I am due to transit for a day in the US on my way to Haiti next month. Reading all the comments on this board and the press I am now getting nervous that US imigration will give me a grilling as I have several visas in my passport from countires which the US consider terrorist hotspots (Iran, Yemen).

Would it be better for me to replace my passport (it is nearly full so I would probably be replacing it in the next few months anyway), or am I worrying about nothing?

If you are going to replace your passport in a few months anyway, you should do it but if the US thinks you are a threat, you are most likely in their system for "people to watch out for".

If you have done nothing wrong, have valid documents to allow you into the US, you should have nothing to fear regardless of what is in (or not in) your passport.

It depends. Be prepared to give a detailed explanation of why you were in Iran and Yemen. If its for the same reason that you're going to Haiti, then maybe its no big deal. Me? If I didn't need the visas from Iran and Yemen any more, I'd try to avoid potential hassles by keeping the same passport but getting the pages replaced. That is assuming that the passport is machine readable....but I digress.

- notam

Are you a British citizen, JPB? Isn't there some rule now whereby UK/EU passports issued after October 2004 don't qualify for the Visa Waiver Scheme unless they contain biometric data, for which the UK passport office does not have a facility as yet? Or has that deadline been put back? (I've not been following this too closely as my passport has another four years to run...)

I travelled to the US on thanksgiving and was able to travel on the visa waiver program with a machine readable passport.

As for the OP's question. You may be sent to special processing with such visas in your passport. If you can avoid special processing by getting a new passport I would suggest this is a good idea. It is very unlikely you will be refused entry to the US but if your connection time is tight you don't want to be held up.

I'm a US Citizen, and have been sent for "additional questioning" as I travelled to Indonesia, Malaysia, Bosnia/Herceg, & Serbija/Crna Gora in the course of 1 year. I guess they were too "odd" for the customs officals, as they asked me why I had visited those countries (Indo=Bali, Malaysia=Stopover to Bali, Bosnia&Serb=Vacation, visiting friends).

Based on that....I think unfortunatly The Yemen & Iran will get you the same treatement or worse

-A

Definitely avoid using that passport to enter the US, as more likely than not it will trigger lengthy Q&A. If they decide to send you to seconday immigration inspection, you could very easily be there for hours upon hours depending on how "busy" they are.... If I were in your shoes, I'd get another passport just for peace of mind.

Yeah, I agree. Nothing should go wrong, however if youre going to replace it, you may as well. However, a lenghthy Q&A is almost certain to occur

hope this helps

Update on my earlier post:

It was originally envisaged that any passports issued after 26 October 2004 would need to contain biometric data in order to qualify for entry under the Visa Waiver scheme - but the latest from the US consulate web site says:

Due to technical challenges, few countries will be able to meet the October 26, 2004 deadline for the introduction of biometric passports. Therefore, a one-year extension has been granted to make it possible for countries to comply with the mandate.

If they had stuck to the original deadline then anyone travelling with a newly-issued passport would have needed a visa, so the "get a new passport" suggestion would not really have solved the problem. However, seeing the deadline has been extended getting a new passport would be the obvious answer.

Thanks for the advice guys - Although I do have an over night stopover a load of questions is not a really atractive prospect after a long flight. As I can still use the visa waiver scheme if I replace my passport then I think a new passport is the way to go.

Arrrghhhh..... this really pisses me off. Perhaps I'm overreacting, but doesn't it seem like the US Government agencies that interface with the travel industry have gotten a little too touchy?

Perhaps it's easier to harass US citizens who are gainfully employed and have nothing to hide than it is to better screen the candidates of all of the visas that they are issuing.

Hmm.... this year I'll have stamps for UK, China, Singapore, Thailand, Cambodia, Hong Kong, France, and Japan... I wonder if these are too odd?

Don't over-react. Having a second passport is a time honored scheme to avoid grilling by over zealous border officials. Ask anyone that used to visit South Africa (during apartheid), Israel (and needs to go to an Arab neighbor), Taiwan, the list goes on...

You are lucky to have the option of a second passport. We cant (unless have option of eg British passport due to parentage).

LOL, my old passport was filled with Israel, Egypt, Jordan and a few Latin American stamps. I am quite happy to be traveling on my new passport which has only EU stamps.

Actual dialogue while recently being questioned while reentering the US from Canadia (they asked me about almost every stamp in my whole damn passport):

INS Officer: "Why did you go to the U.A.E.?"
Ben: "Well, it was kind of on the way back from Bangladesh, so we figured that we might as well spend a few days there."
INS Officer: "So why did you go to Bangladesh?"
Ben: "For vacation."
INS Officer: "You're telling me you went to Bangladesh for a vacation?"
Ben: "Uh, yeah. It seemed like a good idea at the time."
INS Officer: "Are you being a smart-... with me, son?"
Ben: "Not intentionally, sir."
INS Officer: (stampystampy - go on your way)


Actual dialogue with the immigration guy in Dhaka when I went there:

Ben: "Asalamu Aleikum" (presents passport)
B'desh INS: "Waleikum Salam. Wrong line. Diplomatics only." (points to long line over there)
Ben: "Oh. That's pretty long. Can we pretend that I'm a diplomat?"
B'desh INS: (shrugs, doesn't look in passport for my visa, throws a stamp sideways on the back page, sends me through)
Ben: "Dhonobad - khuda hafez."
B'desh INS: "Khuda hafez." (goes back to staring at foreign woman in long line over there)


peace,
~Ben~, smart-...