A professional who inspects cargo, baggage, articles worn or carried by persons, and vessels, vehicles, or aircraft entering or leaving United States to enforce customs and related laws. Responsibilities include:

• Boards carriers arriving from foreign ports, and inspects and searches carriers to determine nature of cargoes.
• Superintends loading and unloading of cargo to ensure compliance with customs, neutrality, and commerce laws.
• Weighs, measures, and gauges imported goods, using calipers, measuring rods, scale, and hydrometer.
• Examines baggage of passengers arriving from foreign territory to discover contraband or undeclared merchandise.
• Conducts body search of passengers or crewmembers.
• Questions suspicious persons to clarify irregularities and explains laws and regulations to tourists or others unfamiliar with customs statutes and procedures.
• Seals hold and compartments containing sea stores (supplies for ship's personnel) to prevent illegal sale or smuggling of dutiable merchandise.
• Examines crew and passenger lists, manifests, pratiques, store lists, declarations of merchandise, and ships' documents and issues required permits.
• Classifies articles and assesses and collects duty on merchandise.
• Writes reports of findings, transactions, violations, and discrepancies.
• Seizes contraband and undeclared merchandise and detains or arrests persons involved in violations.
• May perform preliminary immigration screening of persons entering United States.
• May take samples of merchandise for appraising.
• May be designated according to type of inspection performed as Baggage Inspector; Border Inspector; Cargo Inspector.