Criminal Defense Lawyers

Can I Travel During a Federal Investigation?

If your facing a federal investigation, one of the most immediate questions is wether you can still travel. Maybe you’ve got a family wedding in Mexico, a work conference across the country, or a sick parent overseas.

The short answer: it depends on exactly where you are in the investigation process. And that matters more then most people realize.

This isn’t a simple yes or no question. Your travel rights are completley different if your only being investigated versus if you’ve actually been charged with a crime. The confusion comes from the fact that most articles lump all federal investigations together, but their not all the same. Some people under investigation have zero legal restrictions. Others can’t leave their county without a judge’s permission.

Here’s what you need to understand: the federal investigation process has distinct stages, and your freedom to travel changes dramatically at each one. We’ll walk through every scenario, explain what actually happens at the airport if your flagged, and give you the real information you need to make informed decisions about travel during this stressful time.

The 5 Stages of Federal Investigation (And Your Travel Rights at Each)

Most people don’t realize that “under investigation” isn’t a single legal status. Its actually a spectrum that ranges from “the FBI is gathering evidence but hasn’t contacted you” all the way to “you’ve been convicted and are on supervised release.” Where you fall on that spectrum determins everything about your travel rights.

Stage 1: Preliminary Investigation (Full Travel Rights)

At this stage, federal agents are gathering information but haven’t identified specific targets. You might not even know your under investigation.

Here’s the thing—if you haven’t been contacted by law enforcement, haven’t recieved a target letter, and have no arrest warrant, you have complete freedom to travel anywhere, domestic or international.

The legal reality is simple: the government has no jurisdiction over your movement untill they formally charge you or a judge issues specific restrictions. You don’t need anyone’s permission. You don’t need to notify authorities. Your just a regular citizen with full constitutional rights to freedom of movement.

That said, there’s a diffrence between what’s legally allowed and what’s strategically smart. If your attorney knows an investigation is happening and advises against international travel, listen to them. The optics matter, even if the legality doesn’t restrict you.

Stage 2: Active Target Investigation (No Legal Restrictions, But Optics Matter)

This is where it gets intresting. You’ve been interviewed by FBI agents, or you recieved a target letter saying your the subject of an investigation, or your lawyer has been contacted by prosecutors. But you haven’t been arrested or charged yet.

Legally? You still have full travel rights.

Their’s no law that says “if the FBI interviews you, you can’t leave town.” No judge has jurisdiction over your movement because there’s no court case yet. You can book a flight to Paris tommorow if you want.

But—and this is important—federal prosecutors are evaluating wether your a flight risk. If they’re deciding whether to charge you, sudden international travel can effect that calculus. It looks like your trying to flee. It suggests consciousness of guilt. And it can convince a prosecutor who was on the fence to file charges immediantly and seek pretrial detention instead of release.

Here’s what defense attorneys actually reccomend at this stage: talk to your lawyer before you travel, but don’t have your lawyer ask the prosecutor for permission. That signals that you know your guilty of something. Instead, document everything. Keep your itinerary. Use credit cards that create paper trails. Book round-trip, non-refundable tickets. Come back when you said you would. This creates evidence that you weren’t fleeing—you were living your life.

Stage 3: Charged But Not Yet Arraigned (Court Jurisdiction Begins)

The moment federal charges are filed, everything changes. Even before your arraignment, the court has authority to issue a warrant for your arrest, and that warrant can include travel restrictions.

Most people are arrested pretty quickly after charges are filed, but sometimes there’s a gap of a few days or weeks.

If you’ve been charged but not yet arrested or arraigned, check with your attorney immediantly about wether there’s an active warrant. If their is, any attempt to fly will likely result in your arrest at the airport. TSA systems are tied into warrant databases, and you’ll be detained the moment you try to board.

Don’t try to travel during this window. The risk is to high, and the consequences—being arrested at an airport instead of surrendering voluntarily with your lawyer—are much worse for your case.

Stage 4: Released on Bail or Personal Recognizance (Explicit Written Conditions Control Everything)

After your arraignment, if the judge releases you (either on bail or on your own recognizance), you’ll recieve written conditions of release. These are not suggestions. Their court orders, and violating them is a seperate federal crime that can get you immediatly jailed.

Most pretrial release orders include geographic restrictions. Common conditions include:

• Surrendering your passport to the court or your attorney
• Restricting travel to specific judicial districts (often just the district where your charged)
• Requiring court permission for any travel outside your home state
• Prohibiting international travel entirely
• Electronic monitoring (GPS ankle bracelet) that tracks your location 24/7

Read your conditions of release very carefully. Some people are released with no travel restrictions beyond “notify your pretrial services officer.” Others can’t leave their county without written court approval. It varies based on the charges, your criminal history, your ties to the comunity, and wether the judge thinks your a flight risk.

If you need to travel and your conditions don’t explicitly allow it, you’ll need to file a motion with the court requesting permission. We’ll cover that process in detail later, but the key point is this: you must get permission in writing before you travel. Verbal approval from your lawyer or even the prosecutor doesn’t count. Only a judge’s written order modifying your release conditions protects you.

Stage 5: Post-Conviction Supervised Release or Probation (Federal Probation Officer Controls Travel)

If you’ve been convicted and sentenced, you might be on supervised release (the federal version of parole) or probation. At this stage, your probation officer has significant control over your travel. Standard conditions almost always include:

• No international travel without permission from your probation officer and the court
• Domestic travel restrictions (often can’t leave the district for more then a certain number of days without approval)
• Required reporting of any travel plans in advance

The process is usually more streamlined then pretrial—you submit a travel request to your probation officer, they evaluate it, and they either approve it or present it to the judge if its outside there authority. But make no mistake: traveling without approval violates your supervised release and can result in revokation and imprisonment.

Federal investigations can last anywhere from a few months to several years, depending on complexity. Wire fraud and money laundering investigations involving multiple defendants and lots of financial records? Those can drag on for 3-5 years before charges are filed. A straightforward drug case might move in 6-12 months. The point is, you could be in Stage 2 (under investigation but not charged) for a very long time, during which you technicaly have full travel rights but need to be strategic about exercising them.

What Actually Happens at the Airport

Let’s address the fear that nobody talks about.

You’ve booked a flight, your standing in the TSA line, and your terrified that federal agents are gonna grab you the moment you scan your ID. Is that realistic?

Here’s what actually happens in different scenarios.

Scenario 1: You’re Under Investigation But Not Charged

You hand your ID to the TSA officer. They scan it. You hold your breath.

And… nothing happens. You go through security like everyone else.

Why? Because being under investigation doesn’t put you in any database that TSA checks. TSA is looking for active warrants, no-fly list status, and passport flags. An ongoing investigation doesn’t create any of those things.

The FBI doesn’t stage dramatic airport arrests for people who aren’t charged yet. If they wanted to arrest you, they’d come to your house or workplace with a warrant. The airport is not where pre-charge investigations culminate.

That said, if your investigation involves national security issues or terrorism, you might be on a watchlist that triggers additional screening. That’s different from arrest—its enhanced security checks, secondary screening, maybe some questions. Its uncomfortable but its not an arrest.

Scenario 2: You Have an Active Arrest Warrant

Now we’re in different territory. If charges have been filed and there’s an active warrant for your arrest, TSA will see it the moment they scan your ID. Here’s what happens:

The TSA officer’s screen flags. They’ll ask you to step aside. Airport police will be called. You’ll be detained and then arrested by local law enforcement, who will coordinate with the federal marshals or the agency that issued the warrant.

This is why you absolutley must check with your attorney about warrant status before traveling if you suspect charges might have been filed. Getting arrested at the airport is worse for your case then surrendering voluntarily with your lawyer. It suggests you were trying to flee, it eliminates your ability to negotiate surrender terms, and it means you’ll probably be held in whatever local jail is near the airport instead of the federal facility closest to your case.

Scenario 3: You’re on Bail With Travel Restrictions and You’re Violating Them

Let’s say your release conditions say you can’t leave your state without court permission, and you’ve decided to risk it and fly to Florida anyway. What happens?

If your on electronic monitoring (GPS ankle bracelet), your probation officer knows you left the restricted area the moment you do. They’ll contact the court, the judge will likely issue a bench warrant for violating release conditions, and you’ll be arrested—maybe at your destination, maybe when you try to return.

If your not on electronic monitoring, it depends. TSA doesn’t routinely check whether your complying with release conditions. But if your pretrial services officer has alerted authorities that your in violation, a flag could be in the system.

More commonly, you get caught when you return and have to report to pretrial services. They ask where you’ve been, you lie (bad idea) or admit you traveled (also bad idea), and they report the violation to the court.

Bottom line: don’t violate your release conditions thinking you won’t get caught. The consequences—revocation of release, immediate detention, looking untrustworthy to the judge who will eventually sentence you—are not worth it.

Scenario 4: International Travel When Your Passport Has Been Flagged or Revoked

If the court has ordered you to surrender your passport, you obviously can’t fly internationally because you don’t have it. But what if the court restricted international travel but didn’t take your passport?

The State Department can revoke or restrict passports for people under federal indictment, especially for serious charges or if your considered a flight risk. If your passport has been flagged, you might make it through TSA (they’re checking for warrants, not passport status), but you’ll be stopped at customs when you try to leave the country.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection has access to State Department flags, and they won’t let you board an international flight.

And heres the thing—attempting to leave the country in violation of a court order or with a flagged passport is itself evidence of consciousness of guilt and can be used against you. It’s not just that you won’t succeed; its that trying makes your legal situation worse.

Domestic Travel: The Hidden Tripwires

Everyone assumes domestic travel is fine as long as your not on bail with restrictions. That’s mostly true, but their are some important exceptions and strategic considerations that get overlooked.

Driving vs. Flying Within the U.S.

If you drive across state lines, there’s no checkpoint, no ID scan, no automatic record (unless your on GPS monitoring). If you fly, even domestically, you go through TSA screening that creates a record of your travel.

For someone in Stage 2 (under investigation but not charged), this distinction might matter.

That said, the idea that you should drive instead of fly to avoid detection is generally not great advice. First, if your on electronic monitoring, they know your location regardless of wether you fly or drive. Second, the existence of a TSA screening record isn’t inherently incriminating—millions of Americans fly every day. Third, if prosecutors later accuse you of trying to flee, having a paper trail (flight itinerary, hotel reservation) can actually help prove you were engaged in normal activities, not fleeing.

Traveling to States Where the Alleged Crime Occurred

Here’s a tripwire most people miss: if your under investigation for financial crimes, fraud, or any offense that involved activity in multiple states, traveling to those states can look really bad.

Even if your traveling for legitimate reasons, prosecutors may see it as evidence that your tampering with witnesses, destroying evidence, or continuing criminal activity.

For example, let’s say your under investigation for wire fraud involving business partners in Texas and Florida. Even though you live in New York and aren’t charged yet, flying to Houston for a “business meeting” is going to raise massive red flags. Prosecutors might argue your coordinating stories with co-conspirators or intimidating witnesses.

If you absoluteley must travel to a state connected to the investigation, talk to your attorney first. Document the legitimate purpose. Consider whether the trip can be done remotely. And understand that it might accelerate the timeline of charges being filed if prosecutors think your interfering with the investigation.

U.S. Territories: Are They “Domestic” or “International”?

Puerto Rico, U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa—these are U.S. territories, and you don’t need a passport to travel their from the mainland. But are they considered “domestic travel” for purposes of release conditions?

It depends on how your release conditions are written.

Some courts define geographic restrictions as “the continental United States,” which would exclude territories. Other courts define them by judicial district, and territories have seperate federal judicial districts, which could mean you need permission to travel there.

Don’t assume. If your on bail and want to travel to Puerto Rico for a family event, check the exact language of your conditions and ask your attorney whether you need court permission. Better to ask and find out you don’t need it then to assume and violate your release.

Border Cities: Can You Drive to Tijuana for the Day?

If you live in San Diego and want to drive to Tijuana for lunch, is that international travel?

Yes. The moment you cross the border into Mexico, even for an hour, you’ve left the United States.

If your release conditions prohibit international travel, driving to Tijuana violates those conditions just as much as flying to Paris.

This trips people up because it feels casual—its just across the border, you can walk there, you’ll be back in two hours. Doesn’t matter. International means international, regardless of proximity or duration.

International Travel: When and How to Get Court Permission

If you need to travel internationally and your either charged with a crime or on supervised release, you’ll need court permission. Here’s the actual process, timeline, and what to expect.

When You MUST Have Court Permission

You need explicit court approval for international travel if:

• You’ve been charged and released on bail with conditions that restrict travel
• Your on pretrial supervision and your conditions limit geographic movement
• Your on supervised release or probation after conviction

You do NOT need court permission if:

• Your only under investigation but haven’t been charged (legally your a free citizen)
• You’ve completed your sentence and all supervised release/probation (your case is closed)
• Your release conditions explicitly allow international travel with notice to pretrial services

The key is reading your release conditions carefully. Some conditions say “defendant shall not travel outside the United States without prior written approval of the court.” Others say “defendant may travel outside the district with advance notice to pretrial services.” Those are very different standards.

The Motion Filing Process: What, Who, When, How Long

To get court permission to travel, your attorney files a Motion to Modify Conditions of Release. Here’s what that involves:

What the motion includes:

• Exact dates of requested travel
• Destination(s) with specific addresses
• Purpose of travel with supporting documentation
• Round-trip flight itinerary (ideally already booked as non-refundable)
• Hotel reservations or addresses where you’ll be staying
• Contact information where you can be reached
• Explanation of ties to the community that ensure you’ll return

Who files it: Your attorney files the motion with the court. You don’t file it yourself. If your representing yourself, you can file pro se, but its strongly reccomended to have a lawyer handle this.

When to file: At minimum, file 2-3 weeks before your intended travel date. Courts don’t operate on your vacation schedule, and judges need time to review, the prosecutor needs time to respond (they often object), and the court might schedule a hearing.

If your filing a week before you want to leave, you probably won’t get approval in time.

Timeline for approval: It varies widely. In some districts, if the prosecutor doesn’t object, the judge might approve it in 3-5 business days. If the prosecutor objects (which they often do for international travel), you might need a hearing, which could take 2-3 weeks to schedule. Emergency motions can be expedited, but expect the court to be skeptical of “emergencies” that involve pre-planned vacations.

What happens if you’re denied: The judge will issue an order denying the motion. You don’t have an automatic right to appeal, and attempting to travel anyway would be a violation of your release conditions. Your option at that point is to either cancel the trip or file a motion for reconsideration with additional evidence, though that rarely succeeds if the judge has already ruled.

Required Documentation and Evidence

The more evidence you provide that you’ll return, the better your chances of approval. Here’s what actually helps:

For emergency travel (death, serious illness in the family):

• Death certificate or hospital records proving the medical emergency
• Documentation of your relationship to the family member (birth certificate, etc.)
• Funeral or memorial service details with dates
• Letter from clergy or funeral director confirming arrangements

For work-related travel:

• Letter from employer on company letterhead explaining business necessity
• Documentation that job loss will result if you can’t travel
• Conference registration or client meeting confirmation
• Evidence that this travel is a regular part of your job (past travel logs)

For family events (weddings, graduations, etc.):

• Wedding invitation or graduation announcement
• Documentation of your relationship to the person
• Proof of financial investment (non-refundable deposits, purchased airfare)
• Letters from family members explaining your importance to the event

For all international travel requests:

• Non-refundable round-trip flight itinerary (this proves you’re planning to return)
• Hotel confirmations or address where you’ll be staying
• Your employment status and documentation of job obligations that require your return
• Property ownership, lease agreements, or other evidence of ties to the U.S.
• Family in the U.S. (spouse, children) who depend on you

Judges want to see that you have more reasons to come back then to stay away. The stronger your ties to the community, the more likely you’ll get approval.

Approval Likelihood: What Courts Actually Grant

Based on federal court practices, here’s a realistic assessment of approval likelihood for different scenarios:

Notice that recreational travel is almost never approved. Courts don’t see vacations as necessarry, and the risk of flight outweighs the defendant’s desire to travel for pleasure.

Even weddings and graduations are tough sells unless its an immediate family member and you can show substantial non-refundable financial investment.

Employment Travel: Your Job Requires It, Now What?

If your job requires regular travel—your a consultant, sales representative, pilot, or work in any field with travel obligations—federal charges and release restrictions can threaten your livelihood.

Courts understand this, but they don’t automatically accommodate your career. Here’s how to navigate work travel restrictions.

Court’s Evaluation of Employment Necessity

When evaluating work travel requests, judges consider:

Is the travel truly necessary for continued employment? “My boss wants me at the conference” is weaker then “my employment contract requires travel, and I’ll be terminated if I can’t fulfill this obligation.” Bring documentation of job requirements, employment contracts, and letters from HR or management confirming that inability to travel will result in job loss.

Can the work be done remotely? In the post-COVID world, courts are more skeptical of travel necessity claims when video conferencing is available. If your requesting approval to fly to a client meeting, be prepared to explain why Zoom won’t work.

Legitimate reasons include: client explicitly requires in-person presence, contract negotiations requiring physical signature, job site inspection that can’t be done virtually.

Is this a one-time request or ongoing travel? If your job requires weekly travel to different cities, a court is unlikely to modify your release conditions to allow that level of mobility—it defeats the purpose of geographic restrictions. You might need to request a leave of absence from work or even find different employment during your case. If its a one-time critical work trip, you have better chances of approval.

Documentation Requirements for Work Travel Requests

Don’t just have your attorney say “he needs to travel for work.” Provide:

• Letter from employer on company letterhead, signed by HR director or executive
• Specific business purpose with dates, locations, and who you’ll be meeting
• Employment contract sections showing travel requirements
• Documentation of termination risk if travel isn’t permitted (letter from employer stating this)
• Your employment history showing this travel is consistent with your regular duties, not a new excuse
• Evidence that you’ve been employed with this company before charges were filed (not a job you suddenly got after arrest)

Courts are suspicious of defendants who suddenly have “essential work travel” right after being charged. If you’ve been employed for years and have a documented history of regular work travel, that’s much more credible.

Strategic Logging of Work Travel History

If your under investigation (Stage 2) but not yet charged, start creating a contemporaneous travel log now. Every work trip, document:

• Date and location of travel
• Business purpose and clients/colleagues met
• Employer requirement (email from boss requesting your presence, etc.)
• Outcomes of the trip (sales closed, contracts signed, etc.)

This creates a paper trail showing that work travel is a legitimate, longstanding part of your employment, not something you made up to get travel permission after being charged. If charges are filed and you later request court permission to travel for work, this log becomes Exhibit A in your motion.

Remote Work as Alternative

If the court denies work travel, ask your employer about remote work options or temporary reassignment to projects that don’t require travel.

Many employers, especially large corporations, would rather accommodate a temporary travel restriction then lose an employee. Be upfront with your employer about the situation (consult your attorney first about what to disclose), and explore options like:

• Working remotely from home on projects that don’t require in-person presence
• Temporary reassignment to a different role that’s local
• Leave of absence (paid or unpaid) during the pretrial period
• Reduced travel schedule where you only travel domestically within permitted areas

Judges look favorably on defendants who show flexibility and problem-solving rather then insisting that work travel is non-negotiable.

Emergency Travel: What Qualifies and How to Prove It

Emergency travel requests get more consideration from courts, but “emergency” has a specific legal meaning.

Your sister’s wedding isn’t an emergency. Your father’s heart attack is.

Legal Definition of Emergency Travel

For court purposes, emergency travel generally means:

• Imminent death of immediate family member (parent, spouse, child, sibling)
• Serious medical emergency requiring your presence (spouse in ICU, child in critical condition)
• Funeral of immediate family member who has just died
• Your own medical emergency requiring treatment unavailable locally

Notice what’s NOT on that list: weddings, graduations, family reunions, births (unless complicated), birthdays, anniversaries. Courts view these as important but not emergencies.

Required Documentation for Emergency Requests

If you have a legitimate emergency, you’ll need to prove it quickly:

For death of family member:

• Death certificate (if available) or hospital documentation of death
• Obituary
• Documentation of your relationship (birth certificate, marriage license, etc.)
• Funeral service details with date, location, and confirmation from funeral home

For serious illness:

• Hospital admission records
• Physician’s letter describing the medical condition and prognosis
• Documentation that condition is critical/life-threatening
• Explanation of why your presence is necessary (patient is asking for you, you’re making medical decisions, etc.)

For your own medical emergency:

• Physician’s letter documenting the condition
• Medical records showing diagnosis
• Documentation that treatment is unavailable or inadequate in your current location
• Appointment confirmation with specialist or medical facility

Emergency Filing Procedures and Timelines

True emergencies require expedited procedures. Here’s how it works:

Your attorney can file an emergency motion for modification of release conditions, which asks the court to rule quickly rather then following the normal briefing schedule. The motion should explicitly state its an emergency and request a ruling within 24-48 hours.

The court will usually require the prosecutor to respond quickly (sometimes the same day), and the judge might rule based on the written submissions without a hearing. In some cases, the judge will hold an emergency telephonic hearing where your attorney and the prosecutor call in.

Judges understand that real emergencies don’t follow normal court schedules. If your father died suddenly in another country and the funeral is in three days, a judge will typically rule within 24 hours. But you need to file the motion immediately with all supporting documentation.

One warning: don’t claim emergency status for non-emergencies. If you file an “emergency” motion saying you need to go to your cousin’s wedding, the judge will deny it and will remember that you cried wolf when you later have a real emergency. Courts take emergency motions seriously, and abusing that process damages your credibility.

Strategic Decisions That Affect Your Travel Rights

Their are several tactical decisions that can effect your travel rights down the line. Most people don’t think about these until its to late.

Voluntary Passport Surrender Timing

If your under investigation (Stage 2) and federal agents or prosecutors ask you to voluntarily surrender your passport, should you?

You don’t have to. If you haven’t been charged and their’s no court order, its a request, not a legal requirement. You can refuse.

But here’s the strategic consideration: if you surrender your passport voluntarily with documentation (your attorney writes a letter confirming voluntary surrender to demonstrate cooperation), that creates a paper trail showing your not a flight risk. Later, at your bail hearing after charges are filed, your attorney can argue: “Your Honor, my client voluntarily surrendered his passport six months ago during the investigation, demonstrating he has no intention of fleeing. We request release on personal recognizance.”

On the other hand, if you refuse to surrender your passport during investigation and then its confiscated at arraignment, it looks like you were trying to preserve your option to flee until you couldn’t anymore.

Talk to your attorney about the strategic implications for your specific case. Sometimes voluntary surrender helps. Sometimes it doesn’t matter. But its worth considering proactively rather then reacting in the moment.

Pre-Booking Return Flights: Refundable vs. Non-Refundable

When you request court permission to travel, should you book your flights before the court approves, or wait until you have approval?

This creates a dilemma: if you book first, you risk losing money if the court denies permission. But if you wait, you can’t show the court a concrete itinerary with a specific return date.

Here’s what actually works: book non-refundable round-trip tickets and attach the itinerary to your motion. Yes, you might lose the money if the court denies your request. But having a non-refundable return ticket is powerful evidence that you’re coming back.

Refundable tickets or no tickets at all suggest you might not return, which makes the court more likely to deny permission.

Think about it from the judge’s perspective: a defendant who has already spent $1,500 on non-refundable tickets to return on a specific date has given himself a financial incentive to come back. A defendant with refundable tickets or no tickets has no skin in the game.

Its a calculated risk, but its one that often pays off in terms of approval likelihood.

The “Already Booked Travel” Scenario

What if you booked a vacation six months ago, then found out your under investigation, and the trip is in two weeks? Do you cancel? Do you go? Do you request permission even though you haven’t been charged?

If your in Stage 1 or Stage 2 (under investigation but not charged), you can legally travel. But talk to your attorney first about the optics and timing. If charges are likely to be filed soon, traveling internationally right before arrest looks really bad. If the investigation is in early stages and charges are months or years away, it might be fine.

If your in Stage 3 or 4 (charged and on bail), you need court permission regardless of when you booked the trip. File the motion as soon as possible, attach evidence of when you booked (showing it was before charges), and emphasize the financial loss if you cancel. Courts sometimes view pre-booked travel more favorably then travel planned after charges were filed.

Creating Contemporaneous Travel Logs

If you travel regularly for work, start logging it now if your under investigation. Create a simple spreadsheet with:

• Date of travel
• Destination
• Purpose (client meeting, conference, site visit, etc.)
• Business outcome (contract signed, relationship maintained, etc.)
• Employer requirement (email from boss, contractual obligation, etc.)

This serves two purposes: First, it documents that your work travel is legitimate and longstanding, not a cover for fleeing. Second, if your charged and released with travel restrictions, this log becomes evidence in your motion for work-related travel permission.

The key is “contemporaneous”—create the log as you travel, not after the fact. A log created in real-time is much more credible then one created retroactively after charges are filed.

Re-Entry Risks: Coming Back After International Travel

Everyone focuses on whether they can leave the country. Almost nobody thinks about what happens when they try to come back.

But re-entry is where alot of people face unexpected problems.

CBP Authority Over Arriving Travelers

U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has broad authority to question, search, and detain anyone entering the United States, including U.S. citizens. When you go through customs after an international flight, CBP officers can:

• Ask about the purpose of your travel
• Search your luggage and electronic devices
• Question you about your activities abroad
• Detain you if they have reason to believe you’ve committed a crime or violated conditions of release

If your under investigation or on bail, assume that CBP knows. Federal databases are interconnected, and a CBP officer scanning your passport will see if your a defendant in a federal case. That triggers additional scrutiny.

“Arriving Alien” Detention Risk for U.S. Citizens

Here’s something most people don’t know: if your a U.S. citizen and you’ve been charged with a federal crime, CBP can treat you as an “arriving alien” when you re-enter the country, even though your a citizen. This means:

• You can be detained without the usual constitutional protections
• You can be held for questioning for extended periods
• You can be arrested on an existing warrant without the normal procedures

This is especially risky if you traveled internationally without court permission or if your on bail and prosecutors suspect your trying to flee. Even if you come back, the re-entry process can result in immediate detention and revocation of your release.

Coordinating Return With Legal Counsel

If your under investigation (not charged) and you’ve been abroad when you learn about the investigation, talk to your attorney before booking your return flight.

In some cases, it makes more sense to coordinate a voluntary surrender rather then simply returning through customs.

Here’s why: if prosecutors are ready to file charges and arrest you, showing up at customs gives them home-field advantage. Your arrested at the airport, taken to a local holding facility, and processed without your attorney present. Your bail hearing might be delayed because your attorney isn’t there.

Alternatively, your attorney can contact prosecutors, negotiate a voluntary surrender at a specific time and place, and arrange for you to appear in court with your lawyer. You’ll still be arrested, but the process is controlled, professional, and positions you better for arguing for reasonable bail conditions.

Voluntary Surrender vs. Customs Arrest

Think about the optics at your bail hearing:

Customs arrest scenario: “Your Honor, the defendant was arrested at JFK Airport attempting to re-enter the country after international travel during our investigation. This demonstrates flight risk.”

Voluntary surrender scenario: “Your Honor, when my client learned charges were being filed, he immediately returned to the United States and surrendered voluntarily with counsel. This demonstrates his intention to face these allegations and his ties to this community.”

Same facts (he was abroad, charges were filed, he came back), completely different framing. Voluntary surrender shows cooperation. Customs arrest suggests you were trying to avoid prosecution and only came back because you had to.

2025 Monitoring Technology You Need to Understand

If your released on bail with travel restrictions, the court has multiple ways to monitor your compliance. Understanding these technologies helps you appreciate why violating your conditions is so risky.

GPS Ankle Monitors and Geo-Fencing

Electronic monitoring via GPS ankle bracelet is increasingly common for federal defendants, especially those considered flight risks or facing serious charges. The device:

• Tracks your location in real-time using GPS satellites
• Reports your location to a monitoring company, which reports to pretrial services
• Can be set with “geo-fencing” that triggers an alert if you enter or leave specific areas
• Records your movement history, creating a complete log of everywhere you’ve been

If your release conditions restrict you to certain judicial districts or require you to stay within your state, the geo-fence is programmed with those boundaries. The moment you cross the line, pretrial services gets an alert.

Your not getting away with a quick trip across state lines.

The ankle monitor must be charged daily (usually for 1-2 hours), and it alerts monitoring if the battery is low, if its been tampered with, or if you try to remove it. Tampering with the device is a separate federal offense.

Smartphone Check-In Apps

Some federal districts use smartphone apps as an alternative to ankle monitors for lower-risk defendants. These apps require you to:

• Check in at random times throughout the day by taking a photo of yourself
• Allow the app to access your phone’s GPS to verify your location
• Respond within a short window (often 5-10 minutes) when the app prompts you

If you miss a check-in, pretrial services is notified, and you’ll get a call asking why you didn’t respond. Repeated failures to check in can result in a violation report to the court.

The advantage of app-based monitoring over ankle monitors is its less intrusive and doesn’t require wearing a device. The disadvantage is you must keep your phone charged and with you at all times, and you must respond immediately to check-in prompts even if your in a meeting, sleeping, or otherwise occupied.

Real-Time Passport Tracking

When you surrender your passport to the court, it doesn’t just sit in a drawer. The State Department’s database is updated to reflect that your passport has been surrendered pursuant to court order.

If you somehow obtain a second passport (which is illegal if your first was court-ordered to be surrendered) and try to use it, the system will flag it.

Additionally, if you haven’t surrendered your passport but have international travel restrictions, CBP systems are notified. When you try to board an international flight, the airline checks your passport against CBP databases, and the restriction appears. You won’t be allowed to board.

Electronic Monitoring as Alternative to Detention

From the court’s perspective, electronic monitoring is a middle ground between letting you go free and holding you in jail pending trial. If prosecutors argue your a flight risk, your attorney might propose electronic monitoring as a compromise: “Your Honor, rather then detaining my client, we propose release with GPS monitoring, travel restrictions, and regular check-ins with pretrial services.”

Judges often find this persuasive because it addresses flight risk concerns while allowing the defendant to maintain employment and family connections.

So while being on an ankle monitor is restrictive and inconvenient, its much better then being in jail for the 12-24 months it might take for your case to go to trial.

What Not to Do: Critical Mistakes During Federal Investigation

Let’s talk about the mistakes that make your situation worse. These are things that defense attorneys see defendants do all the time, and they all have serious consequences.

Don’t Flee or Appear to Flee

This seems obvious, but people make versions of this mistake constantly. Actual fleeing—leaving the country with no intention of returning—is a federal crime (bail jumping, 18 U.S.C. § 3146).

But even actions that look like fleeing, even if you intend to come back, can destroy your credibility with the court.

Examples of “appearing to flee” even if your not actually fleeing:

• Traveling internationally immediately after being interviewed by federal agents
• Making a one-way flight reservation to a non-extradition country
• Closing bank accounts and liquidating assets right before traveling
• Traveling to a country where you have family connections and could disappear
• Traveling without telling your attorney or pretrial services (if your on supervised release)

Even if you have innocent explanations for these actions, they create devastating optics. Prosecutors will argue your a flight risk, judges will deny bail or impose strict conditions, and juries (if the case goes to trial) will hear that you tried to flee the country.

Don’t do it.

Don’t Talk About Travel Plans With Non-Lawyers

Your conversations with your attorney are privileged. Your conversations with your spouse, friends, coworkers, and family are not.

If you tell your brother “I’m thinking about going to Mexico and just staying there,” and your brother gets interviewed by the FBI, that statement can be used against you as evidence of intent to flee.

Similarly, don’t post about travel plans on social media. Prosecutors regularly subpoena Facebook, Instagram, and other platforms for defendant communications. A post saying “thinking about taking a one-way trip to Costa Rica lol” will be screenshot and included in the government’s bail memo as evidence of flight risk.

Its not funny to prosecutors or judges.

Don’t Destroy Evidence of Travel History

If your under investigation and you’ve got old travel records, itineraries, passport stamps, etc., don’t destroy them.

Destruction of evidence is a separate federal crime (obstruction of justice, 18 U.S.C. § 1519), and it looks terrible even if the travel records themselves weren’t incriminating.

If prosecutors are investigating whether you made trips to meet with co-conspirators, and you delete emails about those trips or destroy boarding passes, that’s evidence of consciousness of guilt. Keep everything. Let your attorney review it and determine what’s relevant.

Don’t Lie About Travel Purposes or History

If your attorney asks where you’ve traveled, tell the truth. If pretrial services asks about a trip you took, tell the truth. If a judge asks why you need to travel, tell the truth.

Lying to federal agents is a crime (18 U.S.C. § 1001). Lying to the court is perjury.

And even if you don’t get charged with those additional crimes, getting caught in a lie destroys your credibility forever. Once a judge thinks your a liar, every future motion you file, every statement your attorney makes on your behalf, is viewed with suspicion.

If the truth is bad, talk to your attorney about how to present it in the best light. But don’t lie.

Don’t Travel Without Notifying Your Attorney

Even if your legally allowed to travel (Stage 1 or 2, no charges yet), tell your attorney before you go. They need to know where you are in case the situation changes—if charges are suddenly filed, if prosecutors want to schedule a meeting, if a grand jury issues a subpoena.

If your on bail with travel restrictions, absolutely do not travel outside permitted areas without court permission, even if you think you won’t get caught.

The consequences—violation of release, immediate detention, loss of credibility with the judge—are not worth it.

Next Steps: Before You Book That Flight

If your facing a federal investigation and trying to figure out whether you can travel, here’s your action plan.

Step 1: Identify Your Stage

Figure out exactly where you are in the process:

• Stage 1: Under investigation, no contact from authorities → Full legal travel rights
• Stage 2: Interviewed by agents or received target letter → Full legal rights, optics concerns
• Stage 3: Charged but not yet arraigned → Court jurisdiction begins, check for warrants
• Stage 4: Released on bail → Read your conditions of release carefully
• Stage 5: Convicted and on supervised release → Follow probation officer requirements

Step 2: Read Your Conditions (If You Have Them)

If you’ve been arraigned and released, you should have a written order setting conditions of release. Read it carefully. Look for:

• Geographic restrictions (district, state, country)
• Passport surrender requirements
• Travel permission procedures (court approval vs. pretrial services notification)
• Electronic monitoring requirements

Don’t rely on what you think you remember from your arraignment. Get the written order and read every word.

Step 3: Consult Your Attorney Before Any Travel

This isn’t optional. Before you book any travel, call your lawyer and ask:

• Am I legally allowed to take this trip?
• Do I need court permission?
• What are the risks (legal and strategic) of this travel?
• How should I document the trip to protect myself?
• What’s the timeline for getting permission if I need it?

Your attorney knows the specifics of your case, your jurisdiction’s practices, and the prosecutor’s likely response.

Step 4: Document Everything

Whether your traveling domestically or internationally, with permission or because your legally free to do so, create documentation:

• Keep your itinerary, boarding passes, hotel confirmations
• Document the business or personal purpose of travel
• Maintain receipts showing you were where you said you’d be
• Come back when you said you would

Before You Travel Checklist

• ☐ I’ve identified what stage of the process I’m in
• ☐ I’ve read my release conditions (if applicable)
• ☐ I’ve consulted my attorney about this specific trip
• ☐ I’ve obtained court permission in writing (if required)
• ☐ I’ve notified pretrial services (if required)
• ☐ I have documentation of my travel purpose and itinerary
• ☐ I have a non-refundable round-trip ticket showing my return date
• ☐ I’ve arranged for check-ins with monitoring systems (if applicable)
• ☐ I understand the consequences of not returning or violating conditions

Final Thoughts

Being under federal investigation or facing federal charges is one of the most stressful experiances anyone can go through. Having your freedom of movement restricted—or even just being uncertain whether your allowed to travel—adds another layer of anxiety to an already overwhelming situation.

The good news is that for many people in the early stages of investigation, travel is legally permissible. The key is understanding where you are in the process, what restrictions actually apply to you, and how to navigate court procedures if you need permission to travel.

Remember: legal permission and strategic wisdom are different things. You might be legally allowed to take a trip but strategically advised not to. Trust your attorney’s guidance on both the law and the optics.

If you need experienced legal representation for a federal investigation or criminal case in New York, contact our office for a confidential consultation.