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Oh, awesome. I'm planning to go visit my business partner in Texas in October, now I'm having serious doubts about the whole trip. (I am dual nationality, Hung
by beezischillin 10y ago
Oh, awesome.
I'm planning to go visit my business partner in Texas in October, now I'm having serious doubts about the whole trip. (I am dual nationality, Hungarian and Romanian and I have a Hungarian passport which, theoretically, allows me to enter under the Visa Waiver program). By the way, I always travel with my Hungarian passport, because people at the border DO treat you differently. If you're on Romanian papers, you face way more harassment, more waiting and in general it's a lot more of a struggle.
I find it incredibly obnoxious that the only who are affected by this entire BS are the people who, I'm quite sure, are not planning to do acts of terrorism, in fact, has anyone noticed that the ones who do are the only ones this sht never managed to stop?
Btw, travelling within the EU has gotten a bit more annoying, too. When I left the UK at the beginning of April, last year, I pretty much got through without any issues, they haven't even bothered to look at my passport. I've not been searched, harassed, stolen from by border officials, etc., however in November, I've harassed, scanned, made to take my shoes off (your poison, brother), scanned to sht, and to top it off, the agent who was scanning my backpack stole out of it (2 PS4 video games, worth 20 quid, really?).
I'm planning trips to US, Germany, Austria, Ukraine and France this year, however based on experience from last year and now this, I'm pretty much questioning if I should by now.
I would've wanted to bring some of my photography equipment with me on these trips, so how risky would you think it would be to travel (for example to the US), if I had a mirrorless camera on me (Sony A6000), two batteries, 5 lenses, a tripod, a 13" laptop and two phones (always prefer to have a backup while traveling abroad)?
Background info: I have no convictions, I don't do drugs, I haven't been arrested, I don't attend security conferences and in fact, I'm generally a nobody.
- snuze 10y agoYou should have nothing to worry about. Just follow directions and be cooperative. The people at the border get off on authority. Don't give them a reason to harass you.
- beezischillin 10y agoI try to be the nice to anyone in similar situations and not to obstruct stuff because we all have better things to do than to argue over stupid stuff at the border. Thanks for the information, you kinda put me at ease!
- ild 10y agoIf you are too nice and polite, you show a weakness. Dealing with someone who has unlimited power in a limited area is difficult business; I usually act as a polite but a dangerous asshole.
- Broken_Hippo 10y agoI travel with art supplies and my spouse with a camera. For context, I*m American and he's Norwegian. Our main problems at crossing are due to our looks (alternative types) and packing really light (few clothes). I did get some pastels swabbed for bombs, but mostly because it was a weird option. The Americans are generally more ... rough and rude and things ... than officials I've met in Amsterdam or here in Norway. But nevertheless, be polite and cooporative and you shouldn't have many issues. Lots of folks travel with cameras, so it works out.
- beezischillin 10y agoThank you so much for sharing your experiences, it's been really helpful!