I hate to gripe just as the next guy, but seriously… going to the U.S. is just becoming more and more of a pain in the ass as time goes on. I’m going to S.F. to attend WWDC 2011, which I’m looking forward to. Except it’s the U.S. I’m going to. The land of laying down the hate on foreign visitors.
Last year when I went to the U.S., I had the unexpected fortune of encountering a customs officer who actually treated me like a living object. I even told her so.
“This is my first time being treated like a person, you know. Going through these customs control thingies.”, says I.
“Oh… I’m sorry?”, says she, with a guilty grin.
Most of my trips to the states, I’ve over-thought this situation quite a bit. I’ve reasoned erroneously that these guys probably have a lot of tired and annoyed people going through, so I should at least make an effort and smile. That smile has put me inside rooms with mexicans and other dirty peoples (note the sarcasm, by the way) for 3-4 hours at a time. That smile, to me a way to say, “I know you’re just doing your job, but I don’t hate on you for it,” was to them a sign of suspicion.
So a few years ago I had enough. I knew I was going to be treated like excrement glaced with vomit, so I gave them exact, precise honesty. Frowning, grunting out replies, staring at them fully expecting the treatment I was surely going to be having, and I had it every time but that one time last year. And amusingly, I’ve not been questioned extensively or brought to any rooms with mexicans since.
Then came ESTA. Going to a country which is a part of the Schenger agreement (I think that’s the one) lets you, without a visa, enter the country for up to 90 days. Except someone in the states decided this was awfully unsafe, so they put up ESTA, a web site with seemingly no meaning whatsoever* , where you are asked questions you will be asked again, later.
(* except to deny you entry BEFORE you fly all the way over there, which I guess is a good thing — I’ve heard of people being sent all the way back home)
Regardless, what are these questions then, you might ask? Anyone who’s gone to the states has no doubt (whilst giggling quietly to themselves) answered these absolutely ridiculous questions.
I mean… good thing I said No to all of those, right! Phew. Just look at (B), for example. If I was — and to any U.S. officials swinging by to see why the ESTA content are being published on my blog, I might assert that I am not — planning on “engaging in criminal or immoral activities”, I’m sure I’d be tempted for at least a second to answer Yes, honest as I am.
The big dump of excrement in my eye though is that this ridiculous form underwent a change as of March this year.
It now charges you $14 per application.
So not only am I forced to waste my time on the above bullshit, but I’m charged to do so.
Yes, quite. Just how much more ridiculous can it get!
This and all the other bullshit hoops they make people jump through (or walk slowly, or simply stand still, in the case of the p0rnscanner) just to get into their country, is precisely the reason why I’ve refused to visit the U.S. for about four or five years now, and will continue to refuse to give them my tourist money. Why should I be treated like scum and a criminal, just to be let into their country. I have plenty of other places I’d rather visit anyway.
I can’t believe that you were put in a room for hours just for smiling. That is just too much man, too much!
Good luck! Fill us in on your encounter once you’re “in”…