Why I stopped travelling to the US and largely stopped doing business in the US • Hacker News Board

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

#191

Post by soneil » Sat, Feb 19, 2011, 8:19 AM UTC

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.

I'm UK/EU, but I've travelled around the EU with both my wife, and with friends, all USian (and all white, which I presume is still relevant in some places). The consensus has always been that the most difficult parts of their trip is getting back into the US.

We seem to have a 50/50 rate of whether they'll actually open your passport or not. Higher chances when flying in from the UK/US, lower chances when you're flying in/out of a city which isn't in the 'top 3' for each country.

The only question my wife has ever been asked, was leaving Italy; the chap wanted to know why she didn't have a stamp showing her date of entry. We had flown in from Zaragoza, Spain, and simply hadn't met any passport control. Deplane, baggage, and out the front door. We showed him a ticket stub showing that we'd entered the country less than 2 weeks ago, and got waved away.

The only noticable difference we've had between her (american) passport and mine (british), is that it is (or was?) difficult, verging on impossible to do an online check-in with RYR.

(to the original post; I don't travel to the US. ever. Mostly because I've put my 'status' in a gray area by walking out on a residency permit. You think it's bad when you're routine. hah!)

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

#192

Post by ovi256 » Sat, Feb 19, 2011, 12:11 PM UTC

cema wrote: post #170

ovi256 wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

It's called having balls. Having balls for brains, maybe. Instead of working on making the US border experience more efficient and human-oriented, they just make it harder for a selected group of people. An easy way out, I say.

You have no idea if they tried exactly what you are suggesting. And given that diplomats do exactly that, I'm pretty sure they did, and it didn't work.

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

#193

Post by nhangen » Sat, Feb 19, 2011, 6:21 PM UTC

artmageddon wrote: post #167

nhangen wrote: post #122

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Have you ever been to Qatar? I'd have to disagree with you there.

Purely curious, what was Qatar like?

Strange immigration procedures. Long list of banned items (don't even think about bringing a magazine with women in it), and the feeling that they could kick you out in a moment if you looked at them funny.

Nice place, and I loved being there, but I was always nervous going in and out.

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

#194

Post by daliusd » Sun, Feb 20, 2011, 8:35 PM UTC

loxs wrote: post #132

dalore wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

A group of us colleagues were heading into SFO for a work conference. This one guy who was a Sihk but no turban got asked what did he do for a living, so he said a C++ software engineer. The border guard then asked a few C++ questions like what is a virtual function.

OMG, what if he were a pianist, or a doctor?

Most probably he will be asked some basic stuff that pianist and doctor must know. Like, how many black buttons there are on piano? Doctor is quite wide category so that might depend on what type of doctor he is. Question might be about number of bones in human body, average weight of 12 years old boys and etc. Actually it doesn't matter too much what question is and it does not even matter if you know answer. It is completely possible that you don't understand officer's questions because of how he/she speaks - the most important thing is your reaction and that's all. Those people are trained to identify suspicious behavior and unnatural nervousness in your side.

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

#195

Post by ilitirit » Mon, Feb 21, 2011, 8:42 AM UTC

smiler wrote: post #143

ilitirit wrote: post #70

I refuse to travel to the US because of how much hassle is involved. I don't starting my trips off on a sour note. The UK is headed this way as well, mind you.

Refuse? Refuse? You can fly to the US - some 4000 miles away in 7.5 hrs for the East Coast and 11 hours for the West coast. You then may have a little bit of a wait at immigration (or not as the case may be). I've gone through in 5 minutes and one time it was 45 minutes. Seeing as you state you're in the UK, you also eligible for the VWP which means you can travel to the US whenever you like. Just consider what it wa…

I'm not in the UK, you just assumed that. I just said the UK is heading the same way. You have to undergo racial profiling, in your own country when applying for a visa for both the US and UK, and then you're subjected to "random" searches and interviews when you land there. This has happened on several occasions to a friend of mine. In fact, soon after 9/11 everyone in his family's US visas were mysteriously cancelled, presumably because his surname is "Hoosein". His sister had to leave the US where she had been working for years and reapply for another visa. She has to do this every year now. Last month, my friend's employer (Sky News) had to supply special documents to the UK government to prove that he was actually who he said he was, and even then they wouldn't give him a visa. We had to get in touch with the local foreign minister to get him a visa. The last time he was in the UK, he was detained for several hours (and nearly arrested without warrant under the Terrorist Act) because he dozed off in front of the Israeli check-in counter. These aren't isolated incidents.

So yes, I refuse.