5 ms·

I just took a trip out of the US down to Brazil and back a few weeks ago, and dear god, coming back into the country at the airport in Atlanta... The tourists

I just took a trip out of the US down to Brazil and back a few weeks ago, and dear god, coming back into the country at the airport in Atlanta... The tourists probably had about 20-30 minutes before getting out of the terminal, which is bad enough, but the US citizens were in a Disney World-esque line that was long enough that I missed a connecting flight scheduled an hour and a half after we arrived from Brazil. That was bad enough that I sure won't be flying out of the country for anything less than at least a couple days worth of stuff. I feel bad for anyone coming through who isn't a citizen or can't speak perfect English. The immigration building had these massive screens overhead showing serene farmland scenes and images from across the country, while two or three thousand passengers are stuck in a line desperately waiting to get home or to their hotels at 1 AM. It's all very dystopian.

tesseract 14y ago
Yeah, in addition to being frustrated by the wait I always feel so incredibly _embarrassed_ when I'm returning to the US, like I should be apologizing to the people in the visitors line for how horrible and frustrating it is. And that video is definitely over the top. Getting in and out of China (to pick one example out of the places I've visited) as a visitor was way less of a hassle than getting back into the US as a citizen. It's ridiculous.
pbz 14y ago
It's usually the other way around; meaning foreigners have to wait way more than citizens. And that's just the tip of the iceberg. If you ever had the pleasure of going through the US Embassy for a trip to the US you'd think people who end up still coming here are masochists.
- mirsadm 14y ago
  In Melbourne, Australia the wait is over 2 hours and they don't have toilets in the building. Once you pass the many security checkpoints you can't leave until you get your visa. Pretty funny watching everybody run out after they get their visa sorted out.
- userulluipeste 14y ago
  >If you ever had the pleasure of going through the US Embassy for a trip to the US you'd think people who end up still coming here are masochists. Exactly! I've heard of that US Embassy mistreatment, I've read opinions on forums and yet I thought to give it a chance - I didn't knew how much credit should I put in opinions which probably were not posted mainly by those who got visas, in a time when USA was loosing popularity. And... dear God! I'm glad I was given the chance to stop before I was too much involved into it. The same day, applied on-line for Australian eVisitor visa. The difference - day and night! "Ailing US tourism industry" - really? :)
rdl 14y ago
Atlanta is a particularly bad airport for entering the US. I far prefer to do SFO, IAD, JFK, etc. By far my favorite is SEA, although IAD on flights from the middle east (where ~90% of the US Citizen passengers are government employees or contractors) are treated exceptionally well. MIA, ATL, BWI are the worst.
- seanmcdirmid 14y ago
  I mostly go through immigration in SEA, and its kind of crowded but I usually get through before my bags arrive (as an American citizen). Portland is good also, although they used to have the nickname of Deportland for all the Japanese tourists that got sent back for sloppy paper work. The worst I've encountered so far is Gatwick in London for the terminal that handles Asian flights. 2+ hours in the queue waiting to get through immigration, torture! I'm sure the UK is worse than the US.
  - rdl 14y ago
    There are a few things to optimize for -- length of lines, predictability of outcome (especially if you're a non-citizen), and politeness. I think Puerto Rico is one of the "softest" to come through if you have a questionable visa -- the worst by far are land border crossings, especially smaller ones with Canada, since there's little cost to turning you away, and not as much on-site appeal or supervision -- an angry or racist ICE guy could ruin your day. The staff in SEA/PDX/SFO are all incredibly polite (at least in my experience).
- malandrew 14y ago
  Totally agree on ATL being the worst and will never again fly through that city. They easily have the most unpleasant ICE employees I've ever dealt with. I usually try to fly into SFO or SJC, but I've always been pretty happy with DFW, which is a common port of entry for those coming from Brazil. It'd be nice if someone put together a site in every language that rates ICE at each port of entry so people can avoid the airports where ICE is most unpleasant. At the end of the day, airports are businesses and if they see revenue dropping because nobody wants to travel through them then there may be some change.

tesseract 14y ago

Yeah, in addition to being frustrated by the wait I always feel so incredibly _embarrassed_ when I'm returning to the US, like I should be apologizing to the people in the visitors line for how horrible and frustrating it is. And that video is definitely over the top. Getting in and out of China (to pick one example out of the places I've visited) as a visitor was way less of a hassle than getting back into the US as a citizen. It's ridiculous.

pbz 14y ago

It's usually the other way around; meaning foreigners have to wait way more than citizens. And that's just the tip of the iceberg. If you ever had the pleasure of going through the US Embassy for a trip to the US you'd think people who end up still coming here are masochists.

mirsadm 14y ago
In Melbourne, Australia the wait is over 2 hours and they don't have toilets in the building. Once you pass the many security checkpoints you can't leave until you get your visa. Pretty funny watching everybody run out after they get their visa sorted out.
userulluipeste 14y ago
>If you ever had the pleasure of going through the US Embassy for a trip to the US you'd think people who end up still coming here are masochists. Exactly! I've heard of that US Embassy mistreatment, I've read opinions on forums and yet I thought to give it a chance - I didn't knew how much credit should I put in opinions which probably were not posted mainly by those who got visas, in a time when USA was loosing popularity. And... dear God! I'm glad I was given the chance to stop before I was too much involved into it. The same day, applied on-line for Australian eVisitor visa. The difference - day and night! "Ailing US tourism industry" - really? :)

rdl 14y ago

Atlanta is a particularly bad airport for entering the US. I far prefer to do SFO, IAD, JFK, etc. By far my favorite is SEA, although IAD on flights from the middle east (where ~90% of the US Citizen passengers are government employees or contractors) are treated exceptionally well. MIA, ATL, BWI are the worst.

seanmcdirmid 14y ago
I mostly go through immigration in SEA, and its kind of crowded but I usually get through before my bags arrive (as an American citizen). Portland is good also, although they used to have the nickname of Deportland for all the Japanese tourists that got sent back for sloppy paper work. The worst I've encountered so far is Gatwick in London for the terminal that handles Asian flights. 2+ hours in the queue waiting to get through immigration, torture! I'm sure the UK is worse than the US.
- rdl 14y ago
  There are a few things to optimize for -- length of lines, predictability of outcome (especially if you're a non-citizen), and politeness. I think Puerto Rico is one of the "softest" to come through if you have a questionable visa -- the worst by far are land border crossings, especially smaller ones with Canada, since there's little cost to turning you away, and not as much on-site appeal or supervision -- an angry or racist ICE guy could ruin your day. The staff in SEA/PDX/SFO are all incredibly polite (at least in my experience).
malandrew 14y ago
Totally agree on ATL being the worst and will never again fly through that city. They easily have the most unpleasant ICE employees I've ever dealt with. I usually try to fly into SFO or SJC, but I've always been pretty happy with DFW, which is a common port of entry for those coming from Brazil. It'd be nice if someone put together a site in every language that rates ICE at each port of entry so people can avoid the airports where ICE is most unpleasant. At the end of the day, airports are businesses and if they see revenue dropping because nobody wants to travel through them then there may be some change.