ICTS Stickers on Passport
 

What exactly is the purpose of these? Seems like almost every time I am about to board a flight to return to the US from an international airport, I get questioned by a contracted security member. They put a sticker with a date on it on the back of my passport after asking me a few random questions. I guess I get the point of these questions, but not so much what the sticker shows.

I never thought much about this until leaving Barcelona. Upon notifying me I had to answer a few basic questions, the agent kind of snickered and showed her colleague my passport with a good amount of ICTS stickers on the back. I am not sure if that was funny in a bad way, or she was impressed or what. It really doesn't bother me much, but I just find it interesting.

My thing is, I have a US Passport and Global Entry, and so when coming into the US I essentially walk right back into the country with essentially no question at all. Yet oversees they seem to be more preoccupied with questioning me. Honestly I really don't see the point in these at all, they are honestly just an inconvenience.

Can anyone shed any light on this? I haven't ever paid much attention to this until now. Are programs like this really necessary, or is it just the TSA overreaching to try and be "safe"?

The purpose is to note that you've been personally reviewed for a flight departure that day by the airline's security contractor.

This approach is wanted and approved by the TSA, but it was required by the US even before the creation of the TSA.

I was just asked by the agent what are my hobbies. It made me worry my answers to the standard set of questions (who packed your bags etc) were not well received and I was getting into a deeper level of profiling. Or maybe it was random?

Funny Story
 

I actually had a screener look at my stickers and say, "I see I have talked to you before" .

I was never interviewed until Lockerbie. Lockerbee was in December of 88 and in August of 89 I was interviewed by a member of the TWA security team before boarding in London and received my first sticker.

I get that a lot when flying US airlines from Europe, as they can recognize their own sig/initials (whether or not they recognize me in advance of the interaction). Some of them even think I work for the airline flown despite being on regular paid fares. Go figure.

It's like the approach with polygraph baselining: trying to figure out how you respond to various questions relative to others.

It's all ridiculous US bureaucratic nonsense. Intelligence based screening works far better, but that requires intelligence.

The thing is, she didn't even put a sticker on my passport after it, she didn't even appear to have any on her. I also find it funny that they paid no attention to all the non-us citizens on the flight.

When returning from Australia in July I didn't get any security questioning at all.

Just seems like a giant waste of time to me. Not sure how asking me my hobbies is going to affect US National Security when returning to the United States in a positive. Even for someone who is bad, it's not like they are going to fess up to anything.

Anyhow, I just can't help but snicker at this. TSA Pre, Global Entry, held a SIDA Security level clearance for an airport for years. Next time I get one of these I think I will answer extremely ridiculously lol. "What are your hobbies? Well I enjoy long walks on the beach, pornography, midget races, painting my nails, and doing squats." Haha, see what they have to say about that.

Anyhow, not a huge deal, I just find the whole ordeal amusing..

Should say dwarf tossing, far better hobby :p

As I'm not a US citizen, pleased will someone tell me what ICTS stands for?

I also don't understand why people leave them on their passports. Why not remove them?

International Consultants on Targeted Security. I leave them on to remind them (and the various other contractors/agencies that perform similar functions) that I've been through their little performance in the security theater many, many times before. But I'm also the sort of person who has a perennial pile of clutter on my desk, so it may just be laziness to some degree.

They also leave a very sticky residue if you remove them.

I remove them as soon as the flight ends. I don't want a random collection of useless stickers all over a 10 yr validity passport., :rolleyes:

They become stickier the warmer they get. I remove them the second I am boarding the plane.