Hey guys, just wondering, if you are on a MR or some other quick return, are you given the 3rd degree in customs as to your reasons for travel? I just did an overnight in YYC and didn't think I was going to make it out of there alive.
Tell them you're the Governor of South Carolina and could they please stamp your passport "Appalachian Trail".
When I once did a JFK-NRT-JFK trip with the NRT stopover lasting four hours (it actually was business) I was asked how I was back so quickly at US Immigration. I said i only was in Japan four hours. the agent said OH, and stamped me in. No question.
That is why there is Global Entry, no questions asked by a person. Just answer few questions on a screen and you are done with US passport control.
right. first time this has actually happened to me. I guess it didn't help that I hadn't booked a hotel yet. Definitely going to look into Global Entry. How difficult/time consuming/annoying was the application process?
I once unexpectedly spent a night in Nagoya en route from ICN to YVR because the plane dueto take us to YVR stayed put due to a typhoon. On the immigration form under "Reason for visit" my 9-year-old daughter wrote "Typhoon." Got a laugh from Japanese customs agents.
Same here. Canada is the only country so far that's asked me what I was doing, where I was going, who I was meeting up with, etc. They even wanted to see hotel confirmations and such. It's the only country where I've ever thought they weren't going to let me in.
That is exactly why I got GE, the faster speed is a nice side benefit. In a recent trip to the US I landed at a non-GE airport and was asked why I lived outside the US? Mrs JBC was asked last week why she was spending so little time "at home". GE is stupendous and Trusted Traveler even better!
The Federal Police, now my good friends, once stopped me as I passed through GIG with only a daypack on my shoulders. They suspected me of trafficking. My completely true cover story - that I left the country fifteen hours earlier for mi Bs. As. querido to re-enter on a tourist visa after overstaying a student visa, and only had a steak dinner with wine, two coffees, and four medialunas and slept (not at all well) in AEP - was so ludicrous that I was let go.
That, sir, must be true. It is too ridiculous to be made up! Thanks for the humor. A related story: About 35 years ago I was living in Bahrain and was suddenly convinced life would end if I did not immediately fly to Rio de Janeiro and propose to the lovely Brazilian girl I had met for a few hours one day the previous year (I omit the rest because it is OT). I flew Concorde to LHR, crossed to CDG and flew Concorde to GIG. Between the time I had boarded in BAH and arrived at GIG US President Carter had imposed visa requirements on Brazilians due to human rights violations, so I, then a US citizen, was to be deported. The Federal Police were very solicitous, offered me coffee, let me talk with my friends and offered me my choice of places to be deported to. I chose Buenos Aires because the FP told me I'd have the best luck with getting a visa there. Upon arrival at EZE I took a taxi to the Brazil consulate. There was nobody waiting but there were two staffers, one of whom was a very cute young woman. I told her my story truthfully and told her I urgently wanted to get back to Rio to propose. She, Miriam Cohen, told me she'd do it, but that I should meet her around the corner at a restaurant, buy her lunch and tell her the story completely. She arrived as promised, visa included and i told her the story over lunch. A delightful young lady. I got back to Rio and proposed to the lady of my affections. She told me I was crazy, that we did not even know each other. She did not say no but told me I had to ask her father in Portuguese, of which I spoke not one word. Ten days of Berlitz later I asked her father. Mrs, jbc and I have been happily married ever since, we moved to Rio after stints all over the world and I naturalized as a Brazilian. So I have a soft spot for the Policia Federal.
Ding ding ding. We have a winner...story of the day right here. The fact you had to, learn a new language, she said yes and still together 35 years later makes it great.
Wonderful story And I thought my 3x BOS->AKL flights to win my wife over were the best distance story
That is absolutely the best story I have ever heard, or am likely to hear! You, sir, are an incurable, terminal romantic, and I'm sure your wife is worth every bit of effort you put in to that proposal. You have made my year.
Indeed...I think I just got mushy for a moment then tightened back up... Mhmm...Maybe I should do something that crazy and daring someday...
True. I made sure my travel documents had no trace of Arab countries when visiting Israel and no trace of Israel when visiting Arab countries. OTOH I goofed by including Malaysia on the same ticket (and for later date) as Israel but fortunately immigration was more interested in trying to find a non-existant Israel stamp in my passport.
... which reminds me of the time I got questioned entering USA after visiting Libya, Iran and Iraq on the same trip (before USA).
