Originally Posted by
Zapzig
No doubt by a mile, my worst experiences with non-CBP border guards are those NZ border officers at AKL airport.
After three very unpleasant encounters with AKL immigration, I will not be planning another visit there any time soon. I'm not sure why I deserve such treatments despite being cooperative, truthful and never once raising my temper. Was it because I've always entered as a solo traveller? FYI most of the other people I saw in secondaries were young and traveling alone. Also the officers who cross examined me in secondaries all three times looked very young (two females and one male). Though they were each different officers on the three separate entries, they all shared the same attitudes - officious and surly in a power tripping mission. Also since I had been selected for secondary the previous two entries (even though I never violated any laws), did it automatically raise a red flag on my third visit since most likely it was in their system the moment my passport was scanned?
Regardless, even if I have to return back to NZ, you bet I will not be selecting AKL as a POE. And really, a return to NZ is a big "IF" for me regardless of POE.
I feel the same way about transiting thru LHR. Whether entering or leaving, I find the personnel surly and I seem to draw the dreaded special screening designation on every trip -- even when the next leg of the journey shows me as pre-checked thru ORD, for example. There must be an underground surge in blonde, nearly old enough for Social Security risks to make them waste their time on my boring carry on luggage.