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Another awesome US immigration experience

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Re: Another awesome US immigration experience

#31

Post by seldo »

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.

This was MIA. And yes, SFO is by far the friendliest airport I've ever arrived at (the others being Dallas/Fort Worth and JFK).

Re: Another awesome US immigration experience

#32

Post by rdtsc »

jacquesm wrote: post #18

As long as you feel the benefits outweigh the downsides the only person you can complain to is yourself. You're still going there aren't you? I've had an episode quite comparable to this one and it was the last time I visited the US. I don't bitch about it, I don't begrudge the border guards their jobs or attitude (I assume they get a lot of shit heaped on them every day, not an excuse for a non-professional attitude…

> I don't bitch about it, I don't begrudge the border guards their jobs or attitude

Is it because of lack of time? It seems like those are general problems and highlighting them in some form might help improve the situation.

Sometimes it just takes a model story "An investor is turned away by power tripping and unprofessional immigration officer" or something like that. Maybe it won't be the story but one of thousands out there.

Re: Another awesome US immigration experience

#33

Post by photorized »

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…

What you described was unremarkable. It should not have been stressful, and it is certainly not worth complaining about.

Re: Another awesome US immigration experience

#34

Post by DrSbaitso »

I'm a Canadian citizen and get this type of treatment all the time. Every time I enter the US, which is about once a month or so, they send me to a back room for secondary screening. The reason? Their system thinks I overstayed my visa once back in 1995. What actually happened was my family took a road trip to New England, and nobody bothered to check our passports on the way out, so there was no departure record.

So for the last 18 years, they've sent me back for questioning every single time, wasting countless hours of both my time and their time. They always ask me if I worked illegally in the States in 1995 and I just tell them, "No, I was nine years old." When I ask them if they can remove the flag on my account, they say it's impossible because only the government department that created the flag can remove it, and that department no longer exists.

Re: Another awesome US immigration experience

#35

Post by onetwothreefour »

ryan wrote: post #19

If you have a green card you can avoid this by signing up for Global Entry[1]. Then you can avoid customs lines and just swipe your card at the kiosk - enter the country without ever talking to anyone. As an extra benefit the kiosk is always empty so you are through in minutes... hmm maybe I shouldn't be spreading the word about this :) [1] http://www.globalentry.gov/

Serious question: can you be non-white and get one of these?

Re: Another awesome US immigration experience

#36

Post by surfmike »

It's embarrassing how poorly people are treated when entering the US. We should put pressure on the government to improve that, but also pragmatically if we want to keep attracting talented people from around the world we really need to change this.

For the time being, I'd highly recommend to the poster to enter into Global Entry (people with PR are eligible: http://www.globalentry.gov/eligibility.html)

Re: Another awesome US immigration experience

#37

Post by zee007 »

jacquesm wrote: post #28
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.

I don't either especially since I am not even bitter about the experience. I am just confused.

The irony is that since then I've crossed the border 12+ times a year and the experience is always pleasant (now I enter as a Canadian citizen for either vacation or a short business trip). One would think they'd have preferred me when I paid taxes there (and by the virtue of being on visa, they knew a lot more about me).

Re: Another awesome US immigration experience

#38

Post by eigenvector »

jfb wrote: post #9
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 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?

I find it funny because I worked part-time as a border guard with the Canada Border Services Agency doing exactly this job at YYZ while in university getting my engineering degree.

And just because you don't need a degree to be a border guard, cop or soldier doesn't mean that none of them have post-secondary education.

Re: Another awesome US immigration experience

#39

Post by surfmike »

onetwothreefour wrote: post #35
ryan wrote: post #19

If you have a green card you can avoid this by signing up for Global Entry[1]. Then you can avoid customs lines and just swipe your card at the kiosk - enter the country without ever talking to anyone. As an extra benefit the kiosk is always empty so you are through in minutes... hmm maybe I shouldn't be spreading the word about this :) [1] http://www.globalentry.gov/

Serious question: can you be non-white and get one of these?

Uh, yes. A (non-white) friend of mine has it. The program also allows South Korean and Dutch citizens to enroll.

Re: Another awesome US immigration experience

#40

Post by seldo »

jfb wrote: post #23
seldo wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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…

You're not wrong. On further consideration, I've edited the post to reflect that it was a rude and unnecessary observation.
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