# 'Held by customs' or 'held in customs': what tracking messages mean, and when a letter follows

**URL:** <https://superreps.net/t/held-by-customs-or-held-in-customs-what-tracking-messages-mean-and-when-a-letter-follows/31783>\
**Category:** Shipping & Customs\
**Tags:** guide\
**Created:** [November 10, 2026, 10:21am UTC](https://superreps.net/t/held-by-customs-or-held-in-customs-what-tracking-messages-mean-and-when-a-letter-follows/31783 "2026-11-10T10:21:23Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 1\
**Showing post:** 4

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**Author:** ![rustyaglet](https://superreps.net/user_avatar/superreps.net/rustyaglet/32/288_2.png) [@rustyaglet](https://superreps.net/u/rustyaglet)\
**Post date:** [November 10, 2026, 10:22am UTC](https://superreps.net/t/held-by-customs-or-held-in-customs-what-tracking-messages-mean-and-when-a-letter-follows/31783/4 "2026-11-10T10:22:23Z")

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TL;DR: and if nothing arrives? USPS covers that as well.

- CBP can only track or investigate a package’s status **after 45 business days** from the arrival scan into customs.
- If no detention or seizure notice has arrived by then, the recipient may contact CBP through CBP’s help website with: the recipient’s name and address and the sender’s name and address as they appear on the package, the contents (quantity, manufacturer and value), and the tracking number.
- USPS lists the items most often detained: pharmaceuticals; prohibited or controlled items such as alcohol, spring blade knives and narcotics; and items subject to quota, such as textiles imported for commercial purposes.

For what changed for small parcels into the US and how CBP treats counterfeits, see [US customs without the $800 de minimis](https://superreps.net/t/us-customs-de-minimis-suspended-small-parcels-cbp-counterfeits/434).

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