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Detained in the US for “Visiting Thailand Too Much”

richardbarrow.com

11–20 of 127 posts

Re: Detained in the US for “Visiting Thailand Too Much”

#11
For all the mean things that border control agents get away with every day, I personally enjoy "Returning From Thailand" as my little opportunity to even the score a bit.

"How long have you been gone?"

"I don't know. A year, give or take? Who keeps track?"

"Which countries did you visit while you were away? Your landing card just says 'most of them'"

"Well probably not most of them really, but definitely enough not to fit in that space. Let's see... [followed by a complete list]

"What's your occupation?"

"I own a software company. It pretty much runs itself these days, and I just check in every once in a while to see how things are going."

"Is this bag your only luggage?"

"Yeah. I was only gone a year, remember. I find you don't really need much stuff in the tropics. I've worn this shirt 40 days running now. I think I'll buy a new one now that I'm home"

Basically, it's your opportunity to remind them that their job is to sit in a little cube talking to people who are actually out there leading exciting lives. And that their attempts to make other people's lives worse is not really doing a very good job of making their own life any better.

One day they'll quit and go find a better job. Or give up trying to make other people's lives worse, thus making the world a slightly better place.

Seems to be working. These days at LAX, it seems that one in four of the people manning those desks is genuinely friendly. And the ones that need this sort of treatment are few and far between.

Re: Detained in the US for “Visiting Thailand Too Much”

#12

For all the mean things that border control agents get away with every day, I personally enjoy "Returning From Thailand" as my little opportunity to even the score a bit. "How long have you been gone?" "I don't know. A year, give or take? Who keeps track?" "Which countries did you visit while you were away? Your landing card just says 'most of them'" "Well probably not most of them really, but definitely enough not t…

> Your landing card just says 'most of them'"

I'm so sorry for not contributing anything of value to the conversation, but that's the funniest thing I've read all week! I've gotta try this next time I don't have a connecting flight!

Re: Detained in the US for “Visiting Thailand Too Much”

#13

Borders have three uses: 1) to keep people out 2) to keep people in 3) to be able to search/detain people without cause I've yet to see a border that I liked. In plenty of countries this now extends to a certain distance away from the border (sometimes surprisingly large), even when you are not actively crossing or have not crossed.

Assuming from your profile that, like myself, you live in the Netherlands, I'm pretty sure you have no objections to our land borders... Of course, yo have to pay attention to actually notice those as you cross them.

My point is, those borders are still very real, they have great social, cultural, legal and economic significance, yet they don't serve any of those three purposes.

Re: Detained in the US for “Visiting Thailand Too Much”

#14

I'm sorry, but if you try to enter the US with any physical objects that have even the remotest chance of being interpreted as being illegal, or digital storage that isn't encrypted, you're just asking for trouble these days.

Uhm, in light of those, isn't it risky to enter US with encrypted digital storage too?

Re: Detained in the US for “Visiting Thailand Too Much”

#15
post #7

> They even went through his laptop and copied his hard disks. I may be completely out of line here but why can't he request a lawyer before doing this kind of stuff? Why are they allowed to dig so deep into someone without any evidence of doing something illegal?

And always have good backups, especially when traveling. Loss and theft are serious risks. There have even been anecdotes of people having their laptops confiscated for long periods of time by government employees at borders for the silliest of reasons. Hardware is replaceable, but all the projects, notes, and things you've been working on for possibly years are not.

Re: Detained in the US for “Visiting Thailand Too Much”

#16

Borders have three uses: 1) to keep people out 2) to keep people in 3) to be able to search/detain people without cause I've yet to see a border that I liked. In plenty of countries this now extends to a certain distance away from the border (sometimes surprisingly large), even when you are not actively crossing or have not crossed.

Assuming from your profile that, like myself, you live in the Netherlands, I'm pretty sure you have no objections to our land borders... Of course, yo have to pay attention to actually notice those as you cross them. My point is, those borders are still very real, they have great social, cultural, legal and economic significance, yet they don't serve any of those three purposes.

http://www.government.nl/documents-and-publications/press-re...

Re: Detained in the US for “Visiting Thailand Too Much”

#17

I'm sorry, but if you try to enter the US with any physical objects that have even the remotest chance of being interpreted as being illegal, or digital storage that isn't encrypted, you're just asking for trouble these days.

Uhm, in light of those, isn't it risky to enter US with encrypted digital storage too?

Cross borders with blank drives. Re-image when you're at your destination.

Although it can be interpreted as such, it's not a sign of guilt, it's a response to the possible threat of immigration officers on a power trip. The vast majority are absolutely fine, but there are some that overstep their bounds or work within an egregious legal framework, e.g. the Brits. If they force you to decrypt your data (as they legally can in the UK), who knows what they'll do with it, especially if you've got proprietary work and confidential business stuff on there.

Re: Detained in the US for “Visiting Thailand Too Much”

#19

For all the mean things that border control agents get away with every day, I personally enjoy "Returning From Thailand" as my little opportunity to even the score a bit. "How long have you been gone?" "I don't know. A year, give or take? Who keeps track?" "Which countries did you visit while you were away? Your landing card just says 'most of them'" "Well probably not most of them really, but definitely enough not t…

Slightly tounge-in-cheek but I really hope that I'm not the guy behind you in line when I next visit the US.

Re: Detained in the US for “Visiting Thailand Too Much”

#20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Assuming from your profile that, like myself, you live in the Netherlands, I'm pretty sure you have no objections to our land borders... Of course, yo have to pay attention to actually notice those as you cross them. My point is, those borders are still very real, they have great social, cultural, legal and economic significance, yet they don't serve any of those three purposes.

http://www.government.nl/documents-and-publications/press-re...

Note that in the US, we have strict stop everyone controls at the border (with Canada no less, this isn't just a Mexican border thing), at which you need to show your passport, and we have mobile border controls up to 100 miles within the border.

I used to live near a place where they frequently put the "mobile" control on an interstate in Vermont about 80 miles from the border, so I got stopped by it a lot.

Of course, I've always wondered about how useful the mobile controls are, other than for getting people used to a police state. They are not allowed to ask any US citizens for passports or proof of US citizenship; so they always ask "is everyone in this car a US citizen" and then wave you on if you say yes. When my friend, who is Malaysian, answered "no, I'm not a US citizen", they thought based on his excellent American English accent that he was joking and waved him on anyhow.

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