TTPRADARCBP detained an American attorney and his family at Washington Dulles International Airport around September 7, 2026, seized his work laptop and phone, and held them for about a week after he declined to unlock them, citing attorney-client privileged material. CBP then revoked Global Entry for the attorney and for his wife, who was never pulled into secondary screening or asked for a password at all.
The account, first posted by the traveler on Reddit and then picked up by the travel outlet TheTravel, is a real-world test of a policy CBP updated at the start of the year. The attorney says CBP told him the revocation was not based on probable cause or any identified wrongdoing.
What happened at Dulles
According to the traveler's own account, officers held his laptop and phone on-site for roughly three hours before formally detaining them. The devices were returned about a week later with no sign CBP had gotten into them. His reason for refusing was straightforward: the laptop contained privileged client communications he had a professional obligation to protect.
Separately, and without any secondary screening of her own, his wife's Global Entry membership was also terminated. That detail comes only from the traveler's account, and no independent source has confirmed the mechanism CBP used to tie her membership to his encounter.
What CBP's device search directive actually says
CBP updated Directive 3340-049B, its rulebook for border searches of electronic devices, in January 2026, replacing the prior 2018 version. It applies to every traveler at a U.S. border or port of entry.
Basic searches versus advanced searches
A basic search is a manual look through what's already on the device: photos, texts, emails, documents. It's done by an officer with no external tools and no suspicion required.
An advanced search uses forensic equipment to copy and analyze device data. It requires reasonable suspicion of a legal violation or a national security concern, plus a supervisor's sign-off.
What happens if you refuse to unlock a device
U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents cannot be denied entry into the country solely for refusing to provide a password. That protection held in this case: the attorney and his family were admitted.
What refusal does allow is a longer, more disruptive stop. CBP can detain a seized device for up to five days initially, extend that in additional seven-day increments, and hold copied data for up to 21 days absent a recognized exception. Non-citizens face a different calculus entirely: for visa holders, a refusal to unlock a device can factor directly into an admissibility determination and a denial of entry, a risk citizens and green card holders don't carry.
Why Global Entry can still disappear
The device seizure and the Global Entry revocation are two separate CBP actions, running on two separate sets of rules. CBP states plainly that violating Global Entry's program terms and conditions triggers enforcement action, including termination of membership, and that standard is broader and vaguer than the standard for detaining a device.
That gap is exactly what this case highlights: a traveler can be fully within his rights to refuse a password, be admitted without incident, get his devices back with no sign they were ever accessed, and still lose Trusted Traveler status over conduct CBP itself says wasn't based on probable cause or any finding of wrongdoing.
Revocations can be appealed, though CBP gives no guaranteed timeline for resolving one. The two paths are the CBP Trusted Traveler Ombudsman and, for disputes tied to watchlist or screening decisions, the DHS Traveler Redress Inquiry Program, under the framework of 8 CFR 235.12.
If a revocation sticks, reapplying means starting over: a new application, a background check, and an interview appointment at an enrollment center. Booking that appointment can take a while on its own: enrollment center wait times vary widely, so it's worth checking before you plan around a specific date.