

Ever get hassle with customs? Denied. Detained. Deported. - trickaduu
http://trickaduu.com/2012/12/08/londumb-part-i/

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tlear
No matter what you are planning to do.. "Tourism, I am here to see the country
(see friends, relatives etc)" I almost made that mistake before but remembered
to shut up just in time.

~~~
snogglethorpe
Lying, even when the lie is "conventional" can cause problems as well; many
immigration agents are very good at sniffing out little inconsistencies.

I once spent about three hours arguing with immigration officials in "the back
room" after a friend decided that "tourist" was a better answer than the real
reason (going to a wedding, staying with my family)—but that didn't quite
match up with other details ("where are you staying?" "how long are you here?"
...). [Note this was also prior to 9/11, and they probably err on the side of
"grill" more often these days.]

The guy that did most of the grilling in that case (and who seemed pretty
sharp) ended with this advice: "next time just tell the truth... it's a lot
easier for everybody."

I think that's pretty much true.

~~~
trickaduu
Hard to say really, didn't work in this case. Another friend of mine has been
told before by passport control to just say "tourist" when she gave an answer
that wasn't "I'm here on holiday" whereas customs then grilled her minutes
later on why she said "tourist" when she was there for a wedding.

~~~
snogglethorpe
The thing is, though, once you're in the back room, they can fairly quickly
determine if you were lying, and if you _did_ lie, that itself will be held
against you. Unless you have a very good explanation for why you lied—and do a
lot of groveling—just the lie can be enough to deny entrance (even if the
truth is innocuous).

Explaining a non-lie can be annoying as well, but not having lied is a much
better position to start from.

~~~
trickaduu
During the second interview in the back room it was fully explained why my
friend was there. The woman in charge then told her "It doesn't really matter
what you tell me now anyway, I'm going to base it off what you said the first
time around." Even after I got to explain the thing again on the phone to the
woman later she said if that's the case she made a mistake but there was
nothing she could do about it at that point as she "just stamped the paperwork
so no reversing it now."

------
dantheta
As a UK resident, I feel a pang of embarrassment and sadness and anger as I
see how non-residents are treated when going through immigration control.
Heathrow immigration is the worst. It's depressing, oppressive, cold and ugly.
These are probably deliberate choices.

On several occasions, I've seen customs and immigration officials behave
aggressively, usually fidgeting with night-sticks (truncheons) in a way that
suggests that they are itching to beat someone.

~~~
trickaduu
The immigration officers were acting like they just uncovered a criminal,
power trip took off.

------
etfb
Here's how it works.

There are two kinds of people in the world: people who crave power, and people
who don't. The people who don't aren't the problem.

There are two kinds of power-craving people in the world: people who act on
their craving, and people who don't. The people who don't aren't the problem.

There are two kinds of people acting on their power craving in the world:
people who try to join the military or the police, and people who don't. The
people who don't aren't the problem.

There are two types of power-craving military or police cadets in the world:
the ones who stay there, and the ones who don't. The ones who stay there
quickly get their antisocial tendencies beaten out of them by their
instructors, in the vast majority of cases, so they're not the problem.

There are two kinds of power-craving academy dropouts in the world: the ones
who realise that power trips aren't for them, and the ones who don't. The ones
who realise aren't the problem.

The rest become airport security guards. THEY are the problem.

------
guylhem
OTOH, this summer while crossing the canadian border in Madawaska (ME) to
enter the US, I was "stopped".

For some reason the US immigration officier in Puerto Rico had forgotten to
add a date to my entry stamp. I was stopped for this technicality, and while
getting some paperwork for me in my car the custom officers found I had
prescription drugs.

I was worried, but for no reason at all - they figured out the mistake that
happened in PR, and checked the drugs official prescriptions matched
(antibiotics and some pretty stong painkillers), and then I was cleared to go
_with a smile_.

TL;DR : the US custom officer were friendly and efficient, and fixed a
mistake.

I wouldn't dream of that happening in Europe, or (god help me) the UK.

~~~
pyre
These customs anecdotes are a dime a dozen. I've had a customs official
arguing with another official because he wanted to 'nail me to the wall' for
no particular reason _AND I'M A GOD DAMN US CITIZEN_.

Customs officials are given a wide amount of powers, and little to no
oversight. At this point, I feel like a US customs official could rape an
entire squad of 13 year old cheerleaders live on air over the public airwaves
and receive a tax break for the trouble. </bitter>

~~~
trickaduu
The fact they act on a whim is beyond dodge.

------
kevbam
Very interesting read. My girlfriend is American and I am from Ireland, we
have had a few close calls.Luckily nothing has happened yet!Heathrow is
notoriously bad for deporting people. Just wondering, how did you get bumped
up to premium? I have a long flight coming up and trying to see if there are
any tricks to getting bumped up for free.

~~~
trickaduu
Same boat as you. Never had any close calls before though, went to Ireland
recently via Heathrow and had no problem, gave the exact same info. All seems
to be down to the officer in charge and the mood they are in. Show up early
and dress well for a chance to get bumped up.

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wildjim
I have often wondered whether UK Immigration Officers have a quota to meet...

~~~
benjohnson
I would be curious to know if some ethnic groups are being targeted so that
the statistics show that they're deporting a 'correct' amount of people from
each group.

~~~
trickaduu
This was suggested by one of the people I spoke to afterwards. They can now
say that they don't just stop a certain kind of group or look... "We stopped a
blonde American girl last week."

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alextingle
How could she be so dim? She's a _singer_ and she's going to _sing_ while
she's here. Of course they are going to prick up their ears when they hear
that.

~~~
etfb
That's Stockholm Syndrome talking. You're standing up for evil. Be ashamed,
and change your tune. Really.

~~~
alextingle
Gracious no. I'm the last person to stand up for bully-boy customs officials.
But in this case a _professional_ singer is coming here to _sing_. Sorry, but
I really, really think they are doing their job correctly for once.

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dajo
Wow. Can't believe that immigration officers go to such devious lengths to try
and catch out unsuspecting, innocent people.

~~~
trickaduu
Pretty nuts, entrapment style.

