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Another awesome US immigration experience

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Re: Another awesome US immigration experience

#41

Post by rdtsc »

rdl wrote: post #11
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.

Yeah, being an immigration worker would actually be kind of interesting and fun in a way, if you liked people. You get to meet a bunch of new visitors to the US, be the first contact they have on arrival, etc. I know in other countries (middle east, asia), it's a highly sought after job, and has relatively high status and decent benefits, if not high pay. Customs, however, would be hell -- essentially on the front li…

> Customs people tend to also be more corrupt in many countries.

Ha! I was flying from a East European country. At the Customs at the airport someone was stopped over something they couldn't bring in. I overheard him tell the customs officer "hey let's step over to the side and 'figure this out'". 'Figure this out' is euphemism for "I'll pay you some money or drop some names and you'll let me in".

Re: Another awesome US immigration experience

#42

Post by jacquesm »

rdtsc wrote: post #32
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 thousand…

I really don't think it is my problem to solve. There is no upside to me from writing that. Such blog posts you can find by the thousands, and yet nothing changes.

When Obama first became president I had some hope that things would this time change for the better. But he's as much a chip off the old block as the guys before him.

Let's just say that I'm disappointed in how the US has squandered its goodwill and potential over the last decade and a bit but it's entirely theirs to squander.

China and India are the entities that stand to gain the most from this and in another few decades you'll learn just how much was lost. The US is still #1 in exporting its IP (and is trying hard to get proxy laws enacted the world over by using the WTO/WIPO/Worldbank triumvirate as a means of strong-arming the unwilling), they've outsourced an irresponsibly large portion of their manufacturing capability and they're in debt at a level that can only be described as reckless.

This will go on for quite a while but it won't go on forever, if the US does not learn to play nice and responsibly with others then in the longer term this will take care of itself.

Look at what's left of the former superpower known as the UK to see how fast you can fall.

My writing or not writing a blog post is not going to make one shred of a difference in this respect, these wheels are moving and have an inertia of their own. Stopping them or reversing their direction will have to be done from within rather than without.

When I quit going to the United States I essentially gave up, thinking that within my lifetime things will not be getting any better.

Re: Another awesome US immigration experience

#43

Post by seldo »

pfedor wrote: post #21
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 would never do anything to jeopardize my processing They can google your name and find the blog post next time you enter.

It would be awesome if they were allowed to Google me from their stations, since the Internet is very clear that there is only one male human being called Laurie Voss in the entire world, and Twitter provides daily records of my movements for anyone who cared to find out. Unfortunately, they are only allowed to look at the screen in front of them, and the few details in the USCIS database.

Re: Another awesome US immigration experience

#44

Post by SoftwareMaven »

zee007 wrote: post #37
jacquesm wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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).

As a US citizen, I, on the other hand, am extremely bitter and angry about these kinds of offenses. It makes me sick to my stomach and I really do believe every day is one day closer to me becoming an expat.

Re: Another awesome US immigration experience

#45

Post by seldo »

codegeek wrote: post #4

Seems like you name might be similar to a name they had in their database who might have the criminal/arrest record. These are false hits and irritating but once the verify, they let you go. Hope they correct it soon for you. Also, sometimes they randomly (not sure how random though) select individuals for what they call "secondary inspection". Here, you are just asked "extra" questions to ensure you are not a threat…

It's highly unlikely to be a name match -- my name is not very common, and combined with my gender is literally globally unique: there is no other male called Laurie Voss in the whole world.

Re: Another awesome US immigration experience

#46

Post by meej »

[deleted] wrote: post #29
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]

The footer at seldo.com refers to Laurie as 'he'.

Re: Another awesome US immigration experience

#48

Post by rdl »

rdtsc wrote: post #41
rdl wrote: post #11

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, being an immigration worker would actually be kind of interesting and fun in a way, if you liked people. You get to meet a bunch of new visitors to the US, be the first contact they have on arrival, etc. I know in other countries (middle east, asia), it's a highly sought after job, and has relatively high status and decent benefits, if not high pay. Customs, however, would be hell -- essentially on the front li…

> Customs people tend to also be more corrupt in many countries. Ha! I was flying from a East European country. At the Customs at the airport someone was stopped over something they couldn't bring in. I overheard him tell the customs officer "hey let's step over to the side and 'figure this out'". 'Figure this out' is euphemism for "I'll pay you some money or drop some names and you'll let me in".

I remember hearing from someone I know intimately of an awesome deal worked out where someone could hypothetically "steal" his own packages from the airside of an airport, for $20, to bypass months of customs impound (no duty was payable, including the 5% reconstruction levy, since the actual items were going to exempt parties such as the national government).

Re: Another awesome US immigration experience

#50

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.

Thanks for the edit. I'm sorry if I came down on you too hard. Late nights, long weekend -- no excuses ("an asshole is an asshole, right"?)

The systems should be designed to guide the people to act like humans, I think we can both agree on that.

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