If this is your first visit, be sure to check out the FAQ by clicking the link above. You may have to register before you can post: click the register link above to proceed. To start viewing messages, select the forum that you want to visit from the selection below. |
|
|
Thread Tools | Display Modes |
#22
|
|||
|
|||
Why me?
"Ian" wrote in message m... For a country famed for its service culture, a little of that service would be nice to see after a 10 hour flight. The "service culture" only applies to companies that want to make a profit from service. Since the government delivers services with no profit mission, their lousy and surly service is a given. Ken Ishiguro |
#23
|
|||
|
|||
Why me?
On Wed, 1 Oct 2003 11:44:08 -0700, "Peter L"
wrote: Supposedly a random process, unless you fit some kind of profile (average British family of five, I think, is one.) Just joking. My last trip I breezed through security in only minutes but they had a family of Aussies aside and were going over them with a fine toothed comb. It was a mother and 3 children and TSA spent about 5 minutes running bomb detectors and metal detectors over her and the three cute little, toe headed, Aussie children. Spent another 10 minutes digging through there carry on luggage. The mother took it all with a smile and a friendly attitude. I'm not sure what they expected to find but there will be no cute little children or smiling young mothers hijacking that plane, I am sure of that. I have often said that immigration officers the world over go to the same charm school. And where do you get the idea that the US is famed for its service culture? Even in Thailand, famed for its service culture, the immigration officers have the same expression as their counterparts in China and Russia. I noticed that myself. What an evil scowl those women who stamp passports in Bangkok have. I don't even know where they find someone so unfriendly looking in Thailand. The must turn away many friendly happy looking applicants before they find someone who looks mean enough to be a Thai customs agent. US customs agents are easily explained as being typical government employees. |
#24
|
|||
|
|||
Why me?
Not the Karl Orff wrote in message ...
In article , (Ian) wrote: Not the Karl Orff wrote in message ... In article , (Ian) wrote: Were you on a oneway ticket, changed flights close to departure date, or paid cash? None of these. The LAX and SFO tickets had been bought several months prior. Only the MCO - MIA flight was 'booked' on the day because we had been bumped off the London to MIA flight and been re-routed thorugh MCO. I wonder if this was it. Were you booked onto an another airline? Yes. It was Virgin Atlantic from LGW to MCO then Continental from MCO to MIA. |
#25
|
|||
|
|||
Why me?
My husband and I used to have the same problem: spent a year (during
which we must have travelled to the US about 6 or 7 times!) having secondary immigration screening (which could take between 30 minutes and 2 hours - mostly longer rather than shorter!). What had happened to us was that when we went skiing in February 2002, the immigration officer at Denver had stamped our passports with "August 2002" and not "February 2002". SInce "August 2002" hadn't happened yet, their system assumed it should be "August 2001". This was a problem since our exit for that visa wiaver was "March 2002" (which meant we MUST have spent over 6 months in the US!!!). Despite us going into the US and leaving it around Christmas 2001/New Year 2002... It was a mess and VERY DIFFICULT to explain to each different set of immigration officers every time we entered the US... :-( Basically, if US immigration pick up anything that isn't quite right about you (in our case, they thought we had been in the US over 6 months on a visitor's visa waiver), then they put an "alert" on your passport. So everytime you enter the US, and they scan your passport, they see this alert and send you into a little room for further investigation. Even if they find out that you are perfectly innocent and that the "alert" is unfounded, it takes them MONTHS - and about 5 attempts - to get it removed (it took them over 6 months to get my husband's removed, a little less for mine - don't know why they didn't remove both of ours at the same time...)... So, I think that you also have some sort of "alert" on you by US immigration - so every time your passport gets scanned, they interrogate you again. Have you tried saying to the immigration officers that you have been pulled over for the past x number of times and asking why this is happening? I know that most (but not all) immigration offciers can be pretty unhelpful and unsympathetic (especially after spending two hours in a closing down temrinal of LAX airport last Boxing Day because an Immigration officer's shift was ending, so he couldn't be bothered to process us... was at the point of taking my holidays in other countries...!) #Honey |
#26
|
|||
|
|||
Why me?
|
#27
|
|||
|
|||
Why me?
It may be the Airports in the USA you are going through.Some Airports have more
prblems than others so security is tighter Like if you were flying British Airways to/from Philadelphia Pa chances are you wont get searched. high risk airports would be San Francisco Los Angeles Miami Chicago Boston Dallas |
#28
|
|||
|
|||
Why me?
I've ignored all the replies because I didn't feel like reading them
The airline is choosing you for the screening, it depends on how you purchase your ticket. As far as your comment about "is it obligatory in the US that all sour-faced people can only get jobs at airports?." We don't want to be there as much as you, i mean 8 and a half hour days, 6 day work weeks, crying babies, people that complain no matter what, and the rest of the hazards that go along with it... bottom line is that it isn't a fun place to be. |
Thread Tools | |
Display Modes | |
|
|