Originally Posted by
Saladman
You must have been very lucky in the USA then since I've waited 90 minutes at LAX before now, probably the slowest of anywhere in the world. Once you actually get to the desk then the time is pretty much the same across the world including the UK, with the exception that pretty much the rest of the world are vastly more unfriendly than the UK - the USA are particularly bad in this respect.
The APIS data doesn't get passed to BF so how are they supposed to know? The person on the desk generally has no idea who you are or where you've come from. Having said that, assuming a UK passport then there is an absolute right of entry and questions beyond establishing whether someone is or isn't the person on a particular list for example, are unnecessary. Sometimes I've had general chatty questions from the BF person just to kill time whilst scanning the passports - this seem to happen with families where there are a number of passports to go through and presumably is better than a long period of silence which probably seems unfriendly.
I've said before that comparisons with other countries aren't valid. If you have a British name then it's far more likely that there will be a potential match with a name on a British list, than if you have an Italian name for example. The reverse is also true, so John Thompson is unlikely to match up to a Spanish or Italian watch list in the same way that Giuseppe Bianchi is less likely to match up to a name on the UK list.
The people in the pink shirts don't seem to like people switching queues halfway through - which I totally get, as I imagine it annoys the hell out of all those people who have been queueing in front of you. You could always go straight into the EU (Non eGate) queue rather than trying to switch halfway through. At T2 that's more difficult since you can't see the eGate queue until you get closer and you need to have made the decision by then, so you might have made a poor decision if you find yourself behind a load of families with an empty eGate queue, but at T5 you can see the queues as you go into the hall. If asked then you can just say that you don't have an eligible passport or you aren't eligible to use the gates (a truthful response if you are rejected every single time without fail).
JFK DFW DEN EWR PHX LAX and arriving by ship have been painless in last 5 years. LAX was the longest wait. BOS the worst but about 10 years ago as my son threw up in the queue.
The set up in T2 on Monday meant everyone was directed to E Gates. There was the one non U.K. Eu EEA queue which had less than a dozen in it. The egates allow Swiss citizens and others to use them but at the baggage belt it states if you are holding passports of these countries (countries are listed) and used the egate you should return to the desk to get a stamp !!!!
I don’t agree that you can’t compare. Singapore for example had /has landing cards that stated in capital letters “Death for Drug Traffickers” yet I cannot recall a more friendly, efficient and welcoming experience. You can have strict and robustly delivered laws and still be welcoming, after all most people are law abiding and compliant.
Buts its not just about names, it’s about processes, procedures, signage, demeanour and attitude. My experience of Heathrow compared with 60 other nations over 35 years places it well outside the top 20 places to arrive .
APIS data is regulatory data and it is passed to the authorities. I don’t know if it filters to the screens of officers, but if it doesn’t then you have to wonder why it’s collected at all. Asking me where I have come from without knowing the answer, is a waste of everyone’s time. If it’s to check my answer to known data, that’s legitimate.