BadgerBoi

^
Has to be one of the most repeated urban myths to appear on FT. And one of the least amusing.

M60_to_LGA

Once, flying back from a trip to Canada (can't remember which airport I was in), I had the US CBP guy start asking me lots of questions about the Spanish stamps I had in my passport. He asked why I'd been to Spain, and I mentioned I'd studied abroad there in college. Then, a million follow-up questions: When did you study? Where did you study? What program? etc.

It turned out he'd studied in Madrid at the same time as I did, but he was in a different program.

worldiswide

One more time for me .. not my home country but..

My husband and I were leaving New Zealand after I had completed the Routebourn Track hike. The officials were examining my hiking boots and asking questions about what we had done. He then mentioned that there were only one pair of hiking boots and wanted to see the other pair. He then took a look at my husband, who is not in the greatest shape, and said, I guess he didnt go hiking with you, did he?

mandolino

One of the strangest was the Bangladesh immigration guy when I was leaving Dhaka in 2006.
"Sir, you are Australian?"
"Yes"
"I must ask you this question"
(apprehensively) "Ye.... es"
"Why is Mark Viduka scoring goals for Middlesbrough but is not scoring for Australia?"
"Err, well, he plays more of a holding role for Australia" was the best I could do.

kcupp95

Coming home from Canada to Australia, I was a bit worried about getting the packaged smoked salmon I'd brought from Vancouver confiscated.

Shouldn't have worried, there was a New Zealander lady at the counter next to me, emptying whole fresh fish out of suitcase. They didn't care that much about the smoked salmon, once she'd started unwrapping her fish.....

tumbleweed_Tx

travelling via a truck hauling music gear... My buddy and I decided to go to Laredo (from San Antonio) to hang out in Nuevo Laredo.

This was in the summer of 1995...

We went into Nuevo Laredo, and were immediately beseiged by hawkers trying to get us to go see the weight loss "doctor" tye worked for... I didn't think I was all that fat back then, not like now, but, anyway...

We got the diet pills, and headed back to the US to put them in the truck so we could go back into Mexico and have some fun. The Border Patrol officers looked at my ID, asked me some routine questions for the time, then waived me through.

My friend, though... His last name was Nichols, like as in the last name of one of the Oklahoma City bombers. They grabbed my friend and asked him about HIS PART in the OKC bombing.

I was like, ......

They then stopped me, and put the two of us in a room off to the side... We sat there for what seemed like hours, no [hone calls, no nothing. Hell, my then old lady didn't even know we went to Laredo, much less were in Federal custody... LOL

So, eventually a Border Patrol agent came into the room, started to ask the 'Mr Nichols, what is your part' question again, stopped himself, and laughed after he recognized my friend as one of his best buds from high school here in Houston.

Apparently, they were stopping everyone named Nichols and giving them the third degree... We hightailed it out of there.


About an hour and a half later, we were pulled over by a Duval County deputy. He asked where we were going, we said Houston, he said we missed the turn probably because we were going too fast... I mentioned something about having a relative working for the Duval County Sheriff Office, so the deputy asked me his name. When I told him, the deputy laughed, said that he was the Sheriff, and was his dad. That was the first time I saw my cousin in 20 years... LOL (needless to say, there was no ticket issued...)

Badenoch

A conversation with a very young and intense female CBSA officer at YYZ a few years ago, coming home after a long business trip.

CBSA: "Where are you coming from?"

Me: "Germany."

CBSA: "Purpose of your trip."

Me: "Business." (Assuming she meant why I was out of the country.)

CBSA: "Where will you be staying while in Canada?"

Me: "At my home."

CBSA: "You own a home in Canada?"

Me: "Yes."

CBSA: "How long will you be staying in Canada?"

Me: "Uh, forever."

Somewhat perplexed she look at my passport again, showed the slightest hint of a blush, scribbled on the card and waved me through.

lovenola

The other day at yul, I entered on my Canadian passport with my wife. He asked our occupations, I responded "builder", and my wife responded "writer". As he looked at all of her stamps, he commented that "writing seems like a good job", and "that it's better than working in this dump" and then proceeded to tell us how they had just arrested 16 people for smuggling cocaine and they were questioning them in the back right now.

GUWonder

I heard CBP ask a passenger whether or not the passenger was the parent of the very young children despite the same family name appearing in all the US passports. The passenger responded in the affirmative but the prejudiced CBP clerk decided to examine the adult passenger's US passport very closely as if he would ever figure any criminal activity from that.

I heard CBP ask a US citizen passenger to put their fingerprints on the scanner used for foreign visitors, but the passenger didn't do it. [Refused on the basis that it is not applicable to US citizens.[ The CBP employee then began to try to pronounce the word for "finger" in a foreign language he thought the passenger ought to understand based on the passenger's apparent ethnic affiliation, but the mutilation of the foreign language was so bad that the native English-speaking passenger couldn't understand what was being said despite being a fluent speaker of the foreign language the CBP was attempting to exploit.

I heard CBSA and CBP at YYZ make a stink about Americans resident in Sweden saying they were on a trip home when their boarding passes/itinerary indicated a trip just to/from Copenhagen. The involved CBSA and CBP agents needed the passengers to educate them that nearly 1/3 of Swedes have used CPH/Denmark as a point of origin/destination for their international trips. Given how many people around YYZ fly out of BUF, the CBSA should have some appreciation for people flying into or out of a neighboring country's airports. The CBP being a bit more ignorant about that is sort of expected.

Annalisa12

Not that funny... but often you never get a comment out of a customs agent. He asked what I had to declare (after a trip to Egypt) and I held up a small wooden hippo and a jar of sand that had my name spelt out and said..."this is all I got, I was too cheap and mean to buy anything else". He replied, "well, you returned with something... a sense of humour!"

Badenoch

A stupid contest among international customs and immigration officers is a lot like ice hockey in the Winter Olympics. Canada and the U.S.A. will be in the finals and the only unanswered question is who wins the gold medal.

tentseller

Remember this commercial?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XKVHAPUOYD4

I remember a Leafs Sabre game when the Buffalo fans started the "U-S-A" chant; the Canadian fans replied "Sil-ver-Me-dal"

Kallio

OT, but since NHL-players were allowed in olympic hockey in 1998 it has been Canada-USA final twice and two other times neither of them even made it to the final.

tentseller

The only US/Canada final in any sport that you can bet the house on is ladies ice hockey.

kimberlyrose

In fairness to mandolino, you're the second person in this thread to claim this happened. Invisible beat you to it by a couple of days:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/20962660-post90.html