Annoyed By Us Immigration Returning From Thailand

[DamianMavis]

Generalised sweeping insults of whole nations are not acceptable on Thaivisa. If you can't be civil, be quiet.

Sorry i do appologise, but it is a fact that - unfortunatley - the majority of americans have great difficulity reading and understanding basic text. There are obviously many very well educated americans, but unfortunatley they are the minority. I dont mean to insult americans - infact i have total empathy for the many who cant express there opinions through having been sh*t on by there masters.

What the heck? I'm the last to run to the U.S. defence but what propoganda are you listening to? Dear lord man.....

Yep, i must admit i over estated the literacy point. Just an attempt to make a point>

So after reading this last line I can guess that you must in fact be American? Classic

Sorry for teasing you, it's funny to me!

Damian Mavis

[DamianMavis]

Funniest incident I recall from US immigration was when they refused to allow Canada's minister of national defence to board an aircraft because his name was on a terror watch list.

Are you SERIOUS? Now THERE is a reason to make fun of Americans!

Damian Mavis

Edited October 9, 2007 by DamianMavis

[JetsetBkk]

Maybe you'll believe this:

http://www.literacytrust.org.uk/database/internat.html#lag

Wow! That's a shocker! Mind you, I did have 6 TVs in the UK (one was in my office ), so yeah I guess some of us are TV addicts.

But I never thought that living in LoS would turn me into another type of 'TV' addict!

[lannarebirth]

Funniest incident I recall from US immigration was when they refused to allow Canada's minister of national defence to board an aircraft because his name was on a terror watch list.

I got caught once in a US / CDN Customs pissing contest once. I was coming down from SSI with my dog and the US confiscated a 40lb bag of dog food I'd just paid $CDN 62 for on SSI, due to the "Mad Cow" crisis. Two days later I'm coming back witha new 40lb bag I bought in the states and Canadian customs confiscates it due to a manufactured US "Chicken Scare".

[cdnvic]

Yep, i must admit i over estated the literacy point. Just an attempt to make a point>

Plus, your numerous punctuation, and capitalization errors do not fit in well with decrying other's literary proficiency.

[DamianMavis]

Generalised sweeping insults of whole nations are not acceptable on Thaivisa. If you can't be civil, be quiet.

Sorry i do appologise, but it is a fact that - unfortunatley - the majority of americans have great difficulity reading and understanding basic text. There are obviously many very well educated americans, but unfortunatley they are the minority. I dont mean to insult americans - infact i have total empathy for the many who cant express there opinions through having been sh*t on by there masters.

It's not a fact. The United Nations Development Programme Report 2005 reports that the USA has a literacy rate of 99.9% along with most of Europe and other developed countries.

I personaly choose not to believe the UN report or infact any report which is sponsored by the UN. I suppose you would agree with a UN report if it stated that MR Bush did not sancion torture - as he now states>

Maybe you'll believe this:

http://www.literacytrust.org.uk/database/internat.html#lag

Wow after reading that all I can say is... pointofview are you British? If so: <deleted> PWNED!

**online game geek talk**

Damian Mavis

[rainman]

I was once held for over 9 hours at a US land border checkpoint, because I went across from Canada to visit my then-girlfriend and took a photo album of me that contained photos of when I was a baby. I just wanted to show her the photos, but US immigration officials accused me of planning to kidnap a baby in the US. Absolutely ridiculous since all the photos had stamps of 20+ years ago on them from a photo studio in Europe. They finally released me back to Canada and told me to come back the next day ...which I did, without the photo album, and they gave me a 6 months visa. Same immigration officials too, go figure.

I had a 10 year US visa in my passport which I gave them back when I left the US to come to Thailand. I don't plan on ever going back. Don't get me wrong, the people I met inside the country were great and I still have many friends there. But getting across the border is a nightmare. Then there's that huge 'Welcome to the United States' sign across the street from you that for some reason doesn't make you feel any better.

Edited October 9, 2007 by rainman

[endure]

This thread is not going to turn into a country-slagging contest.

So where can I vent about those arrogant ####### in Lichtenstein?

www.lichtensteinvisa.com of course

[endure]

The INS is the one to watch out for. I entered the US a number of times as an alien merchant seaman and they were, on every occasion, a complete nightmare. On one occasion we had a seaman on board who was in the 'Blue Book' - the list of undesirables. We had to pay for an armed guard to stand at the bottom of the gangway to make sure he didn't go ashore.

[nidge]

Yes, this is a common thing have not happen to me but I have witness it . I always feel unwelcome when I come back from a trip, it's alwasy a breeze going to other countries.

I wonder how they treat visitors, it must be hel_l for them.

I'm british and work for a very large american company in various parts of the middle east. I had to go to Houston for a training course the year after the 9/11 attack. Because of arabic stamps in my passport i was immediately considered to be a potential terrorist. I took 2 international flights, (in and out), as well as 4 internal flights. Every single time i passed a security checkpoint i would be told, "excuse me sir, you have been randomly selected for a special search". They took everything out of my bag and empited my pockets each time. One of the gorrillas wanted to take my camera apart with a screwdriver and another got really obnoxious after telling me my laptop was too heavy! I have worked in some really horrible countries but i have never felt as unwelcome as i did in the USA.

[wasabi]

There is a lot wrong with the USA but I'm sorry most of us are literate, please don't get carried away. Of all the customs agents I've encountered US ones are the worst, cowboy, bully attitudes every one. However I've never looked for justice in life, I've always just played the game. If they want to seem tough and superior to me I play into that, being ultra polite and answering their questions without sarcasm. I've been drilled somewhat intensely but never beyond the point where I was worried or was held up for more than 15 minutes. On the other hand I've seen people copping an attitude, talking about their rights and they always seem to be held up much longer.

[mr_hippo]

If you are stopped and randomly searched at an airport - learn to live with it. Customs officials have the right to do that. If things have not changed in Saudi since my last visit, I would love to see the OPs reaction as he landed in Jeddah, Riyadh or Dhahran. No red or green channels - everyone is searched and I mean searched. I have had the tyres and tubes taken off my bike , just to see if anything was hidden in there, I saw a customs guy at Riyadh snatch a 'Ladybird' book off a 5 year old and mutilate it with a thick, black marker because there were drawings of a pig and the words 'Mr Pig' - he did not mutilate the words 'Mrs Sow' but that is a different story!

[farang prince]

Yep, i must admit i over estated the literacy point. Just an attempt to make a point>

Your attempt to make a point just proves that you are pointless.

[GottMogen]

I have stamps in my passport from all over the world and have never been stopped before usually they just say you sure travel a lot and I just respond with yup got the time too so why not and go on my way. This time however the customs agents were all retards with shaved heads and considered me guilty til innocent. I mean what right do they have to search files on a laptop? Thats like way invasion of privacy...all the reasons I will one day soon leave and never come back....I was held for like 45 minutes and was nervous for no reason and figured next time I will be a pompass ass to them...

I went through MSP (Minneapolis/St. Paul on the flight from Narita)....

Edited October 9, 2007 by GottMogen

[Naam]

The INS is the one to watch out for. I entered the US a number of times as an alien merchant seaman and they were, on every occasion, a complete nightmare. On one occasion we had a seaman on board who was in the 'Blue Book' - the list of undesirables. We had to pay for an armed guard to stand at the bottom of the gangway to make sure he didn't go ashore.

i second that. never had any problems with U.S. customs but could tell some horror stories about the INS. custom = just the opposite! once our luggage was checked by the agricultural department. to my horror i saw a big clear plastic bag containing a light yellow powder when my wife opened her suitcase. it was some european bullsh*t to mix with water to make face masks. customs officer was extremely polite, accepted my wife's explanation and did not even open the bag. but i was furious and if we had been alone i...

[ercorn]

In China, at Baiyan a/p in Guanzhou, oh boy, how many times they need to satified their serch, I was stop 4 times and opened my luggages to be serched by four different parties. I always joking that beaking any US maximum security prison is much easier than walking through Baiyan airport.

I used to have alot off trouble at Baiyan airport the trick is when you come through immigrations pick up your bag a.s.a.p hand in your customs declaration form and keep walking ignore all the customs officers standing around and head straight for the exit gate dont` even look at the x-ray machine on the right.

This has worked for me every time but once when the officers started yelling at me though all I did was explain that I don`t understand (they couldn`t understand what I was saying anyway)and had to put my bag through the x-ray machine.

sorry this is off topic but Baiyan is another airport that causes problems for alot of travellers.

[Jim Abbott]

The american sheep are easily lead - they still believe that the republicans and democrats have different agendas. The cold fact is americans are being enslaved but to admit the truth is too much for the average guy - read the patriot act!

I might not take it quite that far, but most certainly what we were trying to protect (our freedoms and what made fighting for our country worth fighting for) by fighting terrorism, we voluntarily gave up without a fight to our own fear mongering leaders, and you are right, they were from both parties.

"Gave up your freedom to protect your freedom"?? Read it again! Most americans are virtually iliterate - fact. They are brainwashed by the corperate mainstream media whose agenda they refuse to aknowlege. The patriot act is very clear in having removed your personal rights and freedoms. It was signed and accepted by all of your senate without one of them having read it. The average american would rather watch sport or believe what they hear on fox news. Google the patriot act! Or would that be too much for you to take in. It was for your elected representatives!

During the 70s and 80s there were many acts of terrorism in the Uk: the queens guards and their horses were blown up (men and horses killed and mutilated); Senior MPs were bombed in their hotel in Brighton; numerous bombs caused mayhem and distruction in major citys. All these acts caried out by a known and tangable terrorist organization - the IRA. However, it was never deemed necessary to consider every citizen a potential threat, even though an irish terrorist was obvioulsy white and could have looked like any guy in the street. For decades the government had to deal with regular acts of terrorism - but they never found it neccessary to take away freedom. Ask youself why?

LOL, whatever you say spelling bee champ

[sriracha john]

INS... Customs.... TSA (Tragically Stupid Agents?)...

[tuky]

The Aussies can be pretty bad too.

[thaiman]

Can you believe that crap?

Yep! More reason to live abroad. The United police States of America sucks!

[hiromj]

This is the main reason that I dread returning to the states. My wife is Japanese and they always give her a hard time when we get there. It's always such a relief when we are finished with them. Now, take those agents and put them on the southern boarded and they can have all the attidude they want. It has always puzzled me as to why they try to intimidate law biding citizens but they are willing to let between 12 and 20 illegals enter and live with no problem. America is out of control.

Edited October 10, 2007 by hiromj

[thaiman]

It has always puzzled me as to why they try to intimidate law biding citizens

because they can. and because they are "small" in more than one way!

[Daewoo]

The Aussies can be pretty bad too.

Yeah, but at least we aren't as bad as those ###t's from Liechtenstein

Funniest at Aus Customs was when my flight from BKK landed at the same time as a flight from somewhere Arab and another from India...

It wasn't funny that the queue at Customs was 3 hours, but it was funny when I got the second from the front of the line...

Customs Agent to Indian: "Do you have anything in here that you shouldn't?"

Indian: "No"

CA: "are you sure you don't have anything?"

I: "No"

CA: "No you aren't sure, or No you don't have anything"

I: "I don't have anything"

CA: "You are sure about that"

I: "Nothing"

CA: "you sure"

I: "nothing"

CA: "OK, lets open your bag and see what you didn't declare"

Opens the bag and it is full of food, spices, fruit, wood products, everything...

I think for the most part, customs do know who to target from their experience...

I also saw a guy after a flight from Hong Kong try to push a trolley with a huge box with "SONY 100cm Colour TV" written on it through the 'nothing to declare' lane... he didn't make it...

Cheers,

Daewoo

[qualtrough]

I have cleared customs in LA , HNL and SFO in the US hundreds of times and I have never had any problems and the vast majority of the times the customs officers have been cheerful and very pleasant. (I probably shouldn't have said that as now my luck will probably change !!!)

I do not think you can take your experience personally as they are just doing their job. If it is an inconvenience to us but can make our countries safer then that is just the way it probably is going to be. With so many random searches being done, even our Congressmen and other well known big names get hit with searches from time to time. IMHO taking it personally and bitching about it is a waste of time and energy.

Jetjock, you are a pilot aren't you? If yes, then your experience will be vastly different than that or the ordinary joe like myself. In the past 25 years I have probably passed through US customs and immigration more than 60 times, usually LAX, sometimes SFO and SEA, and while they weren't all as bad as the experience I related earlier they for the large part have been tolerable at best. I do not question the fact that the job has to be done. What I do question is the attitude many of these officials in the US adopt, which is often surly at best. Just about every other country that I have visited, including those with active insurgencies going on, have done the job far more professionally and politely. Think about it. Thailand has a rebellion going on in the South with people being killed every day, there have been bombings in Bangkok, and yet when I go through customs and immigration here I have never experienced the rude behavior that I get sometimes back home. Go figure.

I will give you another two examples of what I am talking about:

1. Coming through Seattle a few years back I handed over my families passports, which were in protective sleeves. The female agent grabbed them, and without saying a word made it very clear that she hated those things as she made a big show of slowly pulling them out with a sneer on her face. During the entire process she looked like she was about to explode. Here is how bad it was. I thought about making a complaint, but this woman had a Glock and seriously looked like she was about to go postal so I passed.

2. LAX, again a few years back, agent asked me what I was doing here at the time. I explained field research for a Ph.D. He then made some comments about the fact that I must be a secular humanist or something along those lines. It was entirely inappropriate, and not the first time this has happened.

Everything those US officials have to do can be done just as easily with a smile or soft word as it can with a sneer or barked order. I can't speak for the other entry points, many LAX customs/immigration officials have developed a real attitude.

I should point out that I am a middle aged white man, short haired and unbearded, who dresses conservatively, and doesn't present the appearance that some forum posters might think should put these guys in a bad mood.

[midas]

Some may consider having such diligent immigration officers to be a good thing

but it seems so inconsistent to me that they are more worried about the contents

on a laptop computer than in getting to grips properly with this highly controversial

illegal alien issue- for example the most recent one where the US attorney general

is fighting alongside the Mexican government AGAINST the state of Texas regarding

2 illegal aliens who have allegedly murdered and raped 2 innocent US citizens ?

Shouldn't they be concentrating more of their resources on this matter ?

[hiromj]

Some may consider having such diligent immigration officers to be a good thing

but it seems so inconsistent to me that they are more worried about the contents

on a laptop computer than in getting to grips properly with this highly controversial

illegal alien issue- for example the most recent one where the US attorney general

is fighting alongside the Mexican government AGAINST the state of Texas regarding

2 illegal aliens who have allegedly murdered and raped 2 innocent US citizens ?

Shouldn't they be concentrating more of their resources on this matter ?

The U.S government no longer represents the American people. I voted with my feet.

[JonnieB]

this is a very interesting op because i recently returned to the usa (i am native born citizen) after residing in LOS for many years and had exactly the opposite experience. having heard of experiences similar to what the op reported from my friends who travel back and forth from usa to LOS more frequently, i was prepared for and expected the worse. before leaving los, i had, of course, purged my notebook of any possibly questionable material and had nothing else on my person or baggage except for my clothes and other necessaties. i had 1 carry-on suitcase and a notebook case with me. therefore, i guess i didn't have any nervous mannerism or other signs that might give away someone with something to hide. my profile is single male, mid-40s. my entry point was san francisco - arriving on EVA air from Bangkok. my passport shows dozens of entry and exit stamps from countries throughout se asia (including the red-flag one for cambodia).

in any case, i was literally off the plane, through immigration and customs, and outside the terminal waiting for the BART train (SF-Bay Area subway system) in 20 minutes. i was amazed. fortunately, there was only 1 person ahead of me at immigration. when i went to the counter, the officer was very courteous and professional (male). he glanced through my passport, asked me if i had any animal or agricultural products (i had none and so stated), and that was it. he then waived me through with the words "welcome back sir." literally...he used those words...i was floored...after hearing about the negative experiences of others. i then proceeded to the customs lanes to the nothing to declare line and handed a lady officer my form which she accepted and pointed me to the exit doors of the imm/customs area...again with the words "welcome home."

i don't know if SFO has a rep as being more courteous than other entry points but that was my experience!! maybe it was just a one-off...but it certainly seems these particular immigration officers have been getting the training that Bangkok's officers were supposedly have gotten awhile back.

[qualtrough]

this is a very interesting op because i recently returned to the usa (i am native born citizen) after residing in LOS for many years and had exactly the opposite experience. having heard of experiences similar to what the op reported from my friends who travel back and forth from usa to LOS more frequently, i was prepared for and expected the worse. before leaving los, i had, of course, purged my notebook of any possibly questionable material and had nothing else on my person or baggage except for my clothes and other necessaties. i had 1 carry-on suitcase and a notebook case with me. therefore, i guess i didn't have any nervous mannerism or other signs that might give away someone with something to hide. my profile is single male, mid-40s. my entry point was san francisco - arriving on EVA air from Bangkok. my passport shows dozens of entry and exit stamps from countries throughout se asia (including the red-flag one for cambodia).

in any case, i was literally off the plane, through immigration and customs, and outside the terminal waiting for the BART train (SF-Bay Area subway system) in 20 minutes. i was amazed. fortunately, there was only 1 person ahead of me at immigration. when i went to the counter, the officer was very courteous and professional (male). he glanced through my passport, asked me if i had any animal or agricultural products (i had none and so stated), and that was it. he then waived me through with the words "welcome back sir." literally...he used those words...i was floored...after hearing about the negative experiences of others. i then proceeded to the customs lanes to the nothing to declare line and handed a lady officer my form which she accepted and pointed me to the exit doors of the imm/customs area...again with the words "welcome home."

i don't know if SFO has a rep as being more courteous than other entry points but that was my experience!! maybe it was just a one-off...but it certainly seems these particular immigration officers have been getting the training that Bangkok's officers were supposedly have gotten awhile back.

Organizations develop different cultures, and from your experience it is possible that SFO may be under better management, control, etc. than LAX. I forgot to mention earlier that I mentioned my experiences with LAX agents to one of my sisters, and she mentioned it to a friend who had some kind of inside knowledge of LAX immigration who told her that it was well-known within US customs/immigration circles that they have a problem with the agent culture there as far as attitude, behavior, etc.

Edited October 10, 2007 by qualtrough

[villagefarang]

I have had good and bad experiences. The worst was when I was younger and traveling alone. They did the old strip, bend over and spread your cheeks routine. I have since gotten older, married and learned how to play the game.

Playing stupid and helpless while asking stupid questions seems to work. Volunteer something, don't just deny.

Remember with these guys you are guilty until proven innocent and they can do anything they want to you without any repercussions.

[maxbus1]

Most people would be afraid to complain about bad treatment for fear they would get on some kind of bad people list. How can say they wouldn't? I have seen one smirk too many from these bozos and once when these dumbos were trying to profile me by reading my reading material, any small amount of respect I might had for them vanished. Yes, of course, they need to go after real drug smugglers and such, but the insulting behavior and remarks are vile. What really amuses me are people who think these goons are their friends.

These people are selected due to their own personal profileing - they tend to be psychotic bullys with lower than average intelect. Belive me, they are chosen deliberatley so as to have them on the right side of the fence. America - like Britain - is a faciast police state. The most worrying aspect is that at one time they tried to disguise the fact (wolves in sheeps clothing), now they dont even bother to wear a mask.

The american sheep are easily lead - they still believe that the republicans and democrats have different agendas. The cold fact is americans are being enslaved but to admit the truth is too much for the average guy - read the patriot act!

Yeah,it stings a bit but I almost can see it too... I don't want to believe it but really, I watch the news all the time,,,,, my biggest thing is no other country will just let ME wander into their country and start living there with out any problems. Too bad thailand has so many darn Visa requirements.. "Gotta leave the country a certain amount of times a year." Come on! Who dreams up this crap. I'd have a business in thailand that tourists will want to go to, and even spend their money with my thai neighbor business owners. What about all the dang cash USA gives thailand every month?

I think I'm about to get started, so I'm going to stop. Cheers. max.