its about.... money...oh.. wait... what.. $$ or euros.. and what....account.. :D hehe :D

+1

Not the case even if you are visiting relatives. I once flew on a NZ flight from LAX to AKL for a 2 week vacation visiting relatives. Of the 400 passengers from the 747-400 that landed only I was picked for secondary. All because the agent could not handle the fact that I had the main passport and additional booklet all stamped from various countries within 2 years of issue.

They put me through 1 hr of secondary whilst they emptied my bag and xrayed various items. They did an address check on my relatives and finally wished me a good vacation after that. I replied point blank in their faces that after that welcome I do not see why I should even bother with their podunk country. Needless to say have not visited that crappy island again. Too bad my relatives have to suffer for their Immigration agents.

Aussie folks for NZ also want to make sure you have a return ticket out of NZ. Buying two OW tickets confounded them terribly. Took 45 minutes to clear that one up, cross-documenting records (and no miles earned on cheap trans-Tasman fares, either.) Take care on 20Kg weight and carry-on size, too. Yes, both are VERY, VERY serious about food products. Declare any and all, even TimTams from dutyfree/transit area.
----------------------

Next time head to Europe:
-- A fresh pair of underthings, shirt, and socks, inflatable pillow and USAirways blanket-pack in carryon bag, with your copious reading material / laptop usually convince any doubters. Maybe bring a new DVD (Region 1 and 2 compatible) of "Up in the Air" movie?
(I actually told one agent in Europe that it was cheaper to fly one round trip to study without interruption for an exam this year than spend for two nights in a hotel, and then I would also have enough miles for a free ticket back home - she was amazed. True - and I passed a 4 hour professional exam with a 95%+ score.)
I also showed them that it was cheaper to visit them from the US than buy a ticket next door to Canada at the time, and showed that agent a fare printout, compared to my ticket receipt. When she politely asked if I wouldn't like to visit and stay awhile, I responded, "See you next week!", held up the tourist materials and brochures picked up from outside customs - and 10 days later waved at her with my spouse on the way back from a week there. She remembered me, waving with a big smile. That also got my spouse's elite renewal set, so all is well.

STRONGLY suggest that you get your return boarding passes early, to avoid any "1-hour checkin cutoffs" on the other end. An Airline Club staffer on the east coast will often help if isn't yet 24 hours from the point of origin.

It is nasty to get stuck without a boarding pass for the return on an MR (even with no bags to check), and miss 1-hour ticket counter checkin (often by 3rd-party service company) by 8 minutes. Think Milan. In that case, buy a FULL Y to somewhere cheap or a cheap EasyJet ticket, and get yourself through passport control to the gate, where you can get BP "reissued". Then deal with refund on full Y (or throw-away if desparate) later. You should be able to transit there, however. My pet peeves are airlines or locales that won't issue BP online or only issue locally.

1. Rome - very nice about it. You will have to take the satellite train and go through the transit X-ray (usual liquids routine), and then head back on the train to your gate. Get a box of Lindt minis at duty free for the a/l gate agents, and you may just get that row 33 with all seats empty so that you can lie down and sleep on the way back. (It works.) US-based carrier handling staff especially understand this. From Mountain / Pacific zones, this will be enough for 1 elite status rung under double EQM.

2. Athens. You can circle at transit staircase. If you go through passport/customs, however, it is easy to get back to passport/customs. Just don't buy liquids in duty free, since you do X-ray AFTER that. You will have to open your laptop and show it is real, and they will shake their head in amazement, but you'll be good to go. 1 r/t to Greece will equal 1 elite status rung on double EQM from much of Middle-U.S. (or west coast).

3. Amsterdam or CDG. Never had a problem in transit. KL and partner staff in other Euro cities usually have no issue with MRs. AF agents shrug.

On my first intl MR to LGW, I did a two hour turn. When rechecking in for the outbound flight, the agent looked at me like I was crazy, and I got sent for a special search. I took it with a grain of salt, although I never made it in the terminal for lunch.

I'm flying DUB-ORD-LAX-SFO-BOS-ORD-DUB over a weekend. Departing on Saturday, redeye SFO-BOS and returning on Sunday ORD-DUB.

I took the same itinerary last year but got into some bother with immigration and customs when I said I was in-transit back to Dublin and was taken for additional screening by customs.

A similar situation happen to me a few months later when I was doing a weekend MR with a 1-night stay. Luckily I got the same customs official and he remembered me when I mentioned I was flying for miles.

Am I correct to say 'in-transit' in place of my address for my first nights stay in the US? Because of the additional screening I missed my connecting flights both times.

Technically, that's correct. But.... it's also probably what got you into trouble.


My recommendation is that you write in the name of a major hotel chain (Hilton, Marriott., etc) that has a hotel located near the airport at your port of entry into the USA. In my opinion, you're not lying by writing in a hotel name. If you were delayed and/or misconnected, then that's where you would stay. You could even make a refundable reservation online, bring the printout as confirmation, and then call to cancel once you have been cleared into the country and "decide" to continue your journey instead of staying the night.

Basically, you want to seem as typical a traveler as possible. Any things that seem unusual about you can red-flag you for extra searches.

BIG NOTE: if the officer questions you, it is imperative to tell the truth. No need to volunteer extra information, but answer every question briefly and truthfully. Here are some examples of truthful answers that can help move things along without volunteering information:

"What is the purpose of your trip?"
"Personal"

"How long are you staying in the country?"
"Just for a couple of days." (remember, even if it's a same-day turn, you can claim 1 day on your form)

"Why so short a stay?"
a) "It's all the time I had....it's a quick trip and I need to get back for my job."
b) "It's a quick getaway for the weekend, but I need to get back home to my family tomorrow."
c) "I got a really good airline fare and couldn't resist." (have ticket receipt to show)
d) "I got a good package deal for the weekend and needed the airline miles."

NEVER say you are visiting/meeting someone unless you have all the details--name, phone, address, etc. The officers might try to confirm with that person, and if the person doesn't exist or is unreachable, the officers could assume you are planning to stay indefinitely and seek employment.

"What kind of business are you in?"
[tell the truth.....preferably have a business card to show]
[emphasize that you need to leave the country again promptly for your job and do NOT intend to stay....be ready to show proof of your employment status--the larger and better-known the enterprise, the better]


Just so you know, unemployed or self-employed people without a family or other ties to their home country are more likely to encounter problems.

I would not recommend writing the name of a hotel you are not planning to stay in. The immigration officer might ask for your travel tinerary and see that you are not planning to stay overnight.

I would write in transit.

Last May I flew dfw/lhr spent one night
lhr-sin spent one night
sin-syd spent a week
When I arrived syd at 5am I was met at the baggage carousel by a female security guard. She asked me what I was doing in Australia blah, blah, blah. After collecting my bag I started to exit and she directed me to a desk and went through all of my bags. Looked at the digital pictures on my camera. Asked how much my ticket cost, who paid for it. She unloaded my bag completely and then ran it bag back through the xray. She asked where I was staying and where I intended to travel. I said the Blue Mnts and she asked if I knew how far from Sydney the Blue Mnts are and what direction....sheez...I had all my documents and hotel reservations which she looked through. I asked if there was a problem. She said that my travel intinerary was suspicious. I told her that One World was having a double miles promotion and I was trying to re-qualify for Platinum Status. Then she asked what I was planning on doing for night time entertainment. I said I didn't know for sure and asked if she had any suggestions. She said "straight or gay"...she was really butch so I said "gay" and she got really friendly and said "let's get you repacked" and suggested I try the bars on Oxford St (I'm not kidding) I thanked her, she thanked me and one hour after collecting my bag I was on my way. I had arranged for a driver to the Shangri la hotel who luckily was still waiting for me. It was my first trip to Australia....quite a welcome.

I can only imagine more run ins with TSA with all the news they've been getting.

After all the horror stories I read on this thread I was really worried for my overnight trip to Vancouver last month. Luckily, the officer I had was very friendly and he even laughed at my reason for coming ("I can't afford to see the olympics, but I can afford to see where they're being held")

Far easier experience than at YUL in November of last year.

2 weeks ago i was flying
AMS-EWR-CLT-LAX-CLT-EWR-FRA on CO/US

as i approached the gate in Amsterdam, you get an additional security screening. As it was my turn this young guy in his 20's starting to first ask the random questions: Who backed your bag and so on..
And then it got interesting as I responded to how long are you staying in the usa: 1 full day.

he wanted to see my eticket, boardingpasses, my hotel reservation, my traintickets, and he also couldnt understand why i would fly from AMS and back to FRA. He called his supervisor and started up this whole discussion about how weird that is, and why on earth I would do this. What my true motives where to fly to the usa, making me feel asif I was this huge risk.The whole things lasted around 25 minutes.

In the end I was allowed to enter the gate and fly to usa..
As I arrived in EWR I braced myself for Immigration: expecting trouble...
Yet all the officer asked was: Business or Pleasure? - Pleasure, How long are you staying: 1 day, she: Ok, enjoy your stay...
and off i went..

So screw those security gate officers at AMS airport ! :)

^^One of the best lines I have ever seen on FT!^^

Slightly OT.

I had just spent 2 weeks in Swaziland, flown home to Germany to change suitcases and the next day flew to CLT via ORD.

I filled out the customs card truthfully, saying I have been around livestock in Swaziland.

Expecting a full cavity search/suitcase dump I was asked what I was dong around livestock in Swaziland, which IMHO is a reasonable question in any setting. I told the gentleman "I am in the military and we did a humanitarian mission down there." He asked the where abouts of the shoes that I had worn in Swaziland and I told him they were back in Germany. I got a "welcome home sir" and he waved me through.

Now, not being around a barber my hair did not like Soldier like, and he did not ask for my military ID. So maybe he thought no one would make up a story like that....

1 like the 'one night in Japan' bag check/pat-down I always get going through customs. They bring you behind a screen and you get a very throughout pat-down.

Now, I know its coming, but the first time the '3, 2, 1' and 2 hands cupping the crotch caught me off guard.

Last week at NGO I was staying for a night and there was a very very very cute customs agent who looked through my bag and led me to the screen. I way praying that she'd be giving me my pat-down, but we had a nice 2-3 minute talk about Canada as she called for a male colleague to do it :(.