US passport control is a nightmare. you enter a big hall with 30 aisles, 29 for US citizens and 1 for the rest of the world. the queue stretches back about a mile. the immigration officers look at you like you've just dropped out of a dog's arse. they ask you the stupidest questions like, " are you, have you, or do ever intend to be a member of the communist party?" it's like they dont want you in the US.
US Needs To Treat It's Allies Better? Keep Tourists/Terrorists Out!
by Englishman 24 Replies latest social current
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myauntfanny
I've never had customs or immigration be rude to me at any airport I've travelled to in the world, before the attack. Now I find American airports quite a bit ruder. There are a few powertrippers with the security guard mentality running amok, but I think mostly everyone is just very stressed. It's got to be a pretty tense job to have these days. It must be quite a worry that you might be the one to let the terrorist in.
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Englishman
It was not a good experience for either HL and myself when we went through our port of entry, Detroit, last year. It took us over 2 hours of queueing and we only just made our connecting flight. The whole experience was very intimidating. I saw old people being shouted at because they could not speak English. Some passengers were led off into adjoining rooms. It was a horrible introduction to the USA for HL. We vowed not to speak of it during the fest out of consideration for the other guests.
Fortunately, the pleasant week that followed made up for it somewhat.
I do know though, of many posters, not just here but at other sites too, who are refusing to visit the USA again until they have got their act together. Our own officialdom is comparitively very helpful and polite and one begins to wonder whether paying £1000's to visit a country where one gets treated so abominably is really worth the effort.
If the US's allies get treated in such a fashion then God help anyone who comes from a place that doesn't send it's soldiers to fight alongside them.
Englishman.
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dubla
simon-
You know there is no greater insult to Candians than calling them American
actually, my s.o.(from canada) always corrects me when i refer to myself as "american" in a way that suggests she is not, reminding me that canadians are americans too.....just not "yanks".
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Simon
Mike: You should visit Canada, they always give you a nice "welcome to Canada!"
It probably highlighted the different approach even more given that we had the bad experience going into America that morning but going back the other way into Canada was very different.
The guy checking our passports told us about where his relatives lived in the UK and asked if we were near or had ever been, told us he'd like to visit etc. asked about my family in Canada. It was very friendly but y'know what? He found out more about us than the Americans did.
As I'd gone into the office carrying our own UK passports and Canadian passports, he pushed them back to me when I presented them saying "ooh, you don't want to give me those, it's actually an offense to present someone else's passport". I just know that if it was the other way round we'd be looking for bail.
I think softly-softly is a better approach.
Oh, and GIVE IT UP WITH THOSE FORMS !! Has **anyone** ever been caught ticking the "yes, I am a terrorist" box? The question itself just makes you look, well ... dumb.