Got admonished by Immigration Officer for lack of address
Jul 25, 2014, 10:43 pm
#31
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Your fact pattern is unique and atypical. Let's think about this for a minute. If you are landing in the USA, you are going to rent a car, drive all day, and then pick a hotel? I would wager that scenario is unlikely for 99.9% of visitors. For the few (including yourself) that do you can simply tell the truth and ask how they want you to complete it. That is why they have CBP officers and not just machines. No need to be insulted.
I find the whole discussion to be much hullabaloo about nothing especially given what is going on at the NSA which is violating privacy of millions in ways that are not easily avoided.
If you don't want the CBP to know where you are staying you can move after the first night. @:-)
Virtually every country I've visited wants to know where I am staying when I first enter the country. It doesn't bother me.
I find the whole discussion to be much hullabaloo about nothing especially given what is going on at the NSA which is violating privacy of millions in ways that are not easily avoided.
If you don't want the CBP to know where you are staying you can move after the first night. @:-)
Virtually every country I've visited wants to know where I am staying when I first enter the country. It doesn't bother me.
I did ask what he wanted me to do. The answer was clear: you cannot travel like that, you have to book the first night and tell us about it.
I don't believe I said I was insulted. I was totally taken by surprise though. Never had this issue before, and I still do not understand then why this info is not collected with APIS (or for some of us, ESTA), if it is actually a requirement like that. Particularly, why does the ESTA update form SPECIFICALLY spell out how to complete the "first night address" in the case where you really want to, but don't have one yet.
Anyway, I will change my travel pattern a little bit and attempt to stay out of secondary inspection.
DanishFlyer
Jul 25, 2014, 10:48 pm
#32
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Actually the reason of obtaining an address is to track down passengers who might have been infected in case there's a confirmed case of contagious disease (MERS, SARS, swine flu, avian flu, etc.) on the plane/ship. This is a CDC requirement for international arrival passengers and CBP is the agency obtaining this information on CDC's behalf.
As a law-abiding citizen, I personally don't see any problem of providing an address. In fact, I would like to be among the first to be contacted if they do find out that I might have been at risk of being exposed to a contagious disease so I can seek medical help immediately and not get my family sick.
Of course criminals, terrorists, smugglers or illegal aliens might think differently....
As a law-abiding citizen, I personally don't see any problem of providing an address. In fact, I would like to be among the first to be contacted if they do find out that I might have been at risk of being exposed to a contagious disease so I can seek medical help immediately and not get my family sick.
Of course criminals, terrorists, smugglers or illegal aliens might think differently....
Please, before insinuating that I am not lawabiding, please check the original post, and you will see that the reason for not putting down a specific address was that I was at the start of a roadtrip.
CBP even has instructions for those who feel they must complete all the optional fields on the ESTA forms but can only indicate f.x. a city, as they are on a roadtrip. Therefore, I did not expect this sudden no-can-do at the booth.
DanishFlyer
Jul 25, 2014, 10:56 pm
#33
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Upon arrival at HKG, I listed my address as "HKIA" ... no reaction whatsoever.
Jul 25, 2014, 11:09 pm
#34
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I got threatened that if this ever happened again, they would send me to secondary (at best), as they would not believe anything I said about my trip if I wasn't going anywhere.
But he spent many words on saying this!
It still makes no sense to me that APIS and ESTA are both ok without a specific address, yet immigration (on the customs form) is not :-(
And apologies for the slow reply - I was enjoying the no wifi/3g area of a couple of your national parks :-)
DanishFlyer
But he spent many words on saying this!
It still makes no sense to me that APIS and ESTA are both ok without a specific address, yet immigration (on the customs form) is not :-(
And apologies for the slow reply - I was enjoying the no wifi/3g area of a couple of your national parks :-)
DanishFlyer
Jul 25, 2014, 11:11 pm
#35
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So for those of you who might think I am imagining things:
http://www.cbp.gov/travel/travel-ind...inal-rule-reqs
This explains how to fill in the apis info in different circumstances (this fit with my carriers info, and they are responsible for collecting apis).
Note also that the carrier should try to ensure that the declaration given to CBP on landing is the same as in apis.
OK. Then.
Still does not add up with my experience this time. But maybe is it just part of never knowing what they are up to :-)
DanishFlyer
http://www.cbp.gov/travel/travel-ind...inal-rule-reqs
This explains how to fill in the apis info in different circumstances (this fit with my carriers info, and they are responsible for collecting apis).
Note also that the carrier should try to ensure that the declaration given to CBP on landing is the same as in apis.
OK. Then.
Still does not add up with my experience this time. But maybe is it just part of never knowing what they are up to :-)
DanishFlyer
Jul 25, 2014, 11:12 pm
#36
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Personally I'm more annoyed with departure cards requiring address. My home country does this - why should someone be allowed to know when my place is vacant for x days?
Jul 25, 2014, 11:12 pm
#37
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Jul 25, 2014, 11:44 pm
#38
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And if some government rep needed to know your address, they probably could find it anyway.
DanishFlyer.
Jul 26, 2014, 4:29 am
#39
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This annoys me too. The new card doesn't ask for your name or require a signature, but it asks for the irrelevant detail of your address. Why?
Jul 26, 2014, 6:03 am
#40
Join Date: Oct 2006
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Do returning US citizens also have to give an address? I did not know that!
Please, before insinuating that I am not lawabiding, please check the original post, and you will see that the reason for not putting down a specific address was that I was at the start of a roadtrip.
CBP even has instructions for those who feel they must complete all the optional fields on the ESTA forms but can only indicate f.x. a city, as they are on a roadtrip. Therefore, I did not expect this sudden no-can-do at the booth.
DanishFlyer
Please, before insinuating that I am not lawabiding, please check the original post, and you will see that the reason for not putting down a specific address was that I was at the start of a roadtrip.
CBP even has instructions for those who feel they must complete all the optional fields on the ESTA forms but can only indicate f.x. a city, as they are on a roadtrip. Therefore, I did not expect this sudden no-can-do at the booth.
DanishFlyer
Oh no, don't get me wrong. I was not implying you're not law-abiding...But it was disturbing to see a few of the replies (hopefully they were joking) that suggested you to knowingly and willfully put down a random or fictitious address, which in itself is a federal offense (18 U.S.C. 1001). I don't understand the logic behind those who purposely provide a false address, maybe they think that they're very important and a FBI/CIA/NSA agent will be following them home to spy on them... or maybe they're just some shady people who're hiding something....
Anyway, to answer your question. Yes, every arriving passenger or head of household is required to provide a destination address regardless of nationality. Specifically "Address/ Destination" on the form means a physical address, therefore a PO Box is not acceptable.
Jul 26, 2014, 2:37 pm
#41
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So something does not match up here :-(
DanishFlyer
Jul 27, 2014, 12:43 am
#42
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The link was referring to I94 forms (white form) which are for visitors only. Not sure when they have last updated this website but I believe they have gotten rid of this form now. The customs forms (blue form) are for everyone (resident and visitors). I believe APIS does not apply to citizen either, I was never asked to provide an address by an airline when traveling to the U.S. as a US citizen.
Jul 28, 2014, 11:09 pm
#43
Join Date: Oct 2003
Location: Traveling the World
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You are required to put down the address of the first place you will stay at for your first night in the USA. Does CBP check? Maybe maybe not. Just list the first address you are staying at. Touring in Colorado would be the reason for your stay.
Aug 2, 2014, 1:19 am
#44
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I rarely know where I am staying because I like to look around before choosing a hotel. So to comply with this requirement I usually grab a hotel address at random in the departure lounge before departing for the USA.
Aug 3, 2014, 4:51 pm
#45
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Well, there have been enough stories about US citizens who didn't play ball with immigration and customs officers being sent to secondary for an hour or two to cool their jets.
