Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Another awesome US immigration experience

seldo.tumblr.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

21–30 of 240 posts

Re: Another awesome US immigration experience

#21

Post by pfedor »

seldo wrote: post #6
jfb wrote: post #3

I like particularly the sneering attitude of superiority towards the initial immigration officer in this article. I'm no apologist for the US immigration system (Canada's, on the other hand, I have nothing but good words for), but Jesus creeping Christ, having to deal with that sort of entitled horseshit ten hours a day would turn the Buddha into Dick Cheney.

I can see why you'd think that, but I was totally polite and respectful to the immigration officer at all times -- like I said, I'm a very nervous immigrant, so I would never do anything to jeopardize my processing. I don't fidget or roll my eyes, or indicate impatience. While I'm no fan of the staff of the USCIS, I would never say anything to them to indicate it. Apart from it being very impolite, it would be stupid…

I would never do anything to jeopardize my processing

They can google your name and find the blog post next time you enter.

Re: Another awesome US immigration experience

#22

Post by photorized »

As someone who went though lengthy (10+ years) immigration process, from student visa to work visa to Green Card to Citizenship, with extensive travel in between - there is nothing particularly unreasonable about the experience described. OK, so he was delayed for a few hours, due to some error or inconsistency in the USCIS database... There's no reason to freak out.

And the condescending remarks about the officer not knowing the difference between "web developer" and "software developer" were unnecessary.

Re: Another awesome US immigration experience

#23

Post by jfb »

seldo wrote: post #14
jfb wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I understand the terror, particularly of the US ICE people, who are unnecessarily militarized at the best of times. But why the puerile jab at the officer's "educational attainment"? Needed to feel big? Story wasn't "punchy" enough?

Partly because I think it's a relevant detail -- I think he genuinely didn't understand that a web developer is a type of software developer. But partly because they scared the shit out of me, and the system is stupid and unnecessarily hostile, so, yes, I'm angry at them.

It's not only insulting and juvenile, it's irrelevant. I've met PhDs from the LSE who wouldn't know the difference between email and snail mail, but that's not material to a) how good they were at their jobs or b) whether or not they were good people.

The system is stupid, and hostile, and (in my opinion) totally self-defeating. And people -- normal, decent people -- will act like petty little tyrants in that sort of system. Isn't that sufficient to call them out? An asshole is an asshole, regardless of their eduction, no?

EDIT: Too, it may very well be material that you gave a different answer. There's only one word different between "landscape architect" and "naval architect", and those are significantly and materially different positions. How is J. Random Tyrant supposed to know that a is a member of the set b for all given a?

EDIT the second: Man, I was in love with the word "material", eh?

Re: Another awesome US immigration experience

#24

Post by rdl »

onetwothreefour wrote: post #17
seldo wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can see why you'd think that, but I was totally polite and respectful to the immigration officer at all times -- like I said, I'm a very nervous immigrant, so I would never do anything to jeopardize my processing. I don't fidget or roll my eyes, or indicate impatience. While I'm no fan of the staff of the USCIS, I would never say anything to them to indicate it. Apart from it being very impolite, it would be stupid…

Which airport? IMHO, SFO is probably the best airport to arrive at immigration wise. LAX is a little bit worse, but that's more of a 50/50 on whether someone's having a good day or not. JFK, on the other hand... Ouch.

SJU (Puerto Rico) is probably the most lax of any I've seen.

Re: Another awesome US immigration experience

#25

Post by Permit »

>They keep taking breaks to crack off-color jokes about each other’s sex lives, and moan about how hard they’re having to work tonight.

The jokes might be uncalled for, but you just told us they were under-staffed and had hundreds of extra people to process. I can see why they'd be upset. Especially when absolutely zero of the hundreds of people they talk to in a day are happy to see them.

I get the impression you've never worked in the service industry or in retail. The immense fuckup that is United States immigration is not the fault of its lowest level employees.

Re: Another awesome US immigration experience

#26

Post by ajg1977 »

Pointless, wasteful bureaucracy

I think few people would consider border controls to be any of these things.

You were flagged somehow and that sucks, but if you don't like the immigration procedures of the US you are free to either a) live elsewhere or b) try to take action to change it (we are a democracy after all). On the other hand, venting on a blog isn't going to do anything but irk people who wish they were fortunate enough to hold a US green card, or come back to haunt you if this happens again and some cranky overworked agent google's you.

FWIW I'm a former, now naturalized, US green card holder and this happened to me twice in six years. It sucks, but I considered it a very small price to pay for being able to freely travel and work (or not work!) in this country.

Re: Another awesome US immigration experience

#27

Post by seldo »

joshes wrote: post #10
seldo wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can see why you'd think that, but I was totally polite and respectful to the immigration officer at all times -- like I said, I'm a very nervous immigrant, so I would never do anything to jeopardize my processing. I don't fidget or roll my eyes, or indicate impatience. While I'm no fan of the staff of the USCIS, I would never say anything to them to indicate it. Apart from it being very impolite, it would be stupid…

I'm not entirely sure, but he may have taken exception to the following from your piece: >Of course, you and I know that the latter is just a general form of the former, but somebody whose educational attainments have qualified them to sit behind a desk stamping passports doesn’t.

...he took exception to something I wrote about him 2 days later? As I've mentioned in another reply, I was scrupulously polite at the time.

Re: Another awesome US immigration experience

#28

Post by jacquesm »

zee007 wrote: post #15

I had many similar run-ins with immigration when I worked for Microsoft in the Redmond area (brown guy with a beard, likes to travel the world [sometimes taking trips as short as one weekend]). I've missed more than my share of flights (at one time my name was in the do-not-fly list because it partially matched the name of someone they wanted). Final straw came when one time I was returning from an international trip…

I have no idea why you got downvoted.

Re: Another awesome US immigration experience

#29

Post by [deleted] »

photorized wrote: post #22

As someone who went though lengthy (10+ years) immigration process, from student visa to work visa to Green Card to Citizenship, with extensive travel in between - there is nothing particularly unreasonable about the experience described. OK, so he was delayed for a few hours, due to some error or inconsistency in the USCIS database... There's no reason to freak out. And the condescending remarks about the officer no…

[deleted]

Re: Another awesome US immigration experience

#30

Post by Permit »

seldo wrote: post #27
joshes wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not entirely sure, but he may have taken exception to the following from your piece: >Of course, you and I know that the latter is just a general form of the former, but somebody whose educational attainments have qualified them to sit behind a desk stamping passports doesn’t.

...he took exception to something I wrote about him 2 days later? As I've mentioned in another reply, I was scrupulously polite at the time.

Well it's a relief to know you only belittle people behind their backs.
Post reply on HN