guflyer

Has anything changed recently for going through US Customs and Immigration for people who are not from countries covered by the executive order?

Have CBP officers been more harsh or brought about more questioning? Have the lines been the longer? Has this been the case for people returning from other countries (including visa waiver countries), US citizens, or both?

pstation

I spent 3 hours in secondary a couple days ago at ORD (left my laptop in the seat back pocket and was waiting for a Qatar rep to retrieve it) and if anything the queues were shorter and CBP officers were being a bit friendlier than normal.

cbn42

Nothing has officially changed. It's very difficult to say whether CBP officers been more harsh or brought about more questioning, because that depends more on the individual circumstances than on any official policy, but there haven't been reports of any noticeable changes.

GUWonder

For the Saturday, Sunday and Monday immediately after the EO, the biggest change I noticed was that Global Entry rejection rates at the airports skyrocketed and that some of the CBP encountering people who looked to be possibly Iranian with Persian-seeming names but were still getting GE cleared receipts were assumed by some CBP to be FAMs or others in federal security sensitive positions working for the US. Other than that and some re-flowing of people and longer wait times in the secondary areas, it seemed to be mostly business as usual -- at least until exiting the international arrivals area. The CBP employees' attitudes were the usual.

If you were in secondary for immigration status purposes and caught up in the EO situation, it was unusual.

TWA884

Please observe the guidelines in this forum's sticky thread:
This is the practical forum. Posters come here to ask practical questions about travel safety and security. Please keep your remarks responsive to the OP's question, that is, whether there have been any changes in the way that people who are not affected by the executive order are processed by US immigration and customs.

If you wish to debate the merits or implementation of the Executive Order, please do that in the Executive Order Bans Entry to US of Nationals of 7 Muslim Majority Countries thread in the Checkpoints and Borders Policy Debate forum.

Posts that do not directly respond to the OP's question have been deleted.

Thank you,

TWA884
Travel Safety/Security co-moderator

lonelycrowd

Apologies in advance for letting this post run a little long...

There's been some interesting and conflicting data points coming out over the last few days. Bill Moyers reported that an ACLU attorney was seriously harassed by CBP in Puerto Rico recently, including the bizarre question of "do you understand why someone might have a different opinion about you?" in apparent reference to the legitimacy of her past litigation against the agency. There was another truly bizarre case involving a Moroccan-Canadian woman turned away at an overland POE after a four hour ordeal, with the stated official reason for her rejection being some prayer videos on her phone - <deleted by moderator>. Yet, there's also been reports of unusually calm behavior on the part of CBPOs encountering blacklist student visas in higher education trade publications since the TRO went into effect.

<deleted by moderator>

ratypus

Any noticeable difference in queues at US immigration, in light of recent events?


Specifically looking for any info about immigration at ORD. My thinking is this is surely the trip to travel hand luggage only and use the fast track / one stop immigration booth - to avoid joining the general lines behind e.g. the flight just in from Qatar...


Or am I worrying about nothing? I normally find immigration at ORD pretty quick, but concerned things may be different this time around.

Dambus

Based on my 1 recent experience there has been no significant change arriving at ORD if arriving on a visa/ESTA.

Airprox

Arrived on the BA295 a couple of weeks ago when we were delayed about 90 minutes, and the immigration hall was empty. Zero wait at the kiosks, first bags off within 10 minutes of getting to the belt, priority bags first.

Friederich

I went through ORD a couple of weeks ago, arriving mid afternoon from LHR.

Absolutely no queue - deserted. I travel through ORD maybe a couple of times a year and sometimes it has been chaos at a similar time of day - luck of the draw with flight schedules I guess. Certainly no evidence from my experience that recent happenings have had an impact.
Bizarrely the CBP officer made me fill in the old blue customs form. I thought this was superseded by the declaration made at the APC machine. Perhaps he was just bored.

The immigration hall is split in two, with separate halls fed from each end of the terminal. The GE machines are in the corridor between the two halls. For some reason the GE machine wouldn't recognise my passport. When I finished battling the machine and accepted I would have to go through APC, I actually crossed to the opposite hall as I could see it was empty. Maybe a tip if you are non-GE and there are long queues for APC - try venturing to the other side as it were....

ratypus

Thanks all - so seems pretty much business as usual - I was considering flying HBO this time (and trying to persuade my travel partners to do the same...) to be able to use the fast track, but may not bother with the hassle - normally find ORD pretty quick so if all the recent news hasn't changed that then so much the better....

golfmad

What recent news are you referring to?

Takiteasy

the ban on ratypuses being carried in the cabin. They now have to be checked into the hold in a cage. 😁

ratypus

Executive orders, protests at airports - that kinda stuff...no reason it would necessarily have any real effect but just curious if I can expect immigration to be any different to previous trips to the US....seemed a fair question

reclusive46

I've noticed them asking more questions for those who have global entry/Nexus (In the past I'd basically be ignored) but the questions seem so mundane and useless I'm not sure why they bother.

This could be just my local pre clearance airport though (YYC)