Annoyed By Us Immigration Returning From Thailand

[johnh101]

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.

I can relate to this totally and have heard the same story from many friends and colleagues who work internationally in the Oil business. I have been stopped EVERY time I go into the US !

The strange thing is that myself, friends and colleagues are all caucasian, working for American Conglomerates and have 10 yr US Visa's and whilst we are being dragged off to the interrogation rooms to be insulted and abused, dozens of males, aged 18 to 40 and of Middle Eastern / North African origin are being waved through (somehow I think their profiling rules have gotten screwed up).

America is a beautiful country and I have met some of the finest people when I have been there, but personnally, I have had enough and have told my Company I will not be returning there for any reason.

Edited October 10, 2007 by johnh101

[Jingthing]

The fact that some or most people are not abused and harassed by the customs people or that they are trained to sometimes speak pleasantries to those chosen to be spared, does not prove that the customs people are not borderline psychotic bullies.

Edited October 10, 2007 by Jingthing

[GottMogen]

I guess we'll see what happens when I return to Thailand in the spring....(I thought about getting a the Shrek T-shirt that says "Donkey Show", with Shrek holding Donkey by a rope).......just to add some fuel to the fire....I never had a bad experiance until this past Sunday and seriously they were just being rude...

[lazeeboy]

So last week I was in Thailand visiting some friends and when I returned to the US upon going through immigration the agent asked the purpose of my trip and I told him it was a vacation, and told him where I went and he was like where'd you stay, and I responded with my friend, and he goes "Boyfriend or Girlfriend?"....I was like excuse me?? He then asked if I had a laptop and I said yes. So then I got to go stand int he redline, and the next customs agent asked me about my trip and then asked about my laptop, then they took me in the back and started questioning me about my trip to Thailand, then they bust out the "So what kind of pornography are we going to find on your laptop?!"...and lets just say these two guys were being real a-holes. I not having any on said laptop was looking at them with a raised eyebrow and in complete disbelief....I am thinking to myself <deleted>?! are these people insane....So I finally remember I have the Paris Hilton video right and tell them that and then they ask about "Males or Females engaged with animals" and I am like good god no I already told you I don't have any sick or weird stuff on my computer...they then leave the room and tell me to wait...they come back and tell me to leave...so I do...

Can you believe that crap? I was about ready to tell them to if they think they are going to look at my personal files they are going to to have call my attorney who's card I always carry with me...So much for having rights as an American in your own country....

I wish US Customs had better things to do than bother 26yr olds who travel all the time....

a 5 minute random check could uncover a child porn ring or terroeist ,if you have nothing to nide its a good thing in this day and age .

[pgs]

The Aussies can be pretty bad too.

I agree with that - Sydney can be a right pain.

When the 'random inspections' have you asked for by name, randomness ceases to be.

I now ask for their photo ID card before handing anything over. That seems to put a scare into them, & they'll call their boss with preference to providing the ID.

The boss will happily point out that complaints against their staff *MUST* be done there & then & only on their forms. Guess that makes it easier to shed the evidence & say there was no complaints.

These days, I just say I was on a farm - whether I was or not.

As for the US: Wouldn't go there. I don't appreciate the way tourists are treated & I don't willingly go to countries controlled by terrorists.

Edited October 10, 2007 by pgs

[britmaveric]

Travel all the time back and forth to yank land. Never been stopped or bothered. Very professional and pleasant going through passport control.

[mikethevigoman]

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!

Its all about fear, and being afraid, the US after 9-11 is terrified and the government has told all immigration to instill fear,.yes the @ssholes that greet you on return from another country are programmed like robots, this is exactly what they want, the likes of us posting on forums our experiences as to have you afraid,.i for one will not return to the states,.i buy there all the time taking advantage of their economy slump,thats as close as i want to get, they are a big headed lot ( generally, the government ) and they are still smarting from 9-11, this is typical bully behaviour,.but beleive me they are terrified,.

[ThaidleHands]

I can relate to this totally and have heard the same story from many friends and colleagues who work internationally in the Oil business. I have been stopped EVERY time I go into the US !

The strange thing is that myself, friends and colleagues are all caucasian, working for American Conglomerates and have 10 yr US Visa's and whilst we are being dragged off to the interrogation rooms to be insulted and abused, dozens of males, aged 18 to 40 and of Middle Eastern / North African origin are being waved through (somehow I think their profiling rules have gotten screwed up).

How truly terrible for you that your white skin is no longer enough to get you a free pass through every situation.

[PeaceBlondie]

When I used to meet the profile (motorcycle riding, long haired, kinda freaky, been to all the wrong parts of Mexico), they usually stopped me to check my luggage for drugs. Fair play. Once they were disassembling our car, but as soon as they discovered we were IRS employees, they stopped the search and let us go on our way. But those were in the days before 9/11. Oddly enough, all four entries directly into the USA from Thailand, since 9/11, I had no problems. The nicest guy of all was a Customs agent in 1998. Your mileage may vary, especially now.

[Jim Abbott]

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.

I had that exact experience in LA my last trip. Bunch of overreactors here. For the love of god, let those mfers do their job

[a2396]

The US customs agents are a DISGRACE. They practice fear and intimidation and indeed do represent the absolute worse (police state friendly facism) face of American society. Lucky for the US tourist industry our dollars are so worthless. People will do anything for a bargain.

I am American and I totally agree. My worst customs and immigration experiences have been in the US and it is getting worse. This August I returned for a visit with my two young daughters. The immigrations official was extremely curt to the point of rudeness, and barked orders at my two daughters when one inadvertently touched his fingerprint scanner and the other strayed 2 inches over the line. He was such an ###### that when we were finished my 10 year old asked me, "Daddy, who was that man, he made me afraid!" It was downhill from there as we then instructed to go to an inspection line after getting our bags. We spent about an hour there while the agents debated whether or not Ma Ma dried noodle soup was allowed in the US or not. After confiscating it and telling me I could be fined $500 they determined it was OK and told me I was free to go. Not so fast! When I handed my form to the agent at the final door he noted that I had declared $150 in commercial goods and told me to go back to get inspected. I told him I had already been inspected, and in a very gruff voice basically accused me of lying. Turns out the first inspection was for food only. I then spent another hour while the agents played keystone cops and debated under what classification the goods fell under, finally determining that nothing was owed. Totally unprofessional behavior by almost everyone there. Took 2 1/2 hours to clear. To top it off about 3/4 of the agents have shaved their heads so that the group looks like some kind of Aryan brotherhood reunion. It embarrasses me to see the kind of welcome (or lack thereof) that visitors to my country receive. By contrast, our treatment by Thai customs and immigration was exemplary.

You should re-tell this on the post about customer service re: the on with the guy bragging about how good customer service is in America.

[mogoso]

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)....

I have to say get over it dude. Yes they do have the right, and have had the right to search your laptop and all items you bring into the country. Go ahead and be a pompous ass, it certainly won't speed up the process.

When younger and with a shaggery image I've been stripped and cavity searched at departing as well as recieving airports on the same flight coming from Colombia to the US. Not a big deal, I hadn't anything that would raise stink, except the orifice they were giving an exam.

I've found that simple politeness to any customs official in any country I've entered has always been a way to speed up the process. Smiles rather than attitute works for me.

I did get a bit miffed when after being taken aside to the small room and questioned about why my cat wouldn't drink water that they offered him. I simply replied maybe he doesn't like you. Which was quite true with this animal, as he tolerated no handling by anyone but me, and the vet.

On my return in August from Thailand I tried to pay my taxes on excess purchases being brought into the US, but they were so backed up he just waived me through after one question, which was I bringing any meat into the US. Dried squid and shrimp was what I replied. Welcome back he said

[hiromj]

One time on my way home from Eurpoe (post 9-11) I was seated next to a person from Iraq. He was in the vehicle import/export business and had stamps in his passport from all over the middle east. He told me that he didn't even give the immigration official a chance to speak. He would just look at him and say "which way to the interrogation room please"? The guy turned out to be really funny.

[maxbus1]

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)....

I have to say get over it dude. Yes they do have the right, and have had the right to search your laptop and all items you bring into the country. Go ahead and be a pompous ass, it certainly won't speed up the process.

When younger and with a shaggery image I've been stripped and cavity searched at departing as well as recieving airports on the same flight coming from Colombia to the US. Not a big deal, I hadn't anything that would raise stink, except the orifice they were giving an exam.

I've found that simple politeness to any customs official in any country I've entered has always been a way to speed up the process. Smiles rather than attitute works for me.

I did get a bit miffed when after being taken aside to the small room and questioned about why my cat wouldn't drink water that they offered him. I simply replied maybe he doesn't like you. Which was quite true with this animal, as he tolerated no handling by anyone but me, and the vet.

On my return in August from Thailand I tried to pay my taxes on excess purchases being brought into the US, but they were so backed up he just waived me through after one question, which was I bringing any meat into the US. Dried squid and shrimp was what I replied. Welcome back he said

Well, the chaos is out there at most any port into the USA I seem to read. I am now more worried to try buying anything in BKK.. Am I better off mailing the little things I score at the malls to myself when I leave BKK? Most everything in bkk malls/markets are knockoffs of real brands anyway, sunglasses, watches, racing shirts. Must I fear it all being taken by some ass who thinks maybe I had too good of a time on a vacation?

My last question for this thread,, Which ports coming into the states were the worst, and which were better? I have the option of returning to San Fransisco or Seattle WA. I am leaning towards the sourthern more port in hopes to avoid the bad weather concerns in the first week of december. But, 21 hours on one plane leaving from san fran must be hel_l for my fractured pelvis thats healed only 12 months. I'm about to buy the tix. This week for sure. suggestions? Thanks guys. max.,

[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)....

I have to say get over it dude. Yes they do have the right, and have had the right to search your laptop and all items you bring into the country. Go ahead and be a pompous ass, it certainly won't speed up the process.

When younger and with a shaggery image I've been stripped and cavity searched at departing as well as recieving airports on the same flight coming from Colombia to the US. Not a big deal, I hadn't anything that would raise stink, except the orifice they were giving an exam.

I've found that simple politeness to any customs official in any country I've entered has always been a way to speed up the process. Smiles rather than attitute works for me.

I did get a bit miffed when after being taken aside to the small room and questioned about why my cat wouldn't drink water that they offered him. I simply replied maybe he doesn't like you. Which was quite true with this animal, as he tolerated no handling by anyone but me, and the vet.

On my return in August from Thailand I tried to pay my taxes on excess purchases being brought into the US, but they were so backed up he just waived me through after one question, which was I bringing any meat into the US. Dried squid and shrimp was what I replied. Welcome back he said

No shaggy image here son. I travel more than most and not on the cheap if thats what your hinting at. And I have had DOD cards and such in my young age, but what bothered me the most was their attitude and treatment. The same could have been polite but instead they were jerks. When ever I have come back before they just ask how I liked it where ever I had gone, but not this time.

[mr_hippo]

No shaggy image here son. You are 26 and the only person that you can call 'son' is either your biological or adopted male offspring. The poster, mogoso, is possibly older than you and you are being impolite I travel more than most and not on the cheap if thats what your hinting at. More than most what? Trailer park inhabitants? Rednecks? Mongolian chefs? Is that statement of any relevance? And I have had DOD cards and such in my young age, but what bothered me the most was their attitude and treatment. The same could have been polite but instead they were jerks. When ever I have come back before they just ask how I liked it where ever I had gone, but not this time.

You were bothered by their attitude and treatment? Examine yours first! Now I do not know who is in charge of US Customs - is it Ralph Basham? Do you want me to e-mail him and tell him to stop all airport and border crossing checks?

[samran]

The Aussies can be pretty bad too.

I agree with that - Sydney can be a right pain.

When the 'random inspections' have you asked for by name, randomness ceases to be.

I now ask for their photo ID card before handing anything over. That seems to put a scare into them, & they'll call their boss with preference to providing the ID.

The boss will happily point out that complaints against their staff *MUST* be done there & then & only on their forms. Guess that makes it easier to shed the evidence & say there was no complaints.

These days, I just say I was on a farm - whether I was or not.

As for the US: Wouldn't go there. I don't appreciate the way tourists are treated & I don't willingly go to countries controlled by terrorists.

Yes, Australian customs are a pain in the buttocks.

They I don't think they get it through their pea brained heads that it is entirely possible for a male to be living and working in BKK in a well paying job and not be making trips home without 20kg of heroin stuffed up his clacker.

The most impressive response to my immigration card is "so you have a NORMAL job in Thailand?". They genuinely looked stunned.

And with Aussie customs, you have to run the gauntlet too.

1) The Australian immigration officer who will question the authenticity of your documents before you board in Bangkok, either at check in or at the gate.

2) The customs officer who will be eyeing you up the second you get off the plane

3) The officer who clears you and immigration.

4) The officers who stand just behind immigration and pull you over about 10 seconds after you were just allowed to enter the country

5) The officer who will approaches you while waiting for your baggage

6) The officer who will search your luggage after being directed to the red channel, even though you have ticked nothing to declare, and regardless of the fact that all green channel luggage is xrayed in OZ these days.

[qualtrough]

As is often the case the usual suspects here are completely missing the point. I don't recall seeing any post here that says the US customs and immigration shouldn't do their job. The point of the complaints by many is the attitude more than a few US Immig/Customs officials adopt doing their job. I have been through enough customs and immigrations checkpoints around the world to know that the US service has never ranked very high for friendliness, and since 9/11 it has gotten far worse.

[mellow1]

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.

I hope that if you really feel the way you express yourself, you will have the self respect, of boycotting, and not using any American technology, products or entertainment materials. I hope your point of view will be strong enough to keep you from being a hypocrite, and you can truly show your revulsion at my fellow countrymen difficulty ( which you misspelled) in reading and understanding basic text.

Americans(which you forgot to capitalize) unfortunately(which you also misspelled) will have great difficulties (which you also misspelled) in understanding such strong and determined intellect as you seem to have. Don't ( you also misspelled) take offense if this great display of your character and intellect goes unnoticed, in fact(that's 2 words not one) continue with such a boycott until Americans empathize and apologize (another word you messed up a little on) to you for not meeting your educational and intellectual standards. Personally if you would be so kind as to hold your breath while you are waiting for this, Americans will probably deeply appreciate it.

[ercorn]

The Aussies can be pretty bad too.

I agree with that - Sydney can be a right pain.

When the 'random inspections' have you asked for by name, randomness ceases to be.

I now ask for their photo ID card before handing anything over. That seems to put a scare into them, & they'll call their boss with preference to providing the ID.

The boss will happily point out that complaints against their staff *MUST* be done there & then & only on their forms. Guess that makes it easier to shed the evidence & say there was no complaints.

These days, I just say I was on a farm - whether I was or not.

As for the US: Wouldn't go there. I don't appreciate the way tourists are treated & I don't willingly go to countries controlled by terrorists.

Yes, Australian customs are a pain in the buttocks.

They I don't think they get it through their pea brained heads that it is entirely possible for a male to be living and working in BKK in a well paying job and not be making trips home without 20kg of heroin stuffed up his clacker.

The most impressive response to my immigration card is "so you have a NORMAL job in Thailand?". They genuinely looked stunned.

And with Aussie customs, you have to run the gauntlet too.

1) The Australian immigration officer who will question the authenticity of your documents before you board in Bangkok, either at check in or at the gate.

2) The customs officer who will be eyeing you up the second you get off the plane

3) The officer who clears you and immigration.

4) The officers who stand just behind immigration and pull you over about 10 seconds after you were just allowed to enter the country

5) The officer who will approaches you while waiting for your baggage

6) The officer who will search your luggage after being directed to the red channel, even though you have ticked nothing to declare, and regardless of the fact that all green channel luggage is xrayed in OZ these days.

I had to laugh at this as my wife and I went to Melbourne last christmas and experience exactly what you descrided we arrived on a "High Risk" flight from BKK everyone was searched luckily we declared a box of chocolates so we didn`t have to wait that long.My wife couldn`t believe the crap we had to go through.I also got confused why customs made such a big deal of us changing our incoming flight into Oz.Anyway lesson learnt, better if you are heading to Oz declare something at customs you can nearly garantee that you will get searched anyway.

[Jingthing]

Ercorn, that can be a good idea for the US as well. When I used to travel alot, I was hassled about half of the time, so I concluded there is nothing random about these decisions. However, one trick I suggest is to declare some kind of food substance that you know is OK but act like you are not sure it is OK. Example, durian chips. Then, they are likely to completely focus on this one trivial issue and once resolved (you keep the chips) you are on your way. Only recommended if you expect to be hassled anyway.

[maipleur]

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

Well what do you expect when a country is how it is.. Blinded by misinformation and deception. Acts being passed at midnight, while people are sleeping... good ole patriot act and police state politics.

To the OP. DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!

[meadish_sweetball]

The system singles out people who have done visa runs it seems. I don't think it matters too much what you look like if that is the case.

[maipleur]

The Aussies can be pretty bad too.

I agree with that - Sydney can be a right pain.

When the 'random inspections' have you asked for by name, randomness ceases to be.

I now ask for their photo ID card before handing anything over. That seems to put a scare into them, & they'll call their boss with preference to providing the ID.

The boss will happily point out that complaints against their staff *MUST* be done there & then & only on their forms. Guess that makes it easier to shed the evidence & say there was no complaints.

These days, I just say I was on a farm - whether I was or not.

As for the US: Wouldn't go there. I don't appreciate the way tourists are treated & I don't willingly go to countries controlled by terrorists.

Yes, Australian customs are a pain in the buttocks.

They I don't think they get it through their pea brained heads that it is entirely possible for a male to be living and working in BKK in a well paying job and not be making trips home without 20kg of heroin stuffed up his clacker.

The most impressive response to my immigration card is "so you have a NORMAL job in Thailand?". They genuinely looked stunned.

And with Aussie customs, you have to run the gauntlet too.

1) The Australian immigration officer who will question the authenticity of your documents before you board in Bangkok, either at check in or at the gate.

2) The customs officer who will be eyeing you up the second you get off the plane

3) The officer who clears you and immigration.

4) The officers who stand just behind immigration and pull you over about 10 seconds after you were just allowed to enter the country

5) The officer who will approaches you while waiting for your baggage

6) The officer who will search your luggage after being directed to the red channel, even though you have ticked nothing to declare, and regardless of the fact that all green channel luggage is xrayed in OZ these days.

I agree with you Samran.. When you travel to Australia on your own, you are really looked at quite harshly, if they see if you are coming from Thailand or many Asian destinations They have a slimey approach.. What I do is to just give them my old business card and they clear off.. company names, numbers and address are no longer applicable.. worst case scenerio, they check and you say sorry my mistake, I gave you my old one..

[maipleur]

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)....

I have to say get over it dude. Yes they do have the right, and have had the right to search your laptop and all items you bring into the country. Go ahead and be a pompous ass, it certainly won't speed up the process.

When younger and with a shaggery image I've been stripped and cavity searched at departing as well as recieving airports on the same flight coming from Colombia to the US. Not a big deal, I hadn't anything that would raise stink, except the orifice they were giving an exam.

I laughed so hard I nearly wet myself - atten hut! man, the things you are prepared to put up with.

Edited October 10, 2007 by maipleur

[toptuan]

Travel all the time back and forth to yank land. Never been stopped or bothered. Very professional and pleasant going through passport control.

Likewise traveled to over 30 countries and returning to the USA; and back and forth between LOS and yank land often. Always a cheery "Welcome home!" and a breeze through customs. Always met with the utmost courtesy.

You guys must fit a perfect "profile." Maybe you should take off the sunglasses, remove the turban and shave off the beard.

[elkangorito]

From what I can gather, the OP's point is about the unnecessary rough treatment dished out to him. From the sound of it, he has a legitimate complaint.

Here's my story but not about the US;

In late 2000, I was returning to Australia from Argentina, after staying there for almost a year. Without going into the reasons for my stay, I made an earlier than expected departure due to ensuing Argentinian government upheavals. I was extremely disappointed about this, so much so that when I arrived at Kingsford Smith (Sydney International Airport), I was on the verge of tears.

I had passed through the 1st immigration checkpoint & after picking up my baggage, was headed for the last "declaration" checkpoint. This is when a customs official "did his job" as he is supposed to. He recognised that I was in some way distressed & quietly (& politely) asked me to accompany him. At this point I broke down into tears. He must have thought, "This guy's hiding something & I've got him". Anyway, he was asking me questions but I was crying so much that I couldn't answer. He was polite & said he was happy to wait until I had calmed down, which he did.

He then said that I was acting suspiciously & that he needed to search my bags. He did this while asking all sorts of questions about my stay in Argentina & my "normal" profession in Australia. Of course, I answered all questions easily & truthfully. Having searched through my bags, he then requested my wallet & my hands. Upon my asking "why", he said it was to detect any residues of powdered drugs. I relinquished my wallet & my hands for the search, with negative results.

When it was all over, he apologised & wished me well.

I think that many posters fail to realise that traffickers of contraband could potentially be anyone. Actually, some very nasty people purposely look like the most innocent person in the world (eg. a grandmother).

I once did a job in the customs area at Sydney Intnl Airport, installing data cables for a new computer system. In many of the customs offices were large "white boards", filled with the names of potential or known law breakers on expected flights. When you think about it, if there is someone on your flight who is known or suspected to be carrying drugs (for example), then it is also prudent to expect that this person may also try to enlist others in order to escape detection at the airport. On a 14 hour flight, money can change hands, partners can be enlisted & deals can be done.

I am generally of the opinion that customs officials have a difficult job, for which there is no thanks. As a matter of fact, I think it would be a depressing job, having to deal with the ire of innocent people. The worst part is that they know that most people are not law breakers but they still have to act on every little nuance that may give away a law breaker. This is as a result of the law breakers learning all the "angles" & trying different approaches.

Needless to say, I do not think it necessary to intimidate or bully people in order to discover a law breaker but I do think that the general behaviour of these customs people is expected & appropriate.

[silentnine]

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

14 trips and stopped 3 times

last 2 they just asked where i'd been and re-scanned my luggage and sent me on my way with no further questions.

1st time they asked where i'd been and i told them thailand, pattaya . the woman asked what for so i smiled and said quite plainly and at normal volume "to make as many babys with as many different beautifull woman as i can in 1 month" , she pulled a face and moved me on

on all occasions i have been carrying at least 30 sleeping tablets i grab from the pharmacies in LOS to stockpile for other flights as i hate the long haul flights .

also had viagra, kamagra & cialasis and never been asked a thing about them (altough i'm diabetic so have precriptions for cialasis i carry just in case of questions)

[Naam]

You guys must fit a perfect "profile." Maybe you should take off the sunglasses, remove the turban and shave off the beard.

NOW you tell me about my turban and my beard?!

[JetsetBkk]

You guys must fit a perfect "profile." Maybe you should take off the sunglasses, remove the turban and shave off the beard.

NOW you tell me about my turban and my beard?!

Just iron out that forehead, mate!