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Why I stopped travelling to the US and largely stopped doing business in the US

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Re: Why I stopped travelling to the US and largely stopped doing business in the US

#31

Post by kingsley_20 »

felipe wrote: post #17

> I've been to Russia before the cold war ended. I've been all over the middle east. I've been to China. I've travelled all over Europe. I've been to Cuba and I've been to Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Nicaragua. What all of these places have in common is that going there was a far more pleasant experience than going to the US. Oh, c'mon, this sounds very over-the-top. My experience is that TSA and USCIS (formerly INS)…

I think that's kind of the point. The unpleasantness is institutionalized in the US, whereas it's random/haphazard in most other places.

Re: Why I stopped travelling to the US and largely stopped doing business in the US

#32

Post by psykotic »

die_sekte wrote: post #20
eoghan wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What exactly would you like to know? I've traveled to about 10 European countries. I've never been photographed, had my fingerprints taken, been interrogated about my intentions. But every time I visit the US, all of these things happen. I should note that I'm a European Union (EU) citizen which gives me the right to travel freely between countries in the EU. But my American friends have only ever been hassled when t…

Well, I am an EU/Schengen citizen, and I would like to know what non-EU, non-Schengen citizens experience at the EU/Schengen borders.

My live-in partner went home with me to Denmark for Christmas. The border crossing in Copenhagen Airport was pleasant and completely without incident.

What was maddening was the process of applying for a visitor's visa. In addition to forms, it required around 25 pages of auxiliary documentation, including her most recent pay-slip; a print-out of her bank balance on the day of submission; a letter addressed to the embassy from her employer attesting to her position, her monthly salary and her length of employment; a travel insurance policy covering the length of the stay; a round-trip plane ticket; a letter of several pages from me, accompanied by evidence such as photos, describing how and when we first met, when I most recently met her, the total amount of time we have spent together face to face, etc.

That was for a two-week stay over the holidays. Fun.

Re: Why I stopped travelling to the US and largely stopped doing business in the US

#33

Post by gst »

felipe wrote: post #17

> I've been to Russia before the cold war ended. I've been all over the middle east. I've been to China. I've travelled all over Europe. I've been to Cuba and I've been to Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Nicaragua. What all of these places have in common is that going there was a far more pleasant experience than going to the US. Oh, c'mon, this sounds very over-the-top. My experience is that TSA and USCIS (formerly INS)…

"For example: After an incident involving an American in Brazil [1], all Americans were out of a sudden required by the Brazilian authorities to get pictures taken at the Brazilian customs. The situation got so ridiculous, that at some point the airports ended up with 3 lines: "Brazilian Citizens", "Foreigners", and "Americans". In other words, Americans were singled-out from the rest of the world. Would the OP describe that as a "pleasant experience"???"

Why should Brazil treat US citizens any different, than the US treats Brazilian citizens? If the US harasses Brazilian citizens with such procedures, it is IMO perfectly OK if Brazil does the same to US citizens.

Re: Why I stopped travelling to the US and largely stopped doing business in the US

#35

Post by paraschopra »

kingsley_20 wrote: post #30
paraschopra wrote: post #14

I will tell another personal experience. I am based out of India and have been invited to speak at a conference in San Francisco. I applied for a business visa and was denied that visa because apparently I am young (23) and they have not heard about my startup (it is of course not an IT service giant like Infosys, TCS or Wipro) or conference (it's about A/B testing). Mind you: my startup is doing quite well financial…

You're just too much of a flight risk - they see you as having too little at stake in India. I've had some friends have similar issues ( http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=851287 ). I myself returned to India after 8 years in the states partly because it was practically impossible to start my own business without a green card, aka 4 years of indentured servitude. For future reference: Try to show assets you own (rea…

Thanks for your comment. I brought a lot of documents with me during visa interview but didn't they see a single document. It's true I am unmarried but getting married just to get a US visa is too much to ask for :)

Re: Why I stopped travelling to the US and largely stopped doing business in the US

#36

Post by Nick_C »

wyclif wrote: post #22
brc wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

He means quarantine. If you had an open packet of oreos and some muddy boots, you'd still be there now.

What is up with the Aussies and quarantine? Going from the US to SE Asia, you fill out a little slip declaring if you're carrying snails or orchids, and if you say you are not, you sail right through. No worries!

Australia is very stable geologically, apart from a bit on the S.E. corner, which is why it is flat. It is very old and hasn't had the evolutionary disruptions caused by mountain raising and flattening. The animals have evolved quite distinctly in their own niche. Foreign imports could seriously disturb the balance. See, for example, rabbits, foxes, cane toads.

Re: Why I stopped travelling to the US and largely stopped doing business in the US

#37

Post by andyjenn »

brc wrote: post #13
rdouble wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm Australian, and we've got a fairly intensive customs procedure Really? I brought a bunch of weird looking folding bike parts in a taped together laundry bag and got waved right though.

He means quarantine. If you had an open packet of oreos and some muddy boots, you'd still be there now.

I went on a rugby tour there from UK around the time of the last foot 'n mouth outbreak... australian immigration were very concerned of the mud on our team's rugby boots so they cleaned all 26 pairs! I'd never played with such spotless (and disinfected) boots!

Re: Why I stopped travelling to the US and largely stopped doing business in the US

#38

Post by ovi256 »

die_sekte wrote: post #23
felipe wrote: post #17

> I've been to Russia before the cold war ended. I've been all over the middle east. I've been to China. I've travelled all over Europe. I've been to Cuba and I've been to Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay, Nicaragua. What all of these places have in common is that going there was a far more pleasant experience than going to the US. Oh, c'mon, this sounds very over-the-top. My experience is that TSA and USCIS (formerly INS)…

Brazil isn't part of the Visa Waiver program and felt that its citizens were being treated unreasonably. Thus, they began being rude to Americans. (IIRC) Kind of an asshole move, but highly entertaining to watch from the outside.

Brazil has a well-known tit-for-tat policy in foreign matters. They will apply to a country's citizens whatever policy that country applies to Brazilians. So Americans were singled out because they singled out Brazilians. It's called having balls.

Re: Why I stopped travelling to the US and largely stopped doing business in the US

#39

Post by ovi256 »

felipe wrote: post #29
PakG1 wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>> all Americans were out of a sudden required by the Brazilian authorities to get pictures taken at the Brazilian customs I'm curious why this would be such a hassle. I work in China right now and every time I go through customs, there's a little web cam there that takes a photo of me while the customs officer looks at my passport and stamps it. I think both foreigners and citizens experience it. Adds no time to the…

I also live in China. 1. In China the system is set-up for that. The little web-cam and the system are integrated with a push of a button, and the process is very quick. In Brazil they didn't have anything. They were taking pictures with off-the-shelf digital cameras, and I read an article saying that they did not even have a system set-up to transfer the pictures out! It was really something implemented overnight, c…

Se my comment above, you completely ignore the reason for that policy.

Re: Why I stopped travelling to the US and largely stopped doing business in the US

#40

Post by _delirium »

die_sekte wrote: post #20
eoghan wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What exactly would you like to know? I've traveled to about 10 European countries. I've never been photographed, had my fingerprints taken, been interrogated about my intentions. But every time I visit the US, all of these things happen. I should note that I'm a European Union (EU) citizen which gives me the right to travel freely between countries in the EU. But my American friends have only ever been hassled when t…

Well, I am an EU/Schengen citizen, and I would like to know what non-EU, non-Schengen citizens experience at the EU/Schengen borders.

If you have a U.S. passport at least, my experience is that bored immigration agents wave you through. I actually immigrated to Denmark on a 3-year temporary work permit, and showed up at the airport as a single male in my 20s with three giant bags, and nobody asked me a single thing about it. I had the work-permit documentation, but they didn't even want to see it; just waved me through.

Supposedly you get more attention if you're Arab-looking, though (I'm rather white), and there can be visa hassles if your passport isn't from a western country.

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