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My wife is French and after arriving at Logan, Airport from Paris after an overnight flight, we both waited in the "Non-US Citizen" line. We waited over two ho
by NatW 13y ago
My wife is French and after arriving at Logan, Airport from Paris after an overnight flight, we both waited in the "Non-US Citizen" line. We waited over two hours for our turn along with everyone else, just to get a stamp. The agent then thought my wife's picture wasn't perfect so they detained us to verify her identity. We were were subjected to stupid and unnecessary abusive questioning until they realized they were obviously wrong and let us go. So 3+ hours of nonsense and they let us go.
I realize that most people don't have to go through detention, but how can adding ~2 hours unnecessarily after (typically long and difficult) international travel be a good idea? It's a self-defeating waste. Investment in speeding up the process would no-doubt be returned to the economy and in better-will.
- jessriedel 13y agoI dunno. I spent 2 1/2 hours in a line at Heathrow for "Non-EU" citizens because only one agent had been assigned to us for the entire 747. The flight got in just before 10, so I missed the last train ride into London. Had to spend the night in the airport because I couldn't afford the 60 pound taxi ride in. I don't think the US has the monopoly on crappy government services.
- brianbreslin 13y agoHeathrow is run by a private company, not uk govt. BAA is privatized I believe.
- antr 13y agoUK Borders is managed by the Government, BAA then pays the UK Border Agency for staff costs, etc.
- simonsquiff 13y agoYes, but there was general outrage at the terrible queues at Heathrow - e.g. see http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-18672286 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-18672286 it was raised in Parliament even, everyone said it was unacceptable and it was then fixed. Is the poor service in the US seen as a problem that's being sorted? Or just accepted?
- jessriedel 13y ago> Is the poor service in the US seen as a problem that's being sorted? Or just accepted? I think differences in acceptance vs. verbalized outrage are less important than whether things actually get fixed. (I'll definitely admit, though, that I'm irked by the acceptance I've seen among fellow Americans.) Do you know whether wait times actually went down substantially, or just that "something was done"?
- accountoftheday 13y agoA key difference: the problems at LHR with the UK Border Agency stem from public employees effectively holding travelers hostage to extort higher pay whereas the the terrible way DHS treats foreigners is so by design.
- jrockway 13y agoNo, the DHS treats citizens like that too. My understanding is that it's purely a psychological technique to extract more truthful stories. People have plenty of time on the plane to practice their cock and bull stories, but when some key detail changes during their interview, they aren't so good at thinking on their feet and they end up being caught in a lie. "This picture doesn't look like you" is the oldest trick in the book. If the customs agent really thought the picture didn't look like you, he wouldn't have told you. You would have been led away without question. What he really wants to do is get you on the defensive where you're less likely to remember your pre-rehearsed story. (If you ever want to watch Customs in action for four hours, take the train between the US and Canada.)
- flyinRyan 13y agoWell I was in the "US Citizen" line for about an hour before my turn came. At which point I had to stand there for about 20-30 minutes with my wife and child while the agent types on his computer. Finally, he takes us into the "abuse room" because apparently I have a "common name". I had to sit in this room for about 2 hours, listening to people take all kinds of horrible abuse. At the end they called me up and said "common name".... that was it. I have not been back to my country of birth since that trip.