"The customes guy seemed dubious about my reason for going to AMS and spending 6 hours there without even clearing immigration or customes there"

But you did clear Immigration because you went through this process. I have done dozens of MRs, including a couple right after 9.11 into the US from Asia, and never had a secondary, nor a major grilling. Surely you must fit some profile or have otherwise made the officer curious.

Yes, I have even admitted to and explained about the purpose of a MR, in some of these cases, and the officers all seemed either amused or bewildered.

This is strictly a product of the stupid failed drug war. If you want less hassles coming from AMS, write your congressperson and suggest they stop wasting our money looking for drugs, and concentrate on stopping the real threats. Better yet, vote for somebody who will change the drug laws.

Related, I used to always get the dreaded SSS on my BP until an astute AA GA pointed out that the manifest (based on my AA personal info) read "Bill" and my passport read " William".
Since I changed my info on AA to match the passport I have not had a problem.

That alone could not be the issue, save the following two possibilities: 1. there is someone named Bill _____ [your last name] or 2. Billy ______ [last name] who is on a watch list but William _____ [last name] is not.

I have not so rarely had my first and last name swapped on my tickets or had the name misspelled (on a variety of domestic and international flights), and for what its worth, I have set off the SSSS criteria on maybe 1 out of 50 itineraries at worst on last minute purchases and that was the latter months of 2001 and 2002. In 2003, I think I did not get selected even once. AA (in terms of AAdvantage) have info for me that abbreviates my name too.

[This message has been edited by GUWonder (edited Mar 17, 2004).]

We should all order "halal" meals to test this theory.

Wait, how much difference is there between a halal meal and a kosher one?

P.S. It seems that Customs thinks that all flyers from AMS are druggies and that all druggies book non-stop from AMS back to the USA.

Idiots.

Dennis Kucinich? I'm going with Kerry, to change the George Bush laws first and then watch the great TV on new, pending lawsuits against the civilians of Bush and Cheney.

Never hassled anywhere, except YVR. And they did it in an unacceptably poor, non-secure, anti-Canadian, waste-of-time mannor. Yes, YVR hassle was during this Bush Administration.

I had the same problem and it took me 10 months to clear it up and get my name removed from mandatory second inspection.

I sent 4 letters to Washington and the area port director in LA, before it was resolved.

If you don't take action you can look forward to been bothered for the rest of your life.

When you go into secondary inspection next time ask for the desk supervisor, explain as best you can what you want to achieve and ask him for the area port director in your area and then the 2 address of HOme land Security in Washington. Write all 3 of them a letter asking to be removed and why you shouldn't be on the list.

Regards,
Robert

Sorry, but I won't be voting for bush lite (kerry). The democrats are like a naughty little boy. They got spanked in the last election by Nader. They didn't learn their lesson, and now they'll get spanked again. Unless Kerry makes some bold statements against the drug war, he's not going to win.

When I have put down The Netherlands on my landing card as a country visited, and they ask why I was there (young guy travelling by himself) I'm always tempted to say I just went to smoke pot. Of course, that would probably get me a cavity search, so I avoid it. I've had some bad grillings from Customs, but never a secondary search.

Since I am already on 'The List' anyway, I have sometimes answered "To experience freedoms not afforded me in America".
I've been felt up, but not cavity searched.

OK, how about we do a group MR and ALL order the halal meal? Then again maybe not. We'd probably all end up in Guantanamo.

Can we do the whole run barefoot too?