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Another awesome US immigration experience

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Re: Another awesome US immigration experience

#231

Post by raverbashing »

tellarin wrote: post #142
seanmcdirmid wrote: post #124

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They ask these questions to me all the time and I'm a (non-dual) citizen. The EU and especially the UK is more intrusive about their questions. Switzerland is/was the least intrusive. China never asks me any questions, but Thailand and Japan might.

My experience in the EU is that, even for EU citizens, the UK and (a somewhat distance second) Spain can be quite intrusive. For the rest of the EU and Switzerland, they almost never ask anything. But I definitely agree that China seems to be the "easiest" in this sense. No questions at all. :)

Entering Switzerland: "What are you doing here? How long are you staying?" (5 minutes tops)

Entering France: takes my passport, opens it, stamps it, no questions asked

Entering UK: tons of grilling, return ticket, etc, etc

That's with a non EU passport.

Re: Another awesome US immigration experience

#232

Post by technotony »

freyfogle wrote: post #170
_pferreir_ wrote: post #156

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm curious as to how much longer the Schengen space will subsist. As EU-skeptic parties rise in opinion polls again, it will not be long till all conceivable social issues are blamed on immigrants.

You have to take a bit longer view. Several generations ago it was normal that Europeans had a major war once a generation. Every village in Germany, France, Britain has a monument in it with long lists of names of men who died. Today we can all move freely, work together, share ideas, in many cases even share the same currency, etc. That sometimes causes friction, people like to complain, and newspapers run the occa…

Thank you for mentioning this. I was asked once in an interview (for a scholarship to business school) "do you think the EU is a success?" the answer of course is a resounding 'yes' for the reasons you mention. The primary goal of the EU is European peace and that is has delivered wonderfully. Politicians can fight over fiscal this and fiscal that, but so long as they fight with words not guns we can live in peace. We owe the founders of the EU a great debt of thanks.

Re: Another awesome US immigration experience

#233

Post by seanmcdirmid »

lmm wrote: post #207
seanmcdirmid wrote: post #206

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've only ever had my luggage searched at customs in the states...multiple times, very thorough. I think they were looking for pirated DVDs or something.

With my nonexistent grasp of the flows of illegal goods I guessed Kazakhstan-China was a heroin route, but I really have no idea.

Subversive Uighur material is more likely, or maybe guns?

Re: Another awesome US immigration experience

#234

Post by seanmcdirmid »

raverbashing wrote: post #231
tellarin wrote: post #142

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My experience in the EU is that, even for EU citizens, the UK and (a somewhat distance second) Spain can be quite intrusive. For the rest of the EU and Switzerland, they almost never ask anything. But I definitely agree that China seems to be the "easiest" in this sense. No questions at all. :)

Entering Switzerland: "What are you doing here? How long are you staying?" (5 minutes tops) Entering France: takes my passport, opens it, stamps it, no questions asked Entering UK: tons of grilling, return ticket, etc, etc That's with a non EU passport.

I have never been asked a single question at Swiss immigration (at Geneva airport), but its been 5 years since I lived there. It was just wait in the foreigner line for about 5 minutes, get through.

Re: Another awesome US immigration experience

#235

Post by raverbashing »

seanmcdirmid wrote: post #234
raverbashing wrote: post #231

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Entering Switzerland: "What are you doing here? How long are you staying?" (5 minutes tops) Entering France: takes my passport, opens it, stamps it, no questions asked Entering UK: tons of grilling, return ticket, etc, etc That's with a non EU passport.

I have never been asked a single question at Swiss immigration (at Geneva airport), but its been 5 years since I lived there. It was just wait in the foreigner line for about 5 minutes, get through.

Yes, if you are registered by the immigration authorities they skip the questions.

Even if you are registered by some other country in Europe (which was my case, they asked that before I said that I was registered)

Re: Another awesome US immigration experience

#236

Post by lmm »

seanmcdirmid wrote: post #233
lmm wrote: post #207

Earlier quoted context omitted.

With my nonexistent grasp of the flows of illegal goods I guessed Kazakhstan-China was a heroin route, but I really have no idea.

Subversive Uighur material is more likely, or maybe guns?

It was only afterwards that I realised I'd been reading the hunger games on my kindle at the time (which they did get as far as turning on); pretty sure that's illegal. Oh well.

Re: Another awesome US immigration experience

#237

Post by _pferreir_ »

technotony wrote: post #232
freyfogle wrote: post #170

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You have to take a bit longer view. Several generations ago it was normal that Europeans had a major war once a generation. Every village in Germany, France, Britain has a monument in it with long lists of names of men who died. Today we can all move freely, work together, share ideas, in many cases even share the same currency, etc. That sometimes causes friction, people like to complain, and newspapers run the occa…

Thank you for mentioning this. I was asked once in an interview (for a scholarship to business school) "do you think the EU is a success?" the answer of course is a resounding 'yes' for the reasons you mention. The primary goal of the EU is European peace and that is has delivered wonderfully. Politicians can fight over fiscal this and fiscal that, but so long as they fight with words not guns we can live in peace. W…

No doubt that the EU is a success. I'm just saying that there's a (high) risk that it will degenerate if political discourse doesn't change. Words may lead to hate and hate may lead to war.

I hope human progress will keep this from happening, but these are probably the most critical times for the EU since its beginnings as ECSC.

Re: Another awesome US immigration experience

#238

Post by Permit »

shiven wrote: post #53
Permit wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

... as opposed to how you are compassionately honest and direct with people who can ruin your life-as-you-know-it based on which brand of bigotry pill they ingested that morning? (Clearly, this applies to many other aspects of life, not just international travel!) Sure, insulting people behind their back is unethical. So is the treatment OP was subjected to.

It's not hard to be honest with people when I don't look down on them because they're not as educated as I am...

If an officer is being disrespectful and you dislike him, that's fine. If he's being disrespectful and you immediately think "Look at this idiot, if only he knew what kind of degrees I had" you've likely got a problem.

Re: Another awesome US immigration experience

#239

Post by Permit »

jacquesm wrote: post #79
Permit wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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

Action begets reaction. When someone is a jerk to you you tend to react to that. This may be irrational but that's the way most people work and it is perfectly natural.

Not everyone reacts that way, which suggests to me it's not "natural".

Re: Another awesome US immigration experience

#240

Post by dandv »

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…

> Don't like US immigration? Good, don't emigrate to the US. Once enough people do this that it starts to affect the US GDP I'm sure there will be some change.

No, there won't be much change, because those who make and enforce the laws are completely different from those affected by them.

No Customs & Border Protection officer will suffer personally if high-skilled immigrants don't (re)enter the US. And they can't change the laws anyway.

One of the main USCIS Service Centers, which processes Green Card applications, is in Nebraska. That's about as removed from where immigration happens as you can get.

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