GUWonder

DCA-EWR-CPH. When going through the green channel, we get pulled aside and get asked where the trip originated. [Probably pulled over because of the large black duffel bag and racism.] In the examination area only "brown" and "black" people. He starts examining the bag and finds a bunch of infants diapers and basically nothing else. He is suspicious and X-rays the bag and finds nothing. Then he starts demanding to see Scandinavian ID as he is not satisfied with the explination of "don't have it" after being shown the US passports. He is given nothing other than the passports with affixed permanent residency stamps and seems in over his head. We proceed to volunteer to let him check carry-on items he had not searched and drag out the time by making work for him. Eventually his boss comes and asks him in Danish if everything is ok and where the passengers came. After being told the US, Washington, his boss says let them go. We drag out the process even more by offering more items to be inspected. When we leave he asks why we are bringing in diapers and says is it because they are cheaper in the US? Actually these diapers were far ore expensive than diapers anywhere in Scansinavia and we told him so.

He expected to be dealing with a poor non-"white" minority from a less developed country and ended up targeting rather well-off minorities from more developed countries.

Welcome to the stupidity of customs personnel operating on racist stereotypes.

GUWonder

It makes perfect sense and may to you too should you read that post again.

US CBP and its predecessor agency employees quite often have put stamps in US passports of returning/arriving US citizens -- that is what is being referred to in the post you quoted.

I have used those US entry stamps in my US passports as evidence in a variety of matters dealing with the federal government.

Doc Savage

No, you need to read more carefully. Look again.

Science Goy

No -- the OP was questioned upon returning to the US about the lack of any earlier record of departure. As the US does not stamp passports on departure, this was almost certainly based on the records shown on the officer's screen.

Doc Savage

I haven't been across the land borders to Mexico or Canada since passports have been required. Is departure from the states noted by US CBP in those cases, or just return?

Redhead

But when you check in for an international flight, at least at the kiosks or the desk, you have to show your passport or swipe it and I assume they enter the number is some system reported to the US CBP, hence there is a record of you leaving, even if you don't go through an official CBP departure process.

jphripjah

About five years ago, on a flight to Ghana, I was sitting next to a Liberian woman who told me she was flying to Ghana to bury her father.

So we get off the plane, we go up to the immigration booths, and the immigration officer at my booth says to me "I take you out?" "I take you out?" I think he wanted me to hire him as a tour guide, or perhaps go on a date with him, which is weird because we are both guys. I pretended not to understand him or mumbled "no" or something like that.

I then overheard the poor Liberian lady at the next booth over, saying to a completely different immigration officer, "No I can't go out with you, I'm just here to bury my father."

Nowadays, whenever I return to the U.S. from Southeast Asia, the CBP officers usually ask me "What were you doing in Thailand." My standard answer is "Drinking and chasing women." They love that answer. Well, the male officers do.

Science Goy

When I drove to Canada last year, I only dealt with Canadian immigration on the way out and US on the way back. Mexico was similar several years ago, but I don't remember if that was after passports were required.

AerOklahoma

On 14JUN12, in the midst of the NBA Finals OKC Thunder vs. Miami Heat, I was clearing customs at IAD after returning from MUC and the CBP agent saw I was from Oklahoma:

CBP: "Oklahoma huh? Are you a Thunder fan?"
Me: "Absolutely! This has been such an exciting time for our city and team!"
CBP: "I'm from Miami......and I think there might be some opium in your bag...."
Me: "Thunder Up!!"
CBP: "haha welcome home"

Was a nice touch to the "fun" of clearing customs

GUWonder

Actually, yes, not a "no". The comment was about a stamp not being given on arrival on that occasion.

The lack of record of departure comment from US CBP-type was not related to US stamp/no US stamp in the US passport -- that comment was about electronic file reference.

Geez, the context ought to be obvious to those reading that post in question. That quoted post makes perfect sense when familiar with CBP and predecessor agency operations.

GUWonder

Not necessarily with passports, and not generally when it comes to departing the US by land. More common on entry.

Also, US citizens still do enter Canada or Mexico by land at their staffed ports of entry even if without a passport.

GUWonder

Yes, and the electronic file references have been part of the picture even before 2001.

t325

Nothing memorable in the US, but I did have a customs agent in the UK, a sweet old lady, give me a laugh. I (in my 20s) was entering with my dad (in his 60s), and she asks my dad "Is he your son?" and he said yes. She replied with "I thought so, but every now and then I ask a man your age with a woman his age if she's his daughter, and he says 'No, that's my wife!'".

FlyingHoustonian

do you have any stats on that? For one to get free healthcare after serving in the military they need to normally serve 20 years (there are some fairly rare 15 year exceptions) first and retire. Thus the majority hired into CBP would be at least 38 (20 years from the 18 enlistment age), and most in their early 40s at least. So you would have senior looking agents with junior ranks. I don't see too many of those. Now, many might have served a few years but that gives the government no cost savings what-so-ever, and many of the military members would be more travelled than the general public hires so there should be less geographic confusion, not more (of which we hear so many horror stories).

As for my odd airport stories, one was at MAN in 2005. I was a sigle guy going to attend a friend's wedding in Wales. The agent could not understand how I could be single and attend a wedding....? I told him I would probably hook-up with a brides maid (I did :-) ) which just pissed him off more. Then he went on and on about me trying to work in Britain. I finally showed him a US gov't employee ID and then he went off on my trying to cheat the British government out of tax revenue. I had no clue what he was talking about. Then he stamped my passport finally and I moved on.

tentseller

Sounds like some of the border agenst are singing this song:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8hZQzbjU3z0