Actually, I'm quite happy to use a system that provides proof I left the USA (my green visa waiver card has been "lost" by the airline in the past). However, it might help if use of it were enforced, or at least encouraged. I've never recieved any suggestion that I should use the machines nor even been told what they're for, other than when I actually enquired as to what they were out of curiosity. Furthermore, at airports such as SFO there's usually a minder standing by the machine, but passengers never seem to be encouraged to use it - the minders just stand there and sometimes offer to help if someone approaches the machine, but otherwise they do nothing to engage with departing passengers who just walk past. On one occasion when I tried to use the machine it didn't read my passport and the minder said I should keep trying or key in my details via the keyboard... I said I hadn't got time for all that as my flight was on last-call, and just turned around and walked into the gate and handed over the bottom half of the VW form as usual - no reaction from the machine minder to my abandoning use of the machine, nor any problems next time I entered the USA. I thus classify using those machines as largely being a waste of time, at leat for the time being.

A