If you dislike the attitiude of U.S. immigration officials...

[Mrs Stonfiesta]

we entered the us on 28/01/07 - after the flight (nervous flyier) my hands must have been a little sweaty and my finger print didnt read. As me and partner arent married we had to go through separately and the gaurd was annoyed at me that my finger print hadnt red so he told me i would be taken to another room. i got very scared and aked why and he told me to ask no questions!!!! needless to say i panicked and finger print got even more sticky!!! i was lead off into a separate room without letting roy know where i was being taken (he had gone first and they ushered him through to the other side of the glass). very scarey experience... the funny thing was i had completed roys form rongly (wrong dob) and they didnt pick up on that!!!

 

[Howard412]

If this was my countires Immigration/passport control I would hope they would do the same to keep the country secure and free as far as possible from illegal immigration.

While I completely agree with you, I meant it was sad to see in a "we're all humans - why can't we just all get along" fashion

 

[Obi Wan Kenobi]

While I completely agree with you, I meant it was sad to see in a "we're all humans - why can't we just all get along" fashion

 

[WDWfan uk]

We have frequently flown to Orlando and Miami and also to JFK, and not had a problem with the immigration officials. I do not see much difference between immigration officers from US to any other country we've visited.

Whilst they may not win the prize for personality of the year, they are concentrating on what they are doing, and I appreciate that they have to be "disassociated" from us to remain objective.

My DH is not of British origin and my sons, even as small boys, always had their backpacks checked for explosive material in Orlando way before 9/11 but we accepted this was par for the course.

 

[terrynewpack]

We have had the misfortune to meet a number of these jobsworths who have for no reason given us grief at immigration. Those who haven't yet had the pleasure should not assume that they don't exist. I know a number of people who no longer visit the States for this very reason and we almost joined them.

Rest assured if there was no problem they wouldn't keep trying to train them to be pleasant and polite and this is not the first time they have instituted such a campaign.

Like someone said earlier a few years ago it was always 'welcome to the USA' or 'Welcome back' and they appeared to mean it. Happily we were there a couple of weeks ago and received the pleasant treatment. It makes such a big difference.

Terry

 

[Stuartpaul]

I've never met a more sour faced, miserable looking bunch of people, - and that's the UK immigration staff 'welcoming' back an English national! You ever tried initiating a conversation with one of them?!

By contrast US immigration are much more friendly and approachable. They have a difficult job to do and generally do it quite well.

 

[juttawdw]

How does it work now going through US immigration? i am reading about fingerprints?
Last we have been to the US, we only showed our passport and form you need to fill in in the airplane and could walk through, what is changed?

 

[Groovee]

How does it work now going through US immigration? i am reading about fingerprints?
Last we have been to the US, we only showed our passport and form you need to fill in in the airplane and could walk through, what is changed?

When I went in September to NY I had a picture of my Iris taken and my finger print was xrays sort of.

I do laugh at my dad's story. He was told to stand in a particular position to take the picture of his iris and then got in and he toddled through laughing. My mum couldn't figure out what he was saying and once they met my cousin it transpired they took a photo of his right eye...... He had his eye removed about 25 years ago due to an injury so it's a false eye. So obviously the machine didn't pick that up.

 

[natalielongstaff]

I do laugh at my dad's story. He was told to stand in a particular position to take the picture of his iris and then got in and he toddled through laughing. My mum couldn't figure out what he was saying and once they met my cousin it transpired they took a photo of his right eye...... He had his eye removed about 25 years ago due to an injury so it's a false eye. So obviously the machine didn't pick that up.

so funny

 

[carolfoy]

too funny

I had to make three flights to the US within one month once and got a bit bored of immigration, on the last flight the immigration officer asked what the purpose of my visit was etc etc and then asked 'And Are you travelling alone?' I said 'No, there were about 300 other people on the flight as well!' (I did get away with it - it helps being blonde sometimes )

I have always found them friendlier at Sanford rather than at Mc Coy, it always feels more like a 'holiday' airport to me

 

[wickesy]

too funny

I had to make three flights to the US within one month once and got a bit bored of immigration, on the last flight the immigration officer asked what the purpose of my visit was etc etc and then asked 'And Are you travelling alone?' I said 'No, there were about 300 other people on the flight as well!' (I did get away with it - it helps being blonde sometimes )

I have always found them friendlier at Sanford rather than at Mc Coy, it always feels more like a 'holiday' airport to me

You were lucky you weren't frogmarched back onto the plane!

 

[wicket2005]

Not had any problems with them, till last year and he scared the living daylights out of me. I was convinced I was not going to be let into the country. I think it just depends on who you get. It must be one boring job doing that all day.

I saw a breakdown of the airport tax to fly to America a while back and I think you actually pay immigration £2 or something per person. You think they would be happy with all that extra money coming in.

 

[UKDEB]

I recongnise so many of them these days, that I feel as though I ought to be able to say, "Oh, hi!" and they'll recognise me . They do have a mundane (can you begin to imagine having to deal with flight loads of foreign nationals each day?) and serious job to do. We're always friendly, but respectful, and it seems to work for us. That's to say, we smile and greet them with a "good afternoon", but, other than that, only speak when we're spoken to. We've always found them to be friendly and respectful in return. Our surname (Churchill) porbably doesn't hurt - it always seems to elicit some kind of comment. We're always quickly on our way with a smile and "enjoy your stay".

Am I the only person who finds it a bit patronising that Disney should take it upon itself to tell another organisation how to conduct itself?

 

[#1MMFan]

I have had both good and bad immigration officers, I guess like most people. The best was probably in LAX where the guy was hispanic and was a really funny young guy who made jokes about taking our pictures for the movies and fingerprinting us. He was a good laugh. There have been other nice ones who have commented on how much we must love the US (given the stamps in our passports!). The worst was in Philadelphia. We had been out to the US in May 2004 for my uncle's sudden death and funeral. I had planned a trip to Canada in June 2004 - and when this fell through we changed our ressies to revisit with our "long-lost" cousins in Maryland again (i.e. just one month after the funeral). We got a young dour girl who beckoned us then proceeded to sook on her large soda cup for what seemed like 5 minutes before even looking our direction. When she saw we'd been in the US the previous month she (fair enough) asked us the reason for our stay etc. We told her we'd been at my mother's brother's funeral last month and we were visiting the family again. She had no emotion about her, no "sorry to hear that", no common courtesy whatsoever. I actually thought she might deny our entry for a short time. Really she needed a personality transplant and a good dose of common decency.

 

[terrynewpack]

When I went in September to NY I had a picture of my Iris taken

There is no picture of your iris. Its just a facial picture thats all so it doesn't really matter about the eyes.

Terry

 

[wayneg]

There is no picture of your iris. Its just a facial picture thats all so it doesn't really matter about the eyes.

Terry

Please quote your scource of info. If you google and read about US Immigration its all relating to Iris scans not facial photos.
Would be interested to know which it is.
Thanks

 

[ford family]

Please quote your scource of info. If you google and read about US Immigration its all relating to Iris scans not facial photos.
Would be interested to know which it is.
Thanks

The photographs are taken from a couple of feet away and you are not required to remove your glasses so I would think they are not iris scans, wouldn't you?

ford family

 

[wickesy]

The photographs are taken from a couple of feet away and you are not required to remove your glasses so I would think they are not iris scans, wouldn't you?

ford family

This is from the FAQ for the UK IRIS system:

13. Can you use the system if you wear glasses or contact lenses?
Yes. You will be asked to remove your glasses on enrolment but you can continue to wear contact lenses. On arrival, when passing through the IRIS automated channel, glasses and contact lenses can continue to be worn, except coloured or patterned contact lenses, as these will distort a clear iris image photograph and you will not be granted access through the barrier.

Not sure why you can't wear glasses when enrolling but it seems an iris photograph can be taken while wearing glasses.

 

[wayneg]

The photographs are taken from a couple of feet away and you are not required to remove your glasses so I would think they are not iris scans, wouldn't you?

ford family

The last twice we have been asked to remove our glasses but as other poster has stated Iris recognition works through clear glass. Maybe its because ours are tinted, sometimes they are clear enough other times not. I am really curious now, guess what my discussion with immigration officer will be in 5 weeks.

 

[paulh]

We've always found them to be friendly and respectful in return. Our surname (Churchill) porbably doesn't hurt - it always seems to elicit some kind of comment. We're always quickly on our way with a smile and "enjoy your stay".

?

Have never sean the dog on tv over there selling car insurance O yess
Paulh