Fastair - I see what you're saying. But if UA can store my passport info so that I can OLCI *to* the US, they could store my resident visa info so that I can OLCI *from* to the US *to* (in my case) Taiwan. After all, in theory the passport info could change just as visas change. And I might be willing to give my visa info to UA regardless of Big Brother concerns. Is it UA policy or US law that says to only store passport info?

In any case, let's say it's right and proper that entry/exit materials be checked each trip. In my experience, Chicago is the worst of the UA hubs to try to find a real person to check your papers and give you a boarding pass. I would give passing grades to JFK, Denver, and SFO.