FlyerTalk Forums - View Single Post - Advice needed- Downgraded due to US immigration queue
Old Apr 19, 2022, 9:47 am
  #53  
Geordie405
 
Join Date: Sep 2010
Location: Las Vegas
Programs: BA Gold; Hilton Honors Diamond
Posts: 3,217
Originally Posted by choosethedrew
Why would they though? It’s a publicly funded service so unless you have the political appetite to put more money into that then it will limp along as a bare-bones service with staff feeling able to abuse passengers, like Orbitmic has described.

Also, US citizens are treated separately and prioritised to a certain extent and they’re all that matter. Everyone is treated as a potential migrant with strong aspirations to infiltrate and move permanently to the good ole US of A, or it can certainly feel like that.
I think CBP has upped its game significantly over the years. For me the most notable improvements began at ORD where they had combined immigration and customs for HBO passengers. That has progressed over recent years to "Simplified Arrivals" where the use of biometrics and combining the immigration and customs aspects of border control (usually) means a quicker, more seamless entry into the USA. I also think that the ESTA scheme has helped a lot too. It got rid of the need to complete the green VWP form on the plane, and all the mistakes and confusion that go with that. I lost count of the number of times I saw people being sent away from the booth to either complete or correct the form. For a lot of airports the blue Customs Declaration form has also been abolished and so for most airline passengers the process now is simply completing the ESTA online and then flying. Things like Mobile Passport and the passport kiosks have helped significantly too.

You are right though that the topic of illegal immigration is in constant focus here in the USA - but it's just the same in the UK if I may say so. I am thinking of Enoch Powell, Windrush, Brexit, Rwanda etc. That aside, until recently, US passport holders weren't able to use the e-gates when entering the UK and I would queue up at Heathrow with my wife and family and witness them being asked the exact same questions as I'd be asked entering the USA: why are you coming to the UK, how long will you be here for, where are you staying, do you have (and please show me) your return ticket etc. I think the UK and US are very similar in that regard: both are seen as a promised land for potential migrants.
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