How do I get more info from US Customs about a stopped package?

Would this be a company known for shipping cellphone jammers under false labels (eg: DealExtreme)? If so, Customs has probably decided that they're just going to unofficially ban everything from this company without bothering to investigate each item. I doubt the agents have even opened the box; they probably just identified the seller, and tossed it into the "crush" bin. They're gambling that the level of effort required to investigate each item is greater than the level of effort required to listen to your complaints. ...in other words, what alynnk said, only with a more cynical slant on it (I hate Customs/Immigration staff, as they're overpaid surly morons who make the DMV seem efficient). So listen to her and do what she says, but be prepared for it to be a giant waste of time.

If this were me. I would stop payment and order the camera from another source. What is your time and energy worth?

Does the camera have WiFi or GPS onboard? I don't think onboard GPS could hurt anything, but WiFi channels are slightly different around the world. It used to be that two of the 802.11b channels in the US were French military communication channels, for example.

Does the camera have WiFi or GPS onboard? Nope.

Did the phone message say that UPS would blacklist you or that the government would? That sounds really fishy either way. http://www.cbp.gov/ is the place to look for information and phone numbers, like alynnk said.

Would this be a company known for shipping cellphone jammers under false labels (eg: DealExtreme)? No, as far as I can tell they don't offer any kind of jamming device at all. Did the phone message say that UPS would blacklist you or that the government would? That sounds really fishy either way My understanding was that Customs would blacklist me, though it was fuzzy what that meant.

Just as an update, this may be the cause of my problem: http://www.fcc.gov/oet/ea/faq_form_740.html •Pursuant to Subpart K of Part 2, and specifically Section 2.1202(a) of the Commission's rules, cameras are excluded from the importation rules. This may be the exemption to which you refer. Pursuant to our marketing rules under Section 2.803, cameras must comply with our Verification standards and should therefore be labeled prior to marketing. However, if the camera is marketed to be connected to a personal computer with a wire, it is a Class B computer peripheral and should instead be subject to Declaration of Conformity (DoC) Sections 2.1071-2.1077 of our Rules, or Certification Section 2.1033, et al. I'm not an expert, but it looks like regular cameras don't need any special paperwork, but trying to import a camera that can hook up to a PC via any kind of cable, and that isn't already cleared by the FCC, needs special forms/clearance...? Maybe?

already sent to Menthol, but for sake of MeFi completeness: That's probably your sticking point, though I can't imagine that whoever made your camera has never exported to the US before. If you want to keep with it, you might ask the shipper about their FCC compliance. If they have no idea what you're talking about, that's your answer; without the FCC information Customs is most likely not going to let it in. But if they have the proper labeling and paperwork it might be worth a shot to stick with Customs. Or, if you ever get a hold of anyone at Customs, you might ask whether filing an FCC Form 740 might help matters any; I've filed a 740 for customers who have imported computers before with accessories/peripherals, but not just the peripherals themselves.

So I got an e-mail back from UPS. The claim that there are jammers in my package has vanished, but now they are saying there is a discrepancy in what the invoice for the package said versus what was inside the package, and that it's an "illegal" camera. I called UPS to see if they knew what exactly about it was "illegal," but the woman became short with me and said it was not her call what was legal or illegal, it was Customs, but I was never going to get my camera. I called Customs and finally got a real person, but they were unable to tell me anything specific about my case. They asked me about my shipment tracking and when I told them UPS had it listed as "NON-CUSTOMS GOVERNMENT AGENCY HOLD," they said it didn't sound like a Customs problem to him. I tried to explain that UPS has told me repeatedly that is IS a Customs hold and that it just happened to be listed that way, and he said that if it is a Customs hold that I should be getting something to that effect in the mail, which might take weeks. Sigh. I think I am going to give up. No one I talk to is at all interested in actually helping me, and they generally seem irritated that I am bothering them with my problems. I doubt at this point that there is really anything I can do to end with me getting this camera.