Immigration experience at SFO

[lisaC]

Could the guy who looked at my passport be any more difficult?!
I hold a British passport but my kids are americans.
I get up to his desk and he asks where was I coming in from?
I say London.
He says Oh what part of Mexico?
huh? London I repeat.
So how long were you away?
10 weeks.
Are you sure about that?
Well okay instead of leaving the 15th we actually left the 17th. We were stuck in SFO waiting to see when we''d get on a working plane.
So he finally looks through the pasport and can see by the stamp in Heathrow yup we got there the 17th June and we got back the 24th Aug.
So where''s your old passport?
At home... (who would think if you had a valid passport and greencard that this guy would be such a ....you fill in the blank)
So where did you get this passport? here in the States or abroad
Here in Washington.
Washington DC?
Well yes.
Good grief can you believe this?
I was as nice as possible because this guy could have made my life very difficult but all the while I''m thinking so you''re white and I''m not and you''re going to be a total ass okay whatever...

 

[princesss]

I''ve had issues in Houston. I''m American, and rarely get more than a, "Welcome home."

So, why were you in Panama?
I was helping my parents move.
And why were you in Thailand (I left Thailand about 6-7 months before running into this guy)?
My parents lived there before they moved, I was visiting for summer.
Oh. Why were you in Europe?
I was traveling for a semester.
Where did you get this passport?
In Virginia, where I go to school.
Why do you travel so much?
Because my parents live overseas and I like to see new places.
Is this your first passport?
No. It''s my third.
I''d be careful traveling so much if I were you.
Thanks???

Sorry you went through such a rough time. Immigration can be nuts.

 

[April20]

DH and I went thru immigration in Ft Lauderdale, returning from Mexico this past weekend. I highly recommend you do whatever it takes to NOT go thru immigration there. The space is cramped and terribly disorganized. To make three arriving international flights trying to merge at once worse, DH''s name AND birth date matched a criminal they were looking for and we got the extra special scrutiny. NOT fun!!!! And apparently, this criminal is on a "list" that won''t go away and we''ll probably go thru this EVERY time we travel internationally from here on out. Sigh.....

 

[swimmer]

April 20,
The same thing happened to a teenage student of mine, returning from his first overseas flight, he was pulled aside in SFO and with me holding his arm he was asked over and over again if he was someone with the same name who was born in the 50s. This student is clearly 16ish and he was about to cry. There was no point to that and I am a big fan of national security, but within reason of course. I was a border guard for almost a year between two warring countries and never made anyone cry. That just makes no sense in terms of security.

LisaC, sorry they gave you grief.

 

[Richard Sherwood]

I'm sorry, but I just can't get too worked up about this.

These are extraordinary times. I'm sorry you were inconvenienced for a few minutes at immigrations, but personally I'm glad to hear it's not a cake walk to get into the U.S.

 

[Irishgrrrl]

Date: 9/1/2008 10:12:36 PM
Author: Richard Sherwood
I''m sorry, but I just can''t get too worked up about this.

These are extraordinary times. I''m sorry you were inconvenienced for a few minutes at immigrations, but personally I''m glad to hear it''s not a cake walk to get into the U.S.

Rich, I agree. I am white and American, and I''ve been stopped similarly by immigration before. I really doubt that it''s an issue of race . . . more an issue of national security in general.

 

[lisaC]

Thanks for the stories princess, April20 and swimmer!
It was not a matter of being inconvenienced. It was his arrogance that got me.
Obviously some people aren''t going to have the same perception of my experience.
Instead of saying you sure about that when I said I was out of the country 10 weeks all he needed to do was look in the children''s passport at the entry date then if it didn''t add up then by all means bust my chops.
Heck the asian dude checking I didn''t bring any illegal foodstuffs in when I declared I had cookies and crisps was pretty nice in comparison.

 

[TravelingGal]

Date: 9/1/2008 11:57:29 PM
Author: lisaC
Thanks for the stories princess, April20 and swimmer!
It was not a matter of being inconvenienced. It was his arrogance that got me.
Obviously some people aren''t going to have the same perception of my experience.
Instead of saying you sure about that when I said I was out of the country 10 weeks all he needed to do was look in the children''s passport at the entry date then if it didn''t add up then by all means bust my chops.
Heck the asian dude checking I didn''t bring any illegal foodstuffs in when I declared I had cookies and crisps was pretty nice in comparison.

lisa, this wasn''t a matter of rudeness in my opinion. This is what immigration DOES.

They look stern and ask all kinds of questions to trip would be liars and to look for reactions. Yes, he could have just looked at the passport, but he is asking you all those things for a reason. If you''ve ever lied and then the person you lied to looks you in the eye and presses "are you SURE?" don''t you feel a little squirmy? That is what they are going for.

I have been through immigration in Canada, Australia, London and Paris and it''s all the same, unsmiling people who ask questions in a manner which makes you feel like they want to put you in jail.

Sometimes I think we (who are not white, and I am not) need to cut white people a break. It''s not always about race!

 

[innerkitten]

That sucks

Yeah I think these days that type of thing happens a lot. I''ve never had it happen to me coming into the U.S. But going into Japan once I had all my luggage opened up and checked everything, make up boxes, pill containers etc.

 

[neatfreak]

Date: 9/2/2008 12:10:31 AM
Author: TravelingGal

Date: 9/1/2008 11:57:29 PM

Author: lisaC

Thanks for the stories princess, April20 and swimmer!

It was not a matter of being inconvenienced. It was his arrogance that got me.

Obviously some people aren''t going to have the same perception of my experience.

Instead of saying you sure about that when I said I was out of the country 10 weeks all he needed to do was look in the children''s passport at the entry date then if it didn''t add up then by all means bust my chops.

Heck the asian dude checking I didn''t bring any illegal foodstuffs in when I declared I had cookies and crisps was pretty nice in comparison.

lisa, this wasn''t a matter of rudeness in my opinion. This is what immigration DOES.


They look stern and ask all kinds of questions to trip would be liars and to look for reactions. Yes, he could have just looked at the passport, but he is asking you all those things for a reason. If you''ve ever lied and then the person you lied to looks you in the eye and presses ''are you SURE?'' don''t you feel a little squirmy? That is what they are going for.


I have been through immigration in Canada, Australia, London and Paris and it''s all the same, unsmiling people who ask questions in a manner which makes you feel like they want to put you in jail.


Sometimes I think we (who are not white, and I am not) need to cut white people a break. It''s not always about race!

Big Ditto to TGal''s post! I AM white AND American and have gone through immigration many many times. More often than not, they ask you ridiculous seeming questions and are a PITA. But as TGal said, they are trying to get to the people who are lying about things,and talking to them is the only way to get an idea of whether the person is worth questioning more.

Just doing their jobs IMO...I get "harassed" by immigration all the time even though I am a citizen here.

 

[brazen_irish_hussy]

I have been in and out of the country many times and NEVER had this problem, even coming back from China. Its because my name is one of a kind so it doesn''t show up on the terrorist list. My BFF works regularly with airport security and that list is the major reason they stop people or are unpleasant to them.
There terrorist list people are refering to is so bad that a number of congressmen are looking at having it investigated. Until July of this year, Nelson Mandela was on this list.
This does NOT make our country safer, it just pisses off the people who are supposed to be here
Here are just a few stories about it:
http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/08/22/pilot.watch.list/index.html?iref=newssearch
http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/08/19/tsa.watch.list/index.html?iref=newssearch
http://www.cnn.com/2008/SHOWBIZ/books/08/14/author.terror.list/index.html?iref=newssearch
http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/07/17/watchlist.chertoff/index.html?iref=newssearch
http://www.cnn.com/2008/US/07/16/watch.list/index.html?

 

[VRBeauty]

Two weeks ago I had to answer several questions, some of which seemed nonsensical, when I returned from a 3-week trip to Europe. My experience was nothing compared to the guy in front of me, who was returning from several weeks crewing on a yacht trip that ended in Africa. I don''t think skin color had anything to do with either of our experiences -- it looked to me like pretty much everyone was being questioned quite a bit. Getting through immigration and customs definately takes more time now than it used to. Where the emphasis used to be on what you''re declaring and what you might be carrying in, now there seems to be more of an emphasis on the person entering the country.

 

[Anna0499]

I hear you about the customs frustrations Lisa! My family and I were headed back from a vacation to Niagara Falls CANADA (let alone overseas) and we had our U.S. passports, were in a family-sized SUV, and we were forced to get out of our car while our bags were searched for no probable cause. We had to stand on the side of the road while they went through our things for half an hour to get back INTO OUR OWN COUNTRY and then we had to go inside and were questioned by OUR OWN COUNTRY as to our employment in the United States. We filed a complaint because it was ridiculous...the guy checking our information was clearly racist...he asked my sister three times where she worked (she''s in college and doesn''t work) and asked why she didn''t have her university ID (why would you bring that on vacation?!). He also asked my parents what they did for a living and demanded their work IDs (my mom also didn''t bring hers on VACATION!) and my dad showed him a business card. He finished off the questioning with, "Well, we get a lot of Asians trying to smuggle people into the U.S. to work in nail shops so I just wanted to make sure."

My assumption was that smugglers wouldn''t have six U.S. passports but I guess I was wrong...

I know they have a job to do and, as minorities, we have been stopped at airports several times without issue or complaint. This time, however, was too much.

 

[lisaC]

Date: 9/2/2008 12:03:34 PM
Author: IndyGirl22
I hear you about the customs frustrations Lisa! My family and I were headed back from a vacation to Niagara Falls CANADA (let alone overseas) and we had our U.S. passports, were in a family-sized SUV, and we were forced to get out of our car while our bags were searched for no probable cause. We had to stand on the side of the road while they went through our things for half an hour to get back INTO OUR OWN COUNTRY and then we had to go inside and were questioned by OUR OWN COUNTRY as to our employment in the United States. We filed a complaint because it was ridiculous...the guy checking our information was clearly racist...he asked my sister three times where she worked (she''s in college and doesn''t work) and asked why she didn''t have her university ID (why would you bring that on vacation?!). He also asked my parents what they did for a living and demanded their work IDs (my mom also didn''t bring hers on VACATION!) and my dad showed him a business card. He finished off the questioning with, ''Well, we get a lot of Asians trying to smuggle people into the U.S. to work in nail shops so I just wanted to make sure.''

My assumption was that smugglers wouldn''t have six U.S. passports but I guess I was wrong...

I know they have a job to do and, as minorities, we have been stopped at airports several times without issue or complaint. This time, however, was too much.

IndyGirl I see you got My point.
I am sorry that your experience was so much more horrendous.

 

[lisaC]

Date: 9/2/2008 12:10:31 AM
Author: TravelingGal

Date: 9/1/2008 11:57:29 PM
Author: lisaC
Thanks for the stories princess, April20 and swimmer!
It was not a matter of being inconvenienced. It was his arrogance that got me.
Obviously some people aren''t going to have the same perception of my experience.
Instead of saying you sure about that when I said I was out of the country 10 weeks all he needed to do was look in the children''s passport at the entry date then if it didn''t add up then by all means bust my chops.
Heck the asian dude checking I didn''t bring any illegal foodstuffs in when I declared I had cookies and crisps was pretty nice in comparison.

lisa, this wasn''t a matter of rudeness in my opinion. This is what immigration DOES.

They look stern and ask all kinds of questions to trip would be liars and to look for reactions. Yes, he could have just looked at the passport, but he is asking you all those things for a reason. If you''ve ever lied and then the person you lied to looks you in the eye and presses ''are you SURE?'' don''t you feel a little squirmy? That is what they are going for.

I have been through immigration in Canada, Australia, London and Paris and it''s all the same, unsmiling people who ask questions in a manner which makes you feel like they want to put you in jail.

Sometimes I think we (who are not white, and I am not) need to cut white people a break. It''s not always about race!

Tgal I was just telling my experience. I felt like he wasn''t just rude- it wasn''t the word I chose.
Plus I do not feel the need to cut white people a break as I am half white.
My husband didn''t get any grief when he returned from visiting us in England but then again the guy he dealt with was asian.

 

[TravelingGal]

Oh sorry, since in your our original post you said "you''re white and I''m not," I assumed you were not white. But hey, since you''re half white, go to town!

 

[Independent Gal]

I guess, as a foreigner who has had her share of wrangling with the local authorities, that I''m also not sure why you would get upset with someone for doing what is literally his / her job. They are not being difficult. The job of an immigration and customs agent is to ask you LOTS of tricky questions and try to trip you up. That is their job. That is what they are trained to do. An agent who does NOT do that is not doing his or her job. They are not being "nice" they are being incompetent.

Seriously, coming back from Panama, a place notorious for drugs and organized crime, why wouldn''t they ask you some tough questions?

And if something looks at all funny or unusual, they OUGHT to press you a bit.

The best thing with customs and immigration officials is to simply and plainly answer each of their questions. Each one is asked for a purpose. Not to be difficult, but to catch out people who are lying.

And yes, LOTS of people lie. How many of you have never, ever lied to a customs official? Said you brought back less stuff than you did? Or?

So please, don''t get angry with someone for doing his job, even if his job requires him or her to be a little abrasive.

It is much more worrying to arrive in a place where the customs officials couldn''t care less, like once when I arrived in Copenhagen, the agent was so busy chatting with his friend that he literally didn''t look at me or my passport, just stamped it with his head turned away and handed it back. More worrying still is countries that hassle only SOME people. For instance, going into Switzerland on the train, I have often had the experience of agents making a bee-line for anyone with dark skin. I''m not a Swiss citizen, but they aren''t interested in my passport. Plenty of dark skinned SWISS, however, get a hassle.

This said by a non-citizen who has often been on the painful end of that abrasiveness in the US. But on the whole, it is one of the more professional and rigorous customs and immigration services of the many countries I have been to. BECAUSE it''s abrasive.

Just my 2 cts.

 

[luckystar112]

Date: 9/2/2008 2:23:47 PM
Author: lisaC
Tgal I was just telling my experience. I felt like he wasn''t just rude- it wasn''t the word I chose.
Plus I do not feel the need to cut white people a break as I am half white.
My husband didn''t get any grief when he returned from visiting us in England but then again the guy he dealt with was asian.

What does being half-white have to do with it? Do white people have some secret racism-radar that as a white person I wasn''t lucky enough to be born with?
And since your husband didn''t get any grief with an Asian guy, this proves your point?

Hmmmmm

I didn''t get any grief coming back from Italy, but I did get grief coming back from Jamaica. Bizarre.

 

[fieryred33143]

Ha if you think that's bad, try going through MIA.

I don't mind the questions at all. What bothers me about customs in my experience is how easy people can truly get away with things. For me:

Hi. You were in Mexico?
Yes
How long were you in Mexico?
A week.
Pleasure or business?
Business.
What business?
__________

Can I get a free coupon?
Yes. Here you go.
Thank you! Have a good day!

WTF?

ETA: I also wanted to add that after you have been on a 4 to 15 hour flight where they have given you stale chicken and nasty potatoes for dinner, standing in a sometimes 2 hour long line with people that can't seem to just stand there without complaing which makes waiting feel even longer, and the only thing standing between you and the place you call home is a unnecessary rude agent, yes you will get frustrated. It's easy to say they were just doing their job after the fact but at the moment all you want to do is grab something and swing it at them. So don't be too hard on yourself. I would have been upset too

 

[Richard Sherwood]

These comments about race really bug me.

It''s not racism, it''s realism. The fact is that a large population of dark skinned individuals would like to see the United States wiped off the face of the earth. If you happen to fall into this profile you can certainly understand receiving increased scrutiny. Or if you happen to be traveling in from a certain country you might receive increased scrutiny. There''s all kinds of reasons you might receive increased scrutiny.

It''s not about race. It''s about security. Plenty of "white" people get hassled as well, for one reason or another. My brother got pulled aside and questioned for half an hour in a port-of-entry because he had a large number of far eastern and middle eastern stops on his passport. He''s ex-Marine, white as snow.

 

[princesss]

Indy, I''m not sure if you got my experience mixed up with the OP''s. I have no problem with them asking a ton of questions, it was more the "Be careful about traveling so much" and the implication that I was doing something wrong by traveling that I found odd. Not frustrating, just odd.

Now that you raise the point, both Panama and Thailand are pretty infamous as far as drug smuggling goes, lol. I hadn''t even thought about it! To me it''s always just been going home, you know?

 

[Independent Gal]

Date: 9/2/2008 4:35:31 PM
Author: princesss
Indy, I''m not sure if you got my experience mixed up with the OP''s. I have no problem with them asking a ton of questions, it was more the ''Be careful about traveling so much'' and the implication that I was doing something wrong by traveling that I found odd. Not frustrating, just odd.


Now that you raise the point, both Panama and Thailand are pretty infamous as far as drug smuggling goes, lol. I hadn''t even thought about it! To me it''s always just been going home, you know?

Yeah, I guess it is kind of odd, unless what was going through his head was "Hmmm... why does this young lady keep going to countries infamous for drugs and organized crime?!?!!?" in which case the question makes sense in his world!

I did once have an agent in the US be certifiably rude, but it was so bad it was hilarious. I was back in the US from some crazy long flight... Bangkok-JFK? and I was tired, grumpy, and grubby. So it''s Fingerprint Time with the agent, and the Dude says "Your hands are too dry... rub them on your forehead and try it again."

So he simultaneously said I had a greasy forehead and dry hands!!! But it was just funny at that point, and frankly, I was pretty gross and in need of some soap AND moisturizer.

 

[Delster]

OK let me preface this by saying that I understand the need to be serious, and for an impression of authority, and I respect that.

But, I've had mixed experiences with US immigration. I've been yelled at on three occasions by USCIS officials and I'm not sure it was merited.

The first time I was pushed across the line by the official at the top of the queue and told to go up to the window with my FI because we were travelling together. When I got to the window I got yelled at by the official in the booth and sent back to the queue because we weren't "one household". When I got back to the queue I got yelled at three more times and was told to stay put (by the official in the booth, who was processing FI). I was behind the line. Standing very still. I am a meek little sheep of a thing when confronted with authority, I promise you I wasn't advancing on that booth!

The second time I got yelled at because I couldn't remember precisely the date and day of the week, five years previously, when I had last entered the USA. I was out by one day. That got me yelled at.

The third time I got yelled at because the official didn't believe I was still a student five years after I had entered the US on a student visa. I was entering on a visa waiver and was asked my occupation. Fair enough that he might question my being an eternal student, but that isn't grounds to deny a visa waiver, and there was no need to yell.

I'd say my experiences with US immigration have been 50% positive and 50% negative. By all means question sternly and seriously, but is the aggressive yelling really necessary?

Canadian immigration officials, by contrast, are super friendly - they sweet talk the info out of you! Romanian immigration dragged me out of my bed on an overnight train in the middle of the night, showed me their guns, and yelled 'drugs!!! drugs!!! drugs!!!' at me. They left FI alone. I must look like the suspicious one!

Going through Irish immigration as an Irish citizen is hilarious. You wave that purple passport with the harp on it and they don't even ask you to open it. Half the time they're on the phone as you pass through and they barely glance at you

I agree it's better to have stringent and rigorous immigration procedures. I accept this cannot be done with a broad smile and a jokey demeanour. But I do think it can and should be done politely.

 

[Independent Gal]

Delster, that just reminded me of this horrible trip I (tried to) take to Vienna once where I had to cross through Czech territory and the freaking Czech border guards THREW ME OFF THE TRAIN!!!! in the middle of nowhere. I mean, like, nowhere. No town. Just a train hut. It was a loooooong day.

And as for why, it's a looooong story.

But yeah, I was not a happy camper with the crazy Czech border guards.

I agree that yelling is never called for and is, in fact, not helpful for their task.

As for Canadian customs/immigration agents, I've had them seriously rake me over the coals a few times.

But they were, uh, pleasant enough while doing so. Definitely gave me the sense that if I stepped out of line, trouble would ensue.

 

[TravelingGal]

Date: 9/2/2008 6:41:59 PM
Author: Independent Gal
Delster, that just reminded me of this horrible trip I (tried to) take to Vienna once where I had to cross through Czech territory and the freaking Czech border guards THREW ME OFF THE TRAIN!!!! in the middle of nowhere. I mean, like, nowhere. No town. Just a train hut. It was a loooooong day.

And as for why, it''s a looooong story.

But yeah, I was not a happy camper with the crazy Czech border guards.

I agree that yelling is never called for and is, in fact, not helpful for their task.

As for Canadian customs/immigration agents, I''ve had them seriously rake me over the coals a few times.

But they were, uh, pleasant enough while doing so. Definitely gave me the sense that if I stepped out of line, trouble would ensue.

Ha...the worst grilling I got were from the Canadians. It didn''t faze me at all because I thought it was fair payback for how tough we make it on them!!

 

[Pandora II]

It has been a standing joke as long as I can remember both in my family and any company I have worked for that involved international travel that I WILL:

- always be searched
- always have my bags opened
- always be kept for ages being questioned

I have nothing weird in my passport and a VERY distinctive and unusual British surname. I have no idea what it is about me - I obviously just look guilty or tick some profile thing or something.

As a result I was frankly terrified about encountering US immigration for the first time since I was 7... it did turn out to be a rather odd experience.

I managed to cut my index finger quite badly on the plane, and the only thing the airline had was a massive gauze bandage. So, when I had to have my finger-prints scanned I had a bit of a problem.

Both at that point and when I had my passport stamped the officials asked me what had happened - and then IF I WAS PLANNING TO SUE THE AIRLINE!

I was really shocked! All I''d done is got it trapped in the thing you stick paper-towels in in the bathroom on the aeroplane. Er. why would I sue for a cut finger that was mainly MY fault?

 

[lisaC]

I think Delster summed it up best that it could have been done politely. Wow Delster you had a truly horrendous experience!
For those who have shared their horror stories thanks for the empathy!
For the rest I wonder what you''ve said to yourself when someone has been an utter jerk when there was no need and please don''t tell me it''s okay cause it''s his job.

 

[TravelingGal]

Date: 9/2/2008 7:25:20 PM
Author: lisaC
I think Delster summed it up best that it could have been done politely. Wow Delster you had a truly horrendous experience!
For those who have shared their horror stories thanks for the empathy!
For the rest I wonder what you''ve said to yourself when someone has been an utter jerk when there was no need and please don''t tell me it''s okay cause it''s his job.

Lisa, I''ll take your word for it that he was a jerk, because I wasn''t there.

But in the case of immigration, I expect them to be stern and interrogating. That can easily be perceived as being a jerk, and in this case because it IS their job it wouldn''t faze me, to answer your question.

In all honesty, the line of questioning he gave you based on your OP doesn''t sound that nuts, IMHO. But of course, what we are missing is his tone, which could have made it sound a lot worse. If he was yelling at you (as in Delster''s case), then I would certainly say that isn''t necessary in a job like that.

 

[Deelight]

Date: 9/2/2008 7:21:29 PM
Author: Pandora II
It has been a standing joke as long as I can remember both in my family and any company I have worked for that involved international travel that I WILL:


- always be searched

- always have my bags opened

- always be kept for ages being questioned


I have nothing weird in my passport and a VERY distinctive and unusual British surname. I have no idea what it is about me - I obviously just look guilty or tick some profile thing or something.


As a result I was frankly terrified about encountering US immigration for the first time since I was 7... it did turn out to be a rather odd experience.


I managed to cut my index finger quite badly on the plane, and the only thing the airline had was a massive gauze bandage. So, when I had to have my finger-prints scanned I had a bit of a problem.


Both at that point and when I had my passport stamped the officials asked me what had happened - and then IF I WAS PLANNING TO SUE THE AIRLINE!

I was really shocked! All I''d done is got it trapped in the thing you stick paper-towels in in the bathroom on the aeroplane. Er. why would I sue for a cut finger that was mainly MY fault?

A girl I know has the same thing happen to her every time she travels internationally, she was told that she fits a particular profile of look which could be the same thing in your case.

 

[hibiscus]

I can relate to your situation. I make sure after a 17 hours flight that I''m not going to brush my teeth or rinse my mouth with a mouthwash and make sure something stuck in my teeth. So, when I reach the immigration officer, I can flash my "beautiful partly stained teeth from 3-4 cups of coffee and tea and open my mouth real big, "Hi, how are you?" making sure the "beautiful scent" from my unrinsed mouth make a full stop in front of his nostril. He would probably be too disgusted to ask any more question than a two liner.

Just kidding but it might work