You've clearly never entered the EU as a US citizen where the whole process looks like that: 1) Turn up at the airport 2) Hand over your passport 3) Wait a few

You've clearly never entered the EU as a US citizen where the whole process looks like that: 1) Turn up at the airport 2) Hand over your passport 3) Wait a few seconds 4) Receive back your passport. If you are unlucky you get to have a one-minute conversation with the border official.