be golden.

and the other thigns you listed you should be fine but if i was you when you go in for your poly if for and reason you feel this whole situation in back of your head let him know in advance so you dont get false readings or accused of hiding anything. during my poly i noticed they pound in your head they are looking for integrity, honesty, and good values not necessaly what you did in past but what you are willing to admit to doing and knowing it was the wrong thing. good luck remember be calm, honest and put all cards out on table you cant hide anything from them.

[Twink]

somatropin isnt illegal as far as my knowledge i know people that take it for muscle purposes to sleeding disorders. and ya stay away from the needles it isnt worth it in my opinion i know a few people that juice and its good if thats what you want but my opinion in training for this career being juiced out of your mind isnt going to help your cadrio or endurance running someone down. big dosnt mean in shape its something to think about. stick to over counter supplements and stay away from over seas products and you should be golden.

and the other thigns you listed you should be fine but if i was you when you go in for your poly if for and reason you feel this whole situation in back of your head let him know in advance so you dont get false readings or accused of hiding anything. during my poly i noticed they pound in your head they are looking for integrity, honesty, and good values not necessaly what you did in past but what you are willing to admit to doing and knowing it was the wrong thing. good luck remember be calm, honest and put all cards out on table you cant hide anything from them.

Jturs is definitely right, go ahead and spill whatever is in your head that you may worry about so that they don't see any discrepancies, even though you may think its unnecessary. Better to fess up everything that could worry you in any way so they know you are willing to own up to your mistakes good luck! Had to do mine twice and the first one was definitely physically, mentally and emotionally draining...but stay true to who you are an you'll be fine

[breachnclear]

thanks RMS and firebug, appreciate the feedback.

[Firebug]

just passing along the info we were given that the BP agents were given through the grapevine.

If you are ok with passing on information that is incorrect, more power to you. However, published information that is codified in statute does not back up that grapevine information, which it usually never does.

FB

[-USER-]

hopefully the other info given is true, that they want to send 1000 applicants to the academy in 2013, that would be good news for the rest of us

[majere39]

New guy, lotsa reading but still confused!

Hello all!
Reading through all these messages is crazy!! I have a couple questions...I cannot remember when I took my test for the CBPO, but I think it was in May in Fort Bragg, and i think I got my NOR around the middle of June with a 95 plus 10 points veterans preference. I chose SE US and applied for the job opening in Charlotte.(i know i probably will not get this one, but hey.) I did not hear anything until a few weeks ago that said I had to go downtown and get my fingerprints done and fill out the Laughtenberg agreement, financial disclosure, etc. I got an email today saying that my VBT was scheduled for 112712. Is this going along on schedule like everyone else? What should I expect from the VBT? Never heard of it, and going through the posts the info is kinda grey. I know there must be a non-disclosure statement because it is not even on Google!! What about physical training? I have recently gotten back into doing p90x, but is that enough? I see a lot of people saying that you get tons of running so I have been trying to up my stamina and getting myself back in shape. I was never a 18 minute three miler in the USMC, but 21:30 was pretty good if you ask me!! Where do I go to get all the info you guys have underneath all your posts? Thanks in advance, and SEMPER FI!
Oh, and I got my tentative selection letter 100112, if that helps.

[Rms16]

Hello all!
Reading through all these messages is crazy!! I have a couple questions...I cannot remember when I took my test for the CBPO, but I think it was in May in Fort Bragg, and i think I got my NOR around the middle of June with a 95 plus 10 points veterans preference. I chose SE US and applied for the job opening in Charlotte.(i know i probably will not get this one, but hey.) I did not hear anything until a few weeks ago that said I had to go downtown and get my fingerprints done and fill out the Laughtenberg agreement, financial disclosure, etc. I got an email today saying that my VBT was scheduled for 112712. Is this going along on schedule like everyone else? What should I expect from the VBT? Never heard of it, and going through the posts the info is kinda grey. I know there must be a non-disclosure statement because it is not even on Google!! What about physical training? I have recently gotten back into doing p90x, but is that enough? I see a lot of people saying that you get tons of running so I have been trying to up my stamina and getting myself back in shape. I was never a 18 minute three miler in the USMC, but 21:30 was pretty good if you ask me!! Where do I go to get all the info you guys have underneath all your posts? Thanks in advance, and SEMPER FI!
Oh, and I got my tentative selection letter 100112, if that helps.

Well let me try and answer some questions for you, first the info on the VBT is vague bc of the non-disclosure agreement you sign, don't sweat this step just be smart about it, it's mostly common sense. You will most likely get a structured interview(SI) afterwards, which is like an oral board. After the VBT they will sit you down while they review the tape and come get you in an hour or so. After that they will either send you home or continue with the SI. If they send you home 80% to 85% of the time that means you failed the VBT, but sometimes they don't have the time or the people to review the tape and they have to send it out. So if you don't get the SI afterwards there still is a chance you didn't fail. The fitness test isn't crazy hard as long as you in some sort of shape you will be fine. definitely start running regularly though, bc from what I've heard at FLETC they usually do a lot of running. Although that depends on your instructor. Their is no rhyme or reason to the way this process goes, everybody's is different. I'm assuming you're in the military? That may slow down your background investigation(BI) bc military records tend to be hard to get. The info (signature) at the bottom of most post we add in, this is info we remember and put in ourselves, you can't really find it anywhere. Hope this helps and good luck and don't let this process drive you crazy, bc it definitely can if you let it.

[yoda]

Hello all!
Reading through all these messages is crazy!! I have a couple questions...I cannot remember when I took my test for the CBPO, but I think it was in May in Fort Bragg, and i think I got my NOR around the middle of June with a 95 plus 10 points veterans preference. I chose SE US and applied for the job opening in Charlotte.(i know i probably will not get this one, but hey.) I did not hear anything until a few weeks ago that said I had to go downtown and get my fingerprints done and fill out the Laughtenberg agreement, financial disclosure, etc. I got an email today saying that my VBT was scheduled for 112712. Is this going along on schedule like everyone else? What should I expect from the VBT? Never heard of it, and going through the posts the info is kinda grey. I know there must be a non-disclosure statement because it is not even on Google!! What about physical training? I have recently gotten back into doing p90x, but is that enough? I see a lot of people saying that you get tons of running so I have been trying to up my stamina and getting myself back in shape. I was never a 18 minute three miler in the USMC, but 21:30 was pretty good if you ask me!! Where do I go to get all the info you guys have underneath all your posts? Thanks in advance, and SEMPER FI!
Oh, and I got my tentative selection letter 100112, if that helps.

Your process is going along just like everyone else... what will slow your final offer is your geographic location as most of the hiring is for the SWB. Your score simply placed you in the front of the line for the TSL, from then on is about who finishes all the steps, how many spots open for the location, and how many are in front of you with all steps completed and an earlier TSL date.

Best of Luck!

To give you an idea of how long it could be (worst case)....look at my Sig.

[CTM045]

They said the Government is pushing to hire veterans but yet the process is slow for veterans because its hard to get there service records not buying that what's the point of issuing a DD-214 then, once that document says honorable discharge I think that should be enough...

[majere39]

Thanks guys!! I was in the Marines Rms16, got out for a awhile and did not like the job I had. It is tough going from a brotherhood to everyone out to help themselves!! Anyway, I am not getting some of initials for words like TSL? And Yoda, there is not anything in your sig. How long did it take?