Traveling to U.S. Mainland From Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands

Last Modified: August 08, 2024

APHIS prohibits or restricts the movement of many agricultural products from Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands into the U.S. mainland. These include most fresh fruits and vegetables and certain plants, such as flowers.

That’s because these items could harbor a dangerous stowaway—an invasive pest or disease. Just one piece of fruit or a single plant that is carrying an invasive pest or disease could lead to millions of dollars in damage to agriculture and the environment, expensive eradication efforts, lost trade revenue, and higher food prices.

What To Expect at the Airport

You must present all food, plants, and other agricultural items to the USDA inspector at the airport before you leave Puerto Rico or the U.S. Virgin Islands. If your items are generally allowed, the inspector will examine them to make sure they are free from pests and disease before you begin your trip to the U.S. mainland.

Hear more about the process to check for and inspect agricultural items:

Common Items From Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands NOT ALLOWED into the U.S. Mainland

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  • Fruits (fresh)—All fruits are prohibited except those listed below.
  • Vegetables (fresh)—All vegetables are prohibited except those listed below.
  • Pigeon peas (fresh)
  • Sweet potato

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  • Citrus leaves (fresh)
  • Cotton and cotton cuttings

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  • Cactus
  • Citrus and citrus or rue family flowering plants
  • Plants in soil

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Use the Veterinary Services (VS) Permitting Assistant to understand import requirements for animals and animal products. This self-guided tool has the most updated and comprehensive information, based on the type of animal or commodity you want to bring in and the intended use.

Please note that commodities intended for "personal use" mean those in passenger baggage or passenger vehicles. Commodities sent by mail are regulated as "commercial" use.

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  • Handicrafts made from palm fronds
  • Insects (live)
  • Seed cotton and cottonseed
  • Seeds or nuts (pulpy)
  • Snails (land)
  • Soil
  • Sugarcane

Agricultural Items From Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands ALLOWED into the U.S. Mainland

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  • Allium spp. (includes onion, garlic, and chives)
  • Amaranth, Amaranthus spp. (leaf, stem)
  • Anise
  • Annona spp. (pawpaw/sugar apple leaf)
  • Arracacia xanthorrhiza (Central and South American root vegetable)
  • Arrowroot
  • Artichoke, Jerusalem
  • Asparagus
  • Avocado
  • Balsam apple
  • Bamboo shoots
  • Banana (fruit, leaf without stalk or midrib)
  • Basil
  • Bay leaves, laurel
  • Beans, shelled (faba, lima, string)
  • Beans, in pods (faba, lima, string)—Geographic restrictions apply. For more information, please contact us via the telephone numbers listed below.
  • Beet
  • Bitter melon
  • Brassica oleracea (includes broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage, collard, cauliflower, and kale)
  • Breadfruit, Artocarpus spp.
  • Breadnut
  • Cacao bean pod
  • Cannonball fruit
  • Cantaloupe
  • Carrot
  • Cassava
  • Celery
  • Chamomile, Anthemis spp.
  • Coconut (with or without husk)
  • Coffee—Travelers are permitted to bring unlimited quantities of roasted coffee or green (unroasted) coffee beans without restriction through any continental U.S. port of entry.
  • Chayote
  • Chervil
  • Chickory
  • Chinese waternut
  • Chives
  • Chrysanthemum spp. (leaf, stem)
  • Cilantro
  • Citrus, fresh fruit (grapefruit, orange, lemon, lime)
  • Collard
  • Corn (on the cob only)
  • Cornsalad, Vallerianella spp.
  • Cucumber (includes Angola cucumber, Sicania odorata)
  • Cyperus corm
  • Dandelion greens (leaf, stem)
  • Dasheen, Colocasia, Caladium spp., and Xanthosoma spp.
  • Eggplant
  • Endive
  • Ethrog (fruit)
  • False coriander
  • Fennel
  • Garlic
  • Genip
  • Ginger root
  • Gourd
  • Guava (leaf)
  • Herbs (dried or cured)
  • Honeydew melon
  • Horseradish, Armoracia spp.
  • Indigo, Indigofera spp.
  • Jackfruit
  • Kale
  • Kudzu (if not seed, tuberous roots, or stems with node; must not be capable of propagation)
  • Lambsquarter
  • Mint, Mentha spp.
  • Mushrooms
  • Mustard greens
  • Onion
  • Oregano, Origanum spp. (leaf, stem)
  • Okra - Geographic restrictions apply. For more information, contact us via the telephone numbers listed below.
  • Lemongrass, Cymbopogon citratus
  • Leren
  • Lettuce
  • Lily bulb, edible
  • Lotus root
  • Maguey
  • Mangosteen
  • Marjoram, Origanum spp. (leaf, stem)
  • Palm heart
  • Papaya
  • Parsley
  • Parsnip
  • Pepper
  • Peas, Pisum sativum (in pod or shelled)
  • Pineapple
  • Plantain (fruit, leaf without stalk or midrib)
  • Pokeweed greens (leaf, stem)
  • Potato
  • Pumpkin
  • Purslane
  • Radish
  • Rhubarb
  • Rosemary (leaf)
  • Rutabaga
  • St. John’s bread
  • Salsify
  • Savoy
  • Sorrel, Rumex spp.
  • Spinach
  • Squash
  • Stinking-toe (pod)
  • Strawberry
  • Sweet potato (leaf only)
  • Swiss chard
  • Tamarind bean pods
  • Taro, Colocasia and Caladium spp.
  • Tarragon
  • Thyme
  • Tomato
  • Truffle
  • Turnip
  • Vegetable marrow
  • Water chestnut
  • Watercress
  • Watermelon
  • Yam, Dioscorea spp.
  • Yautia (tanier), Xanthosoma spp.

Note: Commercially canned and thoroughly cooked foods are generally permitted. All permissible agricultural products are subject to inspection.

  • Allium spp. (includes onion, garlic, and chives)
  • Amaranth, Amaranthus spp. (leaf, stem)
  • Anise
  • Annona spp. (pawpaw/sugar apple leaf)
  • Arracacia xanthorrhiza (Central and South American root vegetable)
  • Arrowroot
  • Artichoke, Jerusalem
  • Asparagus
  • Avocado
  • Balsam apple
  • Bamboo shoots
  • Banana (fruit, leaf without stalk or midrib)
  • Basil
  • Bay leaves, laurel
  • Beans, shelled (faba, lima, string)
  • Beans, in pods (faba, lima, string)—Geographic restrictions apply. For more information, please contact us via the telephone numbers listed below.
  • Beet
  • Bitter melon
  • Brassica oleracea (includes broccoli, brussels sprouts, cabbage, collard, cauliflower, and kale)
  • Breadfruit, Artocarpus spp.
  • Breadnut
  • Cacao bean pod
  • Cannonball fruit
  • Cantaloupe
  • Carrot
  • Cassava
  • Celery
  • Chamomile, Anthemis spp.
  • Coconut (with or without husk)
  • Coffee—Travelers are permitted to bring unlimited quantities of roasted coffee or green (unroasted) coffee beans without restriction through any continental U.S. port of entry.
  • Chayote
  • Chervil
  • Chickory
  • Chinese waternut
  • Chives
  • Chrysanthemum spp. (leaf, stem)
  • Cilantro
  • Citrus, fresh fruit (grapefruit, orange, lemon, lime)
  • Collard
  • Corn (on the cob only)
  • Cornsalad, Vallerianella spp.
  • Cucumber (includes Angola cucumber, Sicania odorata)
  • Cyperus corm
  • Dandelion greens (leaf, stem)
  • Dasheen, Colocasia, Caladium spp., and Xanthosoma spp.
  • Eggplant
  • Endive
  • Ethrog (fruit)
  • False coriander
  • Fennel
  • Garlic
  • Genip
  • Ginger root
  • Gourd
  • Guava (leaf)
  • Herbs (dried or cured)
  • Honeydew melon
  • Horseradish, Armoracia spp.
  • Indigo, Indigofera spp.
  • Jackfruit
  • Kale
  • Kudzu (if not seed, tuberous roots, or stems with node; must not be capable of propagation)
  • Lambsquarter
  • Mint, Mentha spp.
  • Mushrooms
  • Mustard greens
  • Onion
  • Oregano, Origanum spp. (leaf, stem)
  • Okra - Geographic restrictions apply. For more information, contact us via the telephone numbers listed below.
  • Lemongrass, Cymbopogon citratus
  • Leren
  • Lettuce
  • Lily bulb, edible
  • Lotus root
  • Maguey
  • Mangosteen
  • Marjoram, Origanum spp. (leaf, stem)
  • Palm heart
  • Papaya
  • Parsley
  • Parsnip
  • Pepper
  • Peas, Pisum sativum (in pod or shelled)
  • Pineapple
  • Plantain (fruit, leaf without stalk or midrib)
  • Pokeweed greens (leaf, stem)
  • Potato
  • Pumpkin
  • Purslane
  • Radish
  • Rhubarb
  • Rosemary (leaf)
  • Rutabaga
  • St. John’s bread
  • Salsify
  • Savoy
  • Sorrel, Rumex spp.
  • Spinach
  • Squash
  • Stinking-toe (pod)
  • Strawberry
  • Sweet potato (leaf only)
  • Swiss chard
  • Tamarind bean pods
  • Taro, Colocasia and Caladium spp.
  • Tarragon
  • Thyme
  • Tomato
  • Truffle
  • Turnip
  • Vegetable marrow
  • Water chestnut
  • Watercress
  • Watermelon
  • Yam, Dioscorea spp.
  • Yautia (tanier), Xanthosoma spp.

Note: Commercially canned and thoroughly cooked foods are generally permitted. All permissible agricultural products are subject to inspection.

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  • Flowers (fresh, cut, or dried)

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  • Plant cuttings and plants without soil

Panel body

Use the Veterinary Services (VS) Permitting Assistant to understand import requirements for animals and animal products. This self-guided tool has the most updated and comprehensive information, based on the type of animal or commodity you want to bring in and the intended use.

Please note that commodities intended for "personal use" mean those in passenger baggage or passenger vehicles. Commodities sent by mail are regulated as "commercial" use.

Pet Birds

Entry requirements vary depending on the origin of the bird. Visit Pet Travel for details on the entry requirements for pet birds.

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  • Insects (dried or preserved)
  • Snail shells (if empty and thoroughly cleaned)

Need More Information?

Contact your local USDA or U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) office for the most up-to-date information.

USDA Offices (for travelers from Puerto Rico)

  • Aguada: 787-986-7240
  • Aguadilla: 787-931–7900
  • Carolina: 787-710-7282
  • Ponce: 787-709-4957
  • San Juan: 787-919-0585

CBP Offices (for travelers from U.S. Virgin Islands)

  • St. Croix: 340-778-1696
  • St. Thomas: 340-774-4554
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