Inappropriate CBP questions
 

When I travel to a foreign country, I am essentially asking permission to enter, so I expect and am totally unfazed by questions that might otherwise seem intrusive or personal.

But when I am returning home to my own country of citizenship (in this case, the United States), I find those questions very off-putting.

I was returning to the U.S. via Miami this week from a country of "high scrutiny" shall we say, but it was a country that I traveled to many times before. The questions from the agent were very much of a personal nature, about my boyfriend, how we met, his name, his citizenship status. I answered them truthfully and was "let back in" after a minimal delay, but I found the experience disagreeable.

As a citizen, I really only wish to have a few cursory questions and then, "Welcome back" from a CBP agent. Am I being unreasonable?

A post for https://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trav...?daysprune=100

Yes, very.

I wasn't sure where to post this, but that does seem like a better location if a moderator wishes to move it.

I’m pretty sure you’re not required to answer. Now, if you’re traveling with your boyfriend, and he’s not a citizen, it could affect his entry.

He was not with me. I was returning alone.

I googled some ACLU stuff and the sum of their answer is that you're only required to answer the bare minimum upon returning to the country but perceived evasion could lead to delays....which is generally not worth it.

In my experience, when there is no line, agents tend to be more chatty...when there are a million people waiting, they're more likely to do a quick glance at the passport and send you on your way. It was a slow day, so I may have just caught a "chatty" agent.

I don’t want to assume OP’s gender but I know someone who was asked exactly the same question. He responded, “Grindr. Would you like to know anything else, sir?”

The officer quickly waved him along.

They are only really allowed to ask questions to confirm your identity, name and last name, and citizenship status (if you are a US citizen). For non-US citizens, they can ask anything they want.

However, if you don't answer other questions as a us citizen, you may end up for hours in secondary inspection.

This is one of the reasons why I'm glad I have Global Entry, in-n-out of immigration in less than 5 mins. For the most part, once the agent see the GE slip, they waved me through, I sometimes get a "welcome back" if I'm lucky lol

That was when an immigration officer was only an immigration officer. But nowadays at most airports of entry, the same person is now also the primary customs screener.