what happened to me at customs?! HORRIBLE situation

[lovestevie 0]

oh one more thing I forgot to add Audrey, is that since 9/11 there are MORE security check than EVER before. They are checking everyone these very hard because ALOT of people are using fraud reasons for visa to enter the US at least ONCE and then they stay here. And of course immigration officers are NOT checking every single house to see if they are legal here in US or not, so the illegals live here like everyone else and its NOT fair to the legal immigrants that had to go thru all the paperwork and expense to enter the US legally.

so try to understand their point of view also, put yourself in their shoes and if you would see illegals come to the US every day then you would be HARSH like those officers too

I do understand they have to be sure nobody tries to get there illegally etc.....but thast the thing, I am not one of these persons!!.......Im one among thousand others who are trying so hard to do it the RIGHT way, Im planning on doing it legally when i could easily go there like so many people do and get married to the first american just to seek residence etc etc ...but no!!!.... i do wanna go thru college and im willing to pay about 40. 000 $ to do so and succeed......so understand why i was so upset after it all happened......im not trying to be illegal at all ......i felt treated badly and accused of trying to be illegal when im planning to put that much money in THEIR country......for a while i was like ...#######....i wont bother i wont go to college there, its not worth it , not after the way ive been treated, all they want is my money and thast all!

But its alright now im over that....I made BIG mistakes by bringing too much w me..... etc...

TY anwyay

[EZgoing378 0]

Just for your information, this is how the process works. First, you go through those little booths where an officer reads your passport AND that little form you filled out on the plane. If they write something on that form, it is a note for a customs officer down the lane. Then they hand you back your Passport and say please proceed. Like you said, at the very last checkpoint there is an innocuous looking CO standing there telling most people, "Welcome Home" "Have a good Trip" when he sees the form that you filled out on the plane. Did you ever wonder how THAT GUY makes the decision who to send for further bag checks??? Well, he doesn't. The first person that scanned your passport made that decision. So when you are passing the last checkpoint, he spots a note that says your bags need a more detailed screening. Sometimes it is because of an answer you put down, like "I am carrying food." Sometimes it is a totally random check that the computer on the first CO's computer popped up with. Now passports are starting to have electronic chips implanted into them. It is supposed to make things happen faster but the truth is that is just allows more information to be kept on you that you can't read. If something on that chip does not jibe with what you tell them or their computer, you get the mark, and you get to go down the lane for more detailed screening. Once in a great while, the first CO, has some kind of feeling and just wants you checked so he/she marks that paper you filled out on the plane and then the last guy points you to the friendly people who tear your stuff apart. There is nothing personal about it. Remember who you are dealing with here. These people are not paid to think, they are paid to do what the machines tell them to do. There are a few supervisiors that do the thinking when bags are being checked but they are few and far between.

My advice is the same as that of many people here. Customs is a process we all have to go through. Sometimes it is quick and easy sometimes it is a royal pain in the a$$. No mater what, ALWAYS, ALWAYS expect delays at customs and don't cut your layovers down to save an hour on a 23 hour journey. That just doesn't make sense.

[lovestevie 0]

If you want, you should file a complaint. You can get info on where to send a letter here:

http://www.dhs.gov/xabout/structure/editorial_0373.shtm

I complained about CBP's treatment to my fiance and I last fall. I didn't think anything would come of the complaint, but I was recently contacted by CBP's office of internal affairs asking to interview me. They are doing an internal investigation and I hope some heads roll.

Thank you I will indeed file a complaint too.....I know they did their job but i wont let them get away with the way ive been treated,,,,,I knwo it prob wont go anywhere BUT i think its not bad to mention the way they treat people, and maybe if a lot of people do file for complaints, it may change sthg ?! who knows?! like you said maybe some heads will roll!

tks

[Chica Yeyé 41]

I do understand they have to be sure nobody tries to get there illegally etc.....but thast the thing, I am not one of these persons!!.......Im one among thousand others who are trying so hard to do it the RIGHT way, Im planning on doing it legally when i could easily go there like so many people do and get married to the first american just to seek residence etc etc ...but no!!!.... i do wanna go thru college and im willing to pay about 40. 000 $ to do so and succeed......so understand why i was so upset after it all happened......im not trying to be illegal at all ......i felt treated badly and accused of trying to be illegal when im planning to put that much money in THEIR country......for a while i was like ...#######....i wont bother i wont go to college there, its not worth it , not after the way ive been treated, all they want is my money and thast all!

But its alright now im over that....I made BIG mistakes by bringing too much w me..... etc...

TY anwyay

GAWD. Get over it already.--- if you dislike this place so much; do yourself a favor and do not move here.

I am sure the CBP folks are devastated to know you will not come to school here. So are all of us in higher education. We desperately need your money. FFSake.

[moonhunt 1]

Where did the spirit of "innocent until proven" go?

I've been through security checkpoint a lot, but sometimes bad attitude from personal characteristic may be combined with bad procedure.

Not all of them, but some officers have really bad attitude with bad intepretation of the rules by themselves.

So it's is really bad luck sometimes.

I remember a couple of episodes from dramas right after 9/11, and it was so stupid by overreaction, and out of common-sense.

Edited May 20, 2009 by moonhunt

[HannahP 119]

Oh! Story time!

So, the first time I fly up to see my now-hubby...I was sixteen, maybe seventeen. Anyway, I get to customs and the conversation goes something like this:

So you're here to see your internet boyfriend?

No, we've seen each other a lot of times.

How old is he?

Two years older than me.

Do your parents know about him?

Of course, how do you think I got up here?

They called HIS parents to make sure that they knew I was coming. Kept referring to him as my internet boyfriend. It took about two hours to go through customs, he thought that I'd stood him up because customs didn't contact him until over an hour after my plane landed. They also searched my suitcase for good measure.

Until maybe two years ago, we always got searched when going through customs. I think it's because my hubby looks like a drug mule.

We once got caught on a land POE trying to sneak alcohol across the border from Canada to the US. (We were underage.) They made my husband pour it out ---) apparently there were three huge dumpsters full of empty bottles, lol. They also searched our car but put everything back very neatly so that it was cleaner than before.

[TayRivers 4]

I hope the attitude you are using on here calling people "dumb Americans" is not the attitude you had with the CBP Officers, because if it was then you deserved everything you got.

To them (CBP Officers) you are the same as everyone else AND YES they assume everyone who enters the USA has intent to remain.

I must say your attitude towards Americans and America stinks! Maybe a European College would be better for you.

[morocco4ever 63]

I hope the attitude you are using on here calling people "dumb Americans" is not the attitude you had with the CBP Officers, because if it was then you deserved everything you got.

To them (CBP Officers) you are the same as everyone else AND YES they assume everyone who enters the USA has intent to remain.

I must say your attitude towards Americans and America stinks! Maybe a European College would be better for you.

I wasn't exactly treated very nice at my lay over in Paris, over cookies for God's sake! So if you are going to slam Americans based on this experience, then it should apply to the French as well.

[ikarus 1]

Hi,

just to let you know that the people that work in these type of jobs for the most part are power hungry thugs that take pleasure in seeing others suffer.

I have a friend from Spain who was born in Mexico because her spaniard parents lived there at the time. She was coming to california to visit LA. and she was also treated like dirt, but the only difference is that she is a psychologist, so as she told me, the moment she realized she was dealing with power hungry thugs, instead of becoming irritated, she immediately switched to a boot licking worshipper. In other words, she addressed her thuggish interrogator with, "yes ma'am, thanyou maam," and she didn't let them know by her physical appearance that she was highly annoyed by them.

The immigration officer (a man) questioned her passport, and then she was sent to some other thug who accused her of travelign with a fake passport and she said it was a horrifying experience, but she kept calm and told the guy, 'sir, if this was a fake passport, I'm sure you have all teh technology at your disposal to validate it. I know is not a fake passport but if you do need time to test it,I can wait here all day.' A few minutes later the guy let her go through.

Unfortunately, these people love to humiliate others and they also take great pleasure in seeing you suffer. You were the perfect victim for them, and well, you basically gave them all the material they needed to satisfy their power pleasure. I'm gonna share two links ith you because you should celebrate the fact that you were not put in jail adn sent back to france on the next flight out.

http://icelandreview.com/icelandreview/dai...w_0_a_id=295937

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/14/us/14vis...exprod=facebook

By the way----if you do file a complain, the complain will only be used to promote these thugs. No joke.

[lovestevie 0]

Hi,

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/14/us/14vis...exprod=facebook

By the way----if you do file a complain, the complain will only be used to promote these thugs. No joke.

THANK YOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU SO MUCH FOR YOUR POST .......it proves im not just talkin nonsense in here like some people are trying to say!!!.....

and like the articles were mentioning it could have been way much worse for me.....thats crazy the way they can treat people! a$$...s!!!!

anyway, im done for today, thank you to everyone who answered my questions , and for the rest of people tellin me to get over it I DID get over it.!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ......all I wanted was clear answers abt what happened....i only kept answering just to be nice to people asking me questions or just answering me and giving me their opinions........if these persons took the time to help me out , i just felt like i had to take the time to answer them bck and say thank you, thats the least i could have done too!

Edited May 20, 2009 by lovestevie

[anitacastillo 0]

Have you seen the movie Maria Full of Grace? She, an innocent looking young woman - who was carrying drugs in her stomach, was stopped by immigration/customs, but managed to get through. How does Customs know if you are doing the same thing? You seem to have $$ - for all these trips and international tuition....

Not accusing you - just want you to think about how not everyone is as they seem.

[minnew 4]

I agree that CBP was just doing their job, and yes the women CBP can abuse their power and are sometimes worse to deal with then men CBP. I have crossed back and forth for the past 6 years because I was on an F-1 visa. The CBP officers saw two red flags! You mentioned you are visiting your boyfriend in the U.S., but also planning to attend college in the U.S. The fact that you were travelling with so much "stuff" and even told the CBP that you were planning to leave some of it IN the the U.S. with your boyfriend so you don't have as much stuff to bring when you get the student visa. I do not know if you have already applied for the student visa or not, but there is no guarantee you will get the student visa, therefore another red flag, that you may commit visa fraud by using a F-1 visa to marry a USC.

Again, I am sorry they treated you so harshly, but you presented the reasons why they in fact denied you entry.

Edited May 20, 2009 by minnew

[JeroenAndMichelle 28]

Maybe it sounds harsh, but from what I read, I didn't read anything out of the ordinary, I have heard these kind of things a lot before and it is all the same basically (and even seen on TV a few times, still similar as from what I read here) and, to be honest, bringing so much personal stuff into the US is indeed suspicious and not something I would advice anyone to do when they travel on VWP (another thing, you are indeed allowed to stay in the US for 90 days in a row, but only 180 days at a time, so if you get close to that number, they again start to question you..) from what I read, you did have a lot of flags going off (not saying it automatically means you are lying but I can understand them thinking that you might stay in the US). Also, people laughing to each other does not instantly have to mean it was aimed at the OP as she couldn't hear what they said, however, I can understand it might have felt like that in that specific a situation.

As for the ban, I wouldn't be so sure that she isn't banned for those 6 months, more people have not received anything but found themselves in front of locked doors when they came again, the only place they need to write the ban down, is in their computer. Usually people only receive something when the ban is for a longer period of time, or when they put them back on the first available plane, neither one happened to the OP.

I am not saying this is the way how anyone should be treated, thing is just that it happens a lot, and in this case, there were a lot of flags, no matter how you look at it. Problem with the customs and DHS is that they don't need to answer to any other authority and they can actually do these things.

To be on the safe side, I would just go to the US embassy next time and request a tourist visa. It might save you from both this hassle and the worry if you are or are not banned.

[milimelo 4,283]

If you haven't, check out the 'Homeland Security' tv series on ABC - lots to learn.

[Kinito_2k3 5]

I'm sorry you had to go through that traumatic experience. You shouldn't have been treated that way. However, I take offense to the generalizations you made about Americans, but I know you are very angry. You should file a complaint against these officers. It might save some other poor girl from having the same experience. You made one HUGE mistake that landed you in that situation. You brought too much in your luggage. The personal items were a huge red flag for them. It tells them you plan to immigrate to the US.

I don't believe all this ####### about a ban. I hope you can enjoy your time in the USA.

THANK YOU for your kind words.....and yes im very sorry abt what i said abt americans.... im just really upset w what happened you are right.....i truly appreciate n like anericans, these people at customs were just not one of them!

I also agree w you i did bring way too many things in my luggage...i wont happen again......ive learned my lesson!

Thanks

Wow! That's indeed horrible! I don't even know how would I react if I'd experienced that. Did this happened at LAX?

No it happened at the philadelphia airport, but i guess it could have happened anywhere ......

Bienvenue aux Etats Unis...