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Ehm - he had a passport. That was taken from him by the power-tripping immigration officer. While I've never had any problems myself, I am also pretty careful to not volunteer anything they can latch on to, if they have a bad day.
(And really - holding on to the passport while letting somebody into the luggage retrieval area? Amateur hour, right there.)
What does it matter, immigration-wise, if it's the US citizen or the visitor who has the car rental contract?
Yeah, shouldn't this woman be in trouble for doing such a thing? As I have said, my friend could have taken his luggage, exit the airport and do whatever he wanted.
So she did her job, since you make no mention of what documents he was using to enter the country. I assume he had none.
Do the words "kept his passport" not imply to you that a passport may have been, at some time, produced? Incidentally, have you flown internationally lately - or at all? Quite apart from the authorities, the airlines check your passport and visa situation at least once before handing over a boarding pass, because they're fined if they fly someone into the US without proper documentation.
And no, she didn't do her job - she didn't even do a reasonable facsimile thereof. She held on to a passport but told the owner to go to the luggage retrieval area. Which is where Joe Illegal grabs his bag and walks. Whereas Jack Honest is now in a foreign country without his papers. If the intent was to safeguard the borders, the agent is ridiculously incompetent. If it's just a matter of shoving a tourist around who didn't show enough timidity, well - Mission Accomplished.
Last edited by Dane_in_LA; 05-24-2011 at 03:00 PM..
Location: Georgia, on the Florida line, right above Tallahassee
10,471 posts, read 15,831,906 times
Reputation: 6438
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hasdrubal
are you implying I have made this up?
What.they.did.smells.like.crap. That's why I said you should report it, with a caveat that if you do, the TSA now considers complaints to be "suspicious behaviour."
Which is ludicrous. If you don't complain, you're automatically a suspected terrorist, and if you DO complain, you're REALLY a suspected terrorist.
Either way, we lose.
Which is ludicrous. If you don't complain, you're automatically a suspected terrorist, and if you DO complain, you're REALLY a suspected terrorist.Either way, we lose.
Low wage, boring job, tons of power. It's not a recipe for a respectful attitude, is it?
Husband and I get hassle everytime we have arrived back after a trip. The last time the guy asked us what our relationship was to each other. Bearing in mind we are both there in front of him, he has our passports in the same name and all the paperwork we got a year ago when hubby got his work visa and i got my dependents one as his wife... and he really was serious. Then he asked if we had the original paperwork. I said no the people at the embassy kept it and gave us copies to present if they were requested. I asked if I should of kept them as I had not been asked for them before and he replied no. I wasn't supposed to have them at all.... SO WHY ASK !!
Another time they asked my husband what he does for a living ( despite a very detailed explanation in the paperwork) he gave his job title and the guy repeated in a very condescending tone, but what exactly do you do. So my husband explained every detail of his job doing specialized non-traditional re-insurance deals... shut the immigration guy up.
I am dying to just say I am here to support the economy as I heard it needed some help, but I'm not too sure immigration are allowed to have a sense of humour....
What I don't understand is why when i have a visa to stay here and its clearly me, my passport is biometric and they have my fingerprints I have to have 10 minutes of answering stupid questions about where I have been and why I have been there ( and thats after I have stood in an immigration queue (last time at JFK coming back from a week in Italy) for over 3 hours....)
Hasdrubal - I feel for your friend. My MIL and FIL said they were thinking about coming to visit us whilst we are living here and we told them not to bother. getting in and out is more trouble than it is worth so we are doing an extra trip home instead. I don't want then queueing for hours and then being interrogated - especially as their English isn't very good. Immigration officers are doing a great job to help tourist !!!
Do the words "kept his passport" not imply to you that a passport may have been, at some time, produced? Incidentally, have you flown internationally lately - or at all? Quite apart from the authorities, the airlines check your passport and visa situation at least once before handing over a boarding pass, because they're fined if they fly someone into the US without proper documentation.
And no, she didn't do her job - she didn't even do a reasonable facsimile thereof. She held on to a passport but told the owner to go to the luggage retrieval area. Which is where Joe Illegal grabs his bag and walks. Whereas Jack Honest is now in a foreign country without his papers. If the intent was to safeguard the borders, the agent is ridiculously incompetent. If it's just a matter of shoving a tourist around who didn't show enough timidity, well - Mission Accomplished.
In order to fly into the USA you need to complete the ESTA form (and pay a $14 fee) while you're still in your country of origin. Without this, the airline will not allow you inside the plane. My friend was perfectly clean, he had everything ok (as my other friends who weren't hassled at the control) but he was treated terribly for no reason.
Do the words "kept his passport" not imply to you that a passport may have been, at some time, produced? Incidentally, have you flown internationally lately - or at all? Quite apart from the authorities, the airlines check your passport and visa situation at least once before handing over a boarding pass, because they're fined if they fly someone into the US without proper documentation.
And no, she didn't do her job - she didn't even do a reasonable facsimile thereof. She held on to a passport but told the owner to go to the luggage retrieval area. Which is where Joe Illegal grabs his bag and walks. Whereas Jack Honest is now in a foreign country without his papers. If the intent was to safeguard the borders, the agent is ridiculously incompetent. If it's just a matter of shoving a tourist around who didn't show enough timidity, well - Mission Accomplished.
So nothing triggered this and they were just refused entry.
What jail are they sitting in or did they just go back? from where did they come?
So nothing triggered this and they were just refused entry.
What jail are they sitting in or did they just go back? from where did they come?
1)Yes, her meanness
2) He was allowed after my friends were able to show her the contract copy
3) They flew from Spain, a country whose citziens don't need a visa in order to travel to the US
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