WillTravel

I doubt you should do anything when you have had a single SSSS experience (and practically every traveler has had one, if they travel much at all). At least see if it happens one more time.

In my case, I'm inclined to think the snarky agent who audibly disapproved of my daughter's punk attire had something to do with her being SSSS'd a few years ago, but it was probably a coincidence. I've had SSSS for no discernible reason.

Yoshi212

Correlation doesn't imply causation.

Now if it keeps happening then you can apply for a redress number and go the government route but relax and see what happens.

CBP isn't going to give out that kind of info, especially from another outstation supervisor about another employee somewhere else. It's a bureaucracy that will protect itself.

Blueskyheaven

Prior to the stop, search and questions by CBP agent at the outbound flight during boarding, I never had any SSSS. She wrote down, copied some info from my passport during that incident. I am sure she referred my name to TSA's SSSS list after that. I don't know why she would do this to me. I have no criminal record and I complied with her order for search and answers. Wasn't carrying more than $300 cash and the only carry ons were baby foods, drinks clothes and our shirts. We even complied with her order to write down the $300 cash we were carrying and our signatures while holding our baby. We answered all the questions about what we do,where we are going why, how and etc. Don't know why she felt the need to be so mad at us or me that after searching everything while all others were boarding, she found nothing she was looking for & further more she had to copy my name and passport info on a piece of paper?

GUWonder

Unless your haraSSSSment boarding passes keep repeatedly hitting you for more than 6-8 weeks, I would just say this will drop off by itself and is unlikely to have been a product of a CBP manual entry about an innocent individual in the relevant government computer systems.

greentips

My SSSS eScapades began when I was flying standby/NR on one of the majors. Every single leg of every single trip got the SSSSSpecial treatment.

I think part of it had to do with the fact that I couldn't get on the flight unless there were unsold seats on the plane, so I was a last minute passenger, and the boarding pass was issued at the last minute and only for a one way leg.

It continued when I began began buying tickets for a while, then I stopped flying commercially altogether for several years. More recently, I've rejoined the ranks of the flying public and have not had an SSSSS on my passes in a few years. I think the initial trigger was one way legs, last minute ticketing, solo traveler. Why they do anything is purely speculative on our part. Whether anything they do is effective is another question. I just live with it when I must.

Blueskyheaven

Why do you think the CBP officer who searched and question us (me) when we were about to board flight to Seoul copied some info from my passport?

I saw her being angry and upset for not finding any access illegal cash in our hang bags , baby diaper bag and baby car seat. wife's purse and my wallet.
Before she handed us back our passports, she wrote down some info from one of our passport on a blank piece of paper she had with her.

I think the CBP agent is responsible for my secondary screening(SSSS) when we were returning home. What could she have done with my name and passport info she copied ?

I think I should contact a US senator to get CBP to answer me on why they did this.

jphripjah

You were asked how much cash you were carrying on the outbound flight adn your bags searched because that's CBP's job. They ask travelers questions -- some get asked, some don't. Some have bags searched, some don't.

SSSS is put on boarding passes either randomly or for a security reason that they are not going to disclose.

It was what, one CBP search and one secondary screening by TSA? You need to let this go. Your senator has more important things to work on than the complaints of single constituent who thinks it's the end of the world that his bags were searched at an airport.

ajherrma

Returned about a week ago from a two month trip to Turkey and the Balkans with my fiancee flying in/out of Istanbul, got stopped on way home by Customs for additional screening/questioning and then 4S for the final domestic leg of our trip home (ORD - MCI). Unfortunately for us and our fellow passengers, TSA missed the 4S when we went through (domestic) security in Chicago after passing through customs and collecting our bags, and UA ended up holding an already-delayed late night flight to MCI for 30 minutes while TSA escorted us back to security for the full supplemental screening. Felt bad but it was the last flight of the night and UA didn't want to shell out for a hotel apparently!

Today I'm flying Southwest domestic, couldn't check in online and was not surprised to see the 4S when I checked in at the airport this morning. Fiancee is flying tomorrow and had the same issue with check-in so appears she also got flagged.

TSA agents were nice enough but I'm not exactly thrilled with the guaranteed C status whenever I fly Southwest, which is pretty much the only game in town for many destinations from MCI. Going to file a redress and hopefully get it resolved soon.

I understand how the system works but it would be nice if the enhanced screening by customs on the way back into the US was enough to resolve the issue. I don't really see much added value in continuing the 4S after you've passed through a couple of rounds of questioning on the way home.

nkedel

If you don't have GE/PreCheck, and are eligible to apply, it's a bit of a risky move (you might well get declined for the same reasons your getting more screening, in which case you're out the $100 or $85) but it might help get rid of the SSSS.

Ari

It doesn't seem to help with the Turkey problem based on the threads here; time seems to heal that wound.

kmersh

During my one and only SSSS on a wholly domestic itinerary one thing became abundantly clear, TSA does not receive enough training or the training they do receive does not address questions a Passenger might ask.

After Supervisor got off the phone, I asked who I annoyed to get the SSSS, she smiled and said and I quote, "I have absolutely no idea how one gets Selected, I wish I knew it would make my day easier", she did add that she has heard that visiting Turkey or buying a ticket within three days of departure can do it, but she does not have any hard facts and really did not want to provide me with wrong info. She said she wished she had some way of determining how one got Selected, but she said she is not provided that info.

I asked about redress and she said, well she knows of it, but advised I wait a little as if it was a one off random occurrence Redress would be a waste of time.

It has NOT happened since, no complaints, but all in all it really didn't seem to do very much, other than annoy me. Maybe I give bad Apples too much credit, but it would seem that a Bad Apple is not stupid enough to try and take a Bad Apple item through security now a days.

GUWonder

Buying tickets within three days of travel is definitely not an issue like the Turkey O ticket capture-related flagging.

Indeed, as GE does not help for this kind of situation.

nrgiii

Something similar recently happened to me. I've been TSA PRE and had a redress # for may years. Last time through PDX I got the dreaded SSSS and the lovely patdowns that come with it for the first time ever. Turns out someone, probably the travel agent, entered my first and middle names in the first name field and left the middle name field blank in the TSA secure flight data. Note that all the same info on the ticket was correct.

The lesson here is to always login and confirm the secure flight data is correct. I'll be doing that 100% from now on.

nrgiii

thegrailer

So I am back on the SSSSh!t list. I filed for redress and was off for a few months. Included in that time was a trip to IST, a trip to the ME, a couple trips to S America, and a few trips to East Asia. Pre-check working, and always had been working, and no problems. I go back to IST one more time (my fav city) and then on to CAI to take a couple cheap Qatar Airlines C class flights to SE Asia. No problems outbound. No SSSS leaving the US. Leaving FRA I am hit with the SSSS for the first time in almost 6 months. Even better, I get pulled out by German police prior to getting to the gate for my SSSS search. My domestic connection doesn't have SSSS, but there is no pre-check on my BP. I knew enough not to ask for a new bp since It would most certainly have SSSS. Next flights (domestic) - no pre-check and SSSS.

Will a second redress inquiry help? It seemed to work the first time.


Cheers -

lonelycrowd

The problem is that we are such a small number of cases to draw observations from.

Nobody here really knows exactly what triggers the SSSS algorithm - or, if they do, they've decided not to jeopardize their security clearance by posting it in public - but given the inconsistencies we have seen I'd bet that it's a weighted equation that includes factors other than just one's itinerary and I don't think we are certain at all that PreCheck may not reduce the probability or intensity of SSSS spells.

I've noted in other threads that I got hit pretty hard by the CBP, including pre-boarding visits from the Immigration Advisory Program. (Slightly OT, but it's been a bit of a relief to finally see reports this spring of other USC's getting mysterious CBP pre-boarding interviews that sure sound like IAP such as described here - I don't feel quite so crazy anymore!) Despite the rough receptions I've gotten from CBP, my SSSS flag has always worn off in 0-3 check-ins after leaving Turkey. I'm very open to the possibility that I seem to be getting fewer SSSS's because my PreCheck enrollment is considered an attenuating factor by the TSA and/or the National Targeting Center.

It's also rather curious that an entry that doesn't seem to attract the wrath of CBP can result in SSSS on domestic flights down the line, and vice versa - I just did a pretty "broken" itinerary Istanbul-MUC-LHR-YVR followed by a bus crossing at Blaine, WA last week, absolutely no questioning or harassment at any point in the trip, and now I can't check in online for my flight out of SEA tonight... *sigh*