Mail order seeds from out of country

I'm in California and have been hearing horror stories of friend's seeds being confiscated by Ag officials if they've been ordered from out of country. Does anyone have info on this or what it takes to have seeds shipped into CA??
Thanks!

The other part of the horror story is people sneaking seeds or plants into CA or the U.S. and upon planting them discovering that some were harboring a pupa of some insect (yes, inside the seed cover). Then they have insects breeding with no natural preditor in sight ... and it starts attacking the local fruits, vegetables and/or ornamentals, sometimes spreading to other counties. An example is the citrus leaf miner.

So the State of CA and the USDA have regulations on incoming plant material. Commercial nurseries have obtain licensing to send material to certain states. If not, they post online "cannot ship to CA" etc. Even if they do have a license, they are required to document what they are shipping and report it to the USDA.

Some commercial suppliers outside the country don't bother with this and thus their incoming shipments are regularly confiscated and quarantined by the USDA. By the time the quarantine is over, the seeds are usually not viable.

Later this year I will make a trip to Albuquerque to pick up some unusual plants from a nursery. They have a license for CA shipments, and will provide me with paperwork to show to the agricultural inspection station when I re-enter CA.