It,s Canada for me too, first time I visited I was heading to PDX, my NW flight via DTW was cancelled and I got rerouted via YVR, you have to clear Canadian Immigration first and then go back through the US immigration, first question was why do you want to visit Canada? I told them I didn't and things went down hill from there.

I have visited several times since, always for business and always for the same type of business, every time has been diferrent, despite my companys office in Montreal providing reams of paperwork, I have been sent to the immigration office, and 1 had to pay for a work permit, 2 been given a free permit 3 told I didn't need to have a permit and also waved straight through from the desk in arrivals, very confusing. :confused:

The only objection I have to Canadian customs and immigration is that, sometimes, the lines can be very, very long. I don't mind answering the questions -- they're pro forma.

I've had a couple of run-ins with U.S. Immigration (I know, they're all DHS now, but the customs folks I always find to be polite, professional and helpful). Most of the time they're merely indifferent, but my wife and I ran into an exceptionally rude and racist Immigration officer this year, and I've had trouble getting back in to the U.S. from Canada when a U.S. officer insisted I tell him the name of the client that I was visiting (which I can't do -- the identity of a client is subject to attorney/client privilege). I also had an epic battle with then-INS and a bunch of LAX immigration officers when my wife-then-fiancee first came here more than a dozen years ago -- I had to play the "lawyer card," ("Okay, officer Martinet O'Nasty, here's my business card -- remember the name because I'm off to federal court now to get an order that will be directed to you personally!"). It took more than an hour of arguing and legal threats before they'd let her into the country.

Every other country I've visited has been fine -- at least professional and efficient and, usually, friendly and welcoming.

Off the top of my head, only USA. Unfortunately unavoidable in some cases :(

This is why point-to-point flights like Aeromexico's MEX-TIJ-NRT flight and the announced SYD-YVR and AKL-YVR flights by Air Canada and Air New Zealand, respectively, face such a bright future...

i have never been to europe so won't know about european countries.
Australia/New Zealand are very much in the list. It doesn't help that some of the officers take things personally. there is even a tv programme called "border security" which some locals like. Some officers can be prejudice like the us counterparts.

For USA, i think it depends on which port of entry you go under. LAX/ORD/NYC/washington dc tends to be somewhat "unwelcome sometimes." Those of us under the visa waiver programme know that initially, when everyone had to be photographed and thumbprinted, visa waiver applicants were exempted, some of the immigration people didnt care and did it to everyone which wasn't nice.

I've been to the US and various ME countries and there's never been a problem with ME immigration.

US however - well I landed at LA.

In the US (as a US citizen), recently I've had fairly good experiences at ATL, CLT, EWR, and to some degree JFK. MCO not so much...

I can say, however, I've seen quite a bit of improvement over the past few months. Maybe it is starting to sink in that we need tourist dollars more than we need to alienate everyone.

Yup and LHR-AKL via HKG (instead of LAX).

As a Canadian, I have to say that Canada is by far the worse. It was even bad when I wasn't a Canadian. Just plain rude all the time.

Conversely, and contrary to what a lot of others have experienced, the US has been the best for me. I've never had anything but positive experiences going in and out of the US.

In my experience:

- most questions, longest interview: New Zealand
- officers that are not particularly friendly: USA
- paranoid officers afraid that I am going to work in the country: Canada
- no questions asked: rest of the world

But so far, nothing seriously bad yet. But I am always surprised they don't train the officers to say "have a nice stay" after they have decided you are a genuine tourist. It would make such a big difference.

Longest wait ever: almost four hours in SCL last December. 45 minutes of that was waiting for a new entry stamp (my passport expired a month earlier, cost me time and $100). Four international flights landed within a short timespan and the lines were just jammed up.

Rudest: always at the Blaine, WA crossing re-entering the US from Canada. Never a problem going in. Coming back, even with a NEXUS pass, I always get stopped and grilled. I was coming back very early one morning from a climbing weekend. I'd changed a flat right before I left home; I put the flat tire in the pickup bed and used my bike chain/lock to secure it. (Tire was flat but someone might take it for the rim). It was early, but still daylight and the tire was in plain view in the pickup bed right behind me. The customs agent used a flashlight and scrutinized it carefully while asking me where I'd stayed (uh, camping...). Someone at work later told me he was probably searching for contraband hidden in the tire...

Not sure when it changed, but there was a time when the last thing a US customs agent said to me (at airport customs) was 'Welcome home'. I never hear that any more, although I've never been hassled either.

I've gotten this a few times at ORD, and its always nice to hear. I've also never had a problem (other than long lines sometimes) at Blaine. As for Canada...I'd say on balance for 25 years' experience of about a half dozen or so crossings a year....the Canadians tend to be a bit more civil than their U.S. counterparts. I'll leave it at that. Other than to say I've had mostly good experiences going in each direction.

Actually, I think there's a good degree of professionalism on both sides of the U.S.-Canada border. But neither is as welcoming as what I've typically found to be the case in Europe.

I got the 'welcome home' at ORD last weekend. In general, the ORD experience, both passport and customs, was much more pleasant and much more efficient than that at DFW. I don't have any explanation. We're supposed to be friendly down here.

I've never encountered anything less than professional customs folks coming back to the US, but it's still great to hear those two little words: "welcome home".

There have been a few times when, as the agent cleared me and looked towards the next person in line, I have said "Don't I get a 'welcome home'"?
That never fails to get a big smile and a 'welcome home'. ^