American Immigration

Thus my time abroad has come to an end and now for the long road home. British immigration gave me a hard time almost deliberately while American immigration, they did it out of stupidity – unbelievable.

When I got to Vancouver, from a Calgary flight, I couldn’t really figure out where to go and everyone was vague with instructions. I was asking security, airline desks, information and all the rest of it. Finally someone gave me the run down that I had to go through US immigration.

I didn’t understand. Why do I need to go through US immigration if I am going to Australia? Eventually it clicked to me, because the plane goes through Honolulu, Hawaii. So I go to the control area, wait in line. Get to the front of the line and then told I have to fill out some forms – on a desk near the entrance – crap.

The guy was really unhelpful as to which ones and all the rest of it. He was ticked off cause I didn’t know what to do but then when I asked questions to find out, he got even more ticked off. So filled out the form, went to the back of the line, waited again, then saw the guy.

More attitude and problems. He said that I needed a visa. I said I was going to Australia. He said I still needed a visa for Australia. So I flicked over the front of my passport and pointed it to him. He said “SO”. Thus I pointed to the text “Australia” and he said I still needed a visa for Australia.

I was dumbfounded! I said to him that I was an Australian citizen and didn’t need a visa for Australia. He said that I did. I couldn’t get over it. So I asked him to call someone and they quickly clarified it. He let me continue onwards.

How could someone working in US immigration not know this or be so thick to think a citizen needs a visa to be in their own country? It just got worse going through security screening. They wouldn’t tell you anything, get ticked off when you did the wrong thing and get more ticked off when you asked questions. Generally they were rough about the whole process and really arrogant.

Eventually got to the departure gate and got called over. I was listed as “DO NOT BOARD” because I didn’t have a visa. I flashed the guy my Australian passport and the guy swore under his breath. There were another 10 passengers for the flight that had the same problem and one got the distinct sense this is a frequent occurrence. The Canadian apologised for the problem and let me get onto the plane.