7 ms·

> I'm much, much more at risk of getting mugged in Chicago [...] than getting held up by Customs. That's not true if you work on something like the Tor Project

by num3ric 13y ago

> I'm much, much more at risk of getting mugged in Chicago [...] than getting held up by Customs. That's not true if you work on something like the Tor Project.

tjk 13y ago
I'm an European and I lost all hope of ever visiting USA without losing the last bits of my privacy and dignity. Back when TSA screening entered into force I pretty much knew it's over, but actually my somewhat (over?) enthusiastic contribution to the Tor project turned out to be, and I'm not afraid to use that word, the mistake that most probably hit the final nail in the coffin. If even random companies mention my Tor project involvement in their recruitment emails than what is the chance the neurotic and overly paranoid American security agencies will let it slide?
- zobzu 13y ago
  It's pretty rare that this stuff happens to be honest. I enter the USA very often and TSA agents are very nice more often that not. I should note that i travel with weird electronic gear that they've generally never seen (a lot of it is hand made..) yet, never had any issue. They do scan and ask to see what it is, I always comply with zero question of course.
  - acqq 13y ago
    Are you involved in Tor development or something similar? Is your response relevant then?
- jmspring 13y ago
  Just to be nit-picky -- TSA != DHS/Immigration.
  - United857 13y ago
    To be more nit-picky, both TSA and immigration (CBP) are separate agencies under the DHS organization.
- bane 13y ago
  Don't worry. I'm an American and by far the three worst experiences I've ever had with being searched happened in Europe (going into Russia, going into France and through Germany to Italy). At worst the TSA has been annoying, but I've never had to say, dump the contents of all of my carry on onto the floor and talk the person through what each item was and why I needed it (France), or get questioned why I had brought a snack in my carry on (Germany), or detained while my instruments were looked through with mirrors for drugs (Russia).
  - runejuhl 13y ago
    I'm European, and I've never been hassled during my travels. The worst I've experienced was having to pull 10m of ethernet cable out of my carry-on in Stavanger Airport, Norway, but that's it -- and I can easily see how a rolled-up cable might've hindered the airport security from looking through my bag. Off the top of my head I've been through England, Denmark, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Switzerland, Austria, Sweden, Norway, Hungary, Spain, Egypt, India, Nepal, Germany, Holland, Italy, Portugal and Peru, and I've never had any trouble. Maybe you've just been targeted because you're American, just like Brazil is fingerprinting US Americans[1] to pay back the amount of trouble foreigners often find themselves in when visiting USA? [1]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/US-VISIT#Similar_systems_in_other_countries http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/US-VISIT#Similar_systems_in_oth...
    - tripzilch 13y ago
      > I can easily see how a rolled-up cable might've hindered the airport security from looking through my bag. If it's coiled up neatly, such a thing can even set off anti-theft sensor gates in stores, because .. it's a coil of conducting wire :)
    - outworlder 13y ago
      > Maybe you've just been targeted because you're American, just like Brazil is fingerprinting US Americans[1] to pay back the amount of trouble foreigners often find themselves in when visiting USA? It is not exactly 'payback'. This is one of the few policies which I agree with: it's just reciprocating. If the US requires fingerprinting of Brazilian citizens, then Brazil requires fingerprinting of US citizens. If European countries require that you have with you X amount of cash for every day you are going to spend there, then Brazil will require the same. When spain decided to turn back lots of Brazilians a few years ago, for silly reasons, Brazil started doing exactly the same thing. Apparently, it didn't last long. By the way, me and my brother (plus our mom) were visiting the US together. Since we have very similar names, the lady switched our fingerprints. She did notice the mistake and corrected... my brother's. So my visa application had the wrong fingerprints. Of course, there was a mismatch when I was scanned at US immigration. Other than losing a couple of hours waiting my turn in a room (thankfully, full of other people) and losing a connection, I didn't run into many issues. The officer (after staring at me for like 5 minutes, which was weird), turned the monitor around and asked who that individual was. It was displaying a photo of my brother, and I told him so. Then he asked where he was, and I pointed to my brother, standing a few meters from where we were. So the officer welcomed me to the US and let me go (and told me I'd 'always' have the same problem). That went surprisingly well, and everyone was very, very polite. That was at Atlanta. But even if that particular experience was fine, I am still wary of visiting the US again without my brother. I have no idea what's going to happen then and how much explanation/proof will be required then, due to no mistake on my part.
baddox 13y ago
I doubt it's true for any demographic.
aragot 13y ago
I know one other offense which is both breaking an american company contract, breaking american law, and making you lose any argument about good faith. Does that make someone at risk? It's using a false name of facebook.

by num3ric 13y ago

> I'm much, much more at risk of getting mugged in Chicago [...] than getting held up by Customs. That's not true if you work on something like the Tor Project.

tjk 13y ago

I'm an European and I lost all hope of ever visiting USA without losing the last bits of my privacy and dignity. Back when TSA screening entered into force I pretty much knew it's over, but actually my somewhat (over?) enthusiastic contribution to the Tor project turned out to be, and I'm not afraid to use that word, the mistake that most probably hit the final nail in the coffin. If even random companies mention my Tor project involvement in their recruitment emails than what is the chance the neurotic and overly paranoid American security agencies will let it slide?

zobzu 13y ago
It's pretty rare that this stuff happens to be honest. I enter the USA very often and TSA agents are very nice more often that not. I should note that i travel with weird electronic gear that they've generally never seen (a lot of it is hand made..) yet, never had any issue. They do scan and ask to see what it is, I always comply with zero question of course.
- acqq 13y ago
  Are you involved in Tor development or something similar? Is your response relevant then?
jmspring 13y ago
Just to be nit-picky -- TSA != DHS/Immigration.
- United857 13y ago
  To be more nit-picky, both TSA and immigration (CBP) are separate agencies under the DHS organization.
bane 13y ago
Don't worry. I'm an American and by far the three worst experiences I've ever had with being searched happened in Europe (going into Russia, going into France and through Germany to Italy). At worst the TSA has been annoying, but I've never had to say, dump the contents of all of my carry on onto the floor and talk the person through what each item was and why I needed it (France), or get questioned why I had brought a snack in my carry on (Germany), or detained while my instruments were looked through with mirrors for drugs (Russia).
- runejuhl 13y ago
  I'm European, and I've never been hassled during my travels. The worst I've experienced was having to pull 10m of ethernet cable out of my carry-on in Stavanger Airport, Norway, but that's it -- and I can easily see how a rolled-up cable might've hindered the airport security from looking through my bag. Off the top of my head I've been through England, Denmark, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Switzerland, Austria, Sweden, Norway, Hungary, Spain, Egypt, India, Nepal, Germany, Holland, Italy, Portugal and Peru, and I've never had any trouble. Maybe you've just been targeted because you're American, just like Brazil is fingerprinting US Americans[1] to pay back the amount of trouble foreigners often find themselves in when visiting USA? [1]: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/US-VISIT#Similar_systems_in_other_countries http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/US-VISIT#Similar_systems_in_oth...
  - tripzilch 13y ago
    > I can easily see how a rolled-up cable might've hindered the airport security from looking through my bag. If it's coiled up neatly, such a thing can even set off anti-theft sensor gates in stores, because .. it's a coil of conducting wire :)
  - outworlder 13y ago
    > Maybe you've just been targeted because you're American, just like Brazil is fingerprinting US Americans[1] to pay back the amount of trouble foreigners often find themselves in when visiting USA? It is not exactly 'payback'. This is one of the few policies which I agree with: it's just reciprocating. If the US requires fingerprinting of Brazilian citizens, then Brazil requires fingerprinting of US citizens. If European countries require that you have with you X amount of cash for every day you are going to spend there, then Brazil will require the same. When spain decided to turn back lots of Brazilians a few years ago, for silly reasons, Brazil started doing exactly the same thing. Apparently, it didn't last long. By the way, me and my brother (plus our mom) were visiting the US together. Since we have very similar names, the lady switched our fingerprints. She did notice the mistake and corrected... my brother's. So my visa application had the wrong fingerprints. Of course, there was a mismatch when I was scanned at US immigration. Other than losing a couple of hours waiting my turn in a room (thankfully, full of other people) and losing a connection, I didn't run into many issues. The officer (after staring at me for like 5 minutes, which was weird), turned the monitor around and asked who that individual was. It was displaying a photo of my brother, and I told him so. Then he asked where he was, and I pointed to my brother, standing a few meters from where we were. So the officer welcomed me to the US and let me go (and told me I'd 'always' have the same problem). That went surprisingly well, and everyone was very, very polite. That was at Atlanta. But even if that particular experience was fine, I am still wary of visiting the US again without my brother. I have no idea what's going to happen then and how much explanation/proof will be required then, due to no mistake on my part.

baddox 13y ago

I doubt it's true for any demographic.

aragot 13y ago

I know one other offense which is both breaking an american company contract, breaking american law, and making you lose any argument about good faith. Does that make someone at risk? It's using a false name of facebook.