I got a passport for my Brazilian guitar! But.......

The guitar I play most is a 9 year old guitar with Brazilian rosewood (Dalbergia nigra) back and sides - and I take it with me almost everywhere - with one exception - I can't take it out of the country.  As Brazilian rosewood (also called CSA for central South American) is controlled under the endangered species act (CITES appendix I)  it is liable to be confiscated if an overenthusiastic border official wants to make a determination that it is D nigra.   Even though it is pretty much impossible to say for certain it's D nigra as opposed to any of the other Dalbergia species without actually genotyping!  Let's face it,  it's not a big deal if I can't take my prized guitar with me when I visit my family, but it must be pretty stressful for a professional musician to be faced with the choice of being without their guitar or risk having it confiscated.  

But the authorities, in their wisdom, came up with what sounds like a sensible solution - musical instrument passports!  This seemed like a great idea, so I scoured the internet for information.   Apart from one hardy soul who had managed to get one for a very-much pre CITES guitar (ie decades before 1992) I couldn't find anyone who was describing the process of getting and using a passport.  So in the interests of science (and in the hope that I could finally take my guitar with me) I determined to apply for one.

First I went online and found the appropriate form.   Check which form you need - there appear to be more than one depending on whether the instrument is antique, one-time travel, or multiple trips.

Then I contacted the luthier who built my guitar.  Turns out he built the guitar with wood purchased from a dealer, who in turn assured that the wood was obtained prior to 1992 (when D nigra was CITES listed).   I didn't know if it was necessary to get letters or receipts from the lumber dealer as well as the luthier, or if signatures had to be notarized, but I figured I'd start with the path of least resistance.  My luthier provided me with a letter indicating the name of the dealer, the purchase date of the wood,  assurance that it was sold to him as pre-CITES, a build date, and information on what it was made of.  I sent that together with my purchase information (date, description, receipt), the form, and a check for $75 to the address of the US Fish and Wildlife in New York.  I contemplated taking pictures, having them printed, and including those, but the instructions indicated that if needed they could be provided later by email, which sounded like a better option, so I didn't.  Then I waited.   Nothing happened. No acknowledgement. Zip.  I'd almost forgotten about it, when a big envelope arrived in the mail.  Yes!   It was a musical instrument passport!  (Well actually it just looks like a government form, but that's what it says it is). Good for 3 years.

I thought I was done, but this is where the story gets complicated.   Together with the passport came a list of instructions - first, the guitar can only travel through a designated port of entry - OK - our local airport qualifies.  Second, the guitar had to be inspected before travel.  Fair enough, I thought. They probably wanted to take identifying photos like on a regular passport.  So I called Fish and Wildlife in NY and asked where to get it inspected. They didn't seem entirely sure, but directed me to Fish and Wildlife at the airport, so I called them.   "Oh no", they said - "we are now part of Homeland Security and we can't inspect your guitar, we only deal with animals and fish. If your guitar had a small part of a protected animal on it (such as an ivory inlay) then we would inspect it, but otherwise we can't".  In fact there is evidently no-one at our designated airport of entry who can do the required inspection.  

Not to worry! 'Protected plants' can be inspected by APHIS, and there is an APHIS office downtown, so I called them.   They didn't seem entirely sure what to do (I gather musical instrument passports are not an everyday occurrence).  However they called me back with this information.   Every time I travel with the guitar I have to get it inspected and get the passport stamped. Where?  the downtown APHIS offices - or -  I am not making this up - they will come to my house. When?  sometime before I travel - the time interval allowed is not clear. Hopefully not the day of travel!  And when I actually take the guitar abroad, it has to be inspected again on arrival in the foreign country.  Where and by who? Well that's not clear either.  And when I return, it has to be inspected twice more - once on leaving the foreign country and once on arrival. By who? Your guess is as good as mine.  And as Fish Wildlife/Homeland security can't inspect it at my local airport when I get back,  I suppose I can just call my local APHIS inspector when I get home and have him come to my house and stamp my piece of paper....

Yet another example of your tax dollars at work...  I'm speechless.  I guess I won't be taking this guitar with me out of the country anytime soon....