I wonder how much longer it will take before americans get enough to take a stand about this. I suppose it would never reach critical mass with flying because not enough americans are flying to care, which is why I can't wait for TSA to follow through with their plan to set up their nonsense at bus stops and subways.
When I was married and my American wife got to join me in the queue I was in, and had to go through the same process that I went through. Well she was incredulous that she was being treated that way.
Until Americans actually experience this, nothing will be done about it.
I've considered that enough to think that a better way to approach it is to subject people to the kind of security that they subject others to. So that if Americans want to visit other countries that they are finger-printed, interrogated, X-Ray'd, delayed and otherwise harassed.
Then when they complain point out that what is being done to them is a reflection of what they do to others, that is the only thing I can imagine might make them consider changing their ways... and I really am not living in the kind of world where I think this is achievable since European border control isn't going to start implementing this stuff on a per nationality basis. So it's not as if I really think this is feasible.
As I've pointed out in the past, I also no longer go to the USA or do business there.
When I am forced to have face-to-face meetings with Americans, I force the venue to be in Canada at a location I can get a flight to that doesn't require going via the USA (tends to be Toronto as direct flights from London are cheap and frequent).
This works for me to the point that I no longer think about it until it appears like this on a forum and I remember that I don't go to the USA anymore... it's become subconscious. I just don't go to the USA because of the experience of doing so (not limited to border alone, but border is the initial impression and the worst).
You mean most foreign-travelling Americans, who are a minority in comparison to the Americans that don't have a passport, as only 37% hold one [1]. Domestic flights are way less of a pain than international, if only because you don't have to go through Customs.
EDIT: My American wife (I'm British) was the same way. I'm in the process of applying for a Green Card, which means we'll have to go to an INS office and both of us get our fingerprints taken. "Why the hell do they need my fingerprints? There's no way I'm giving them my fingerprints!" "Honey, they take my prints every time I come to the US."
You're trying to get a green card? Do you realize that once you get it you're going to be responsible for filing tax returns as long as you have it, no matter where you actually live and work?
This is precisely why I've been repeatedly extending my E-2 visa. Of course, by wanting that freedom, all my payments to US social security are definitely going to waste...
There is no way to claim that back? To be honest with you, I worked in the US for over a decade and I consider everything I paid into SS a waste. If I end up keeping my citizenship (unlikely), by the time I would be able to draw it would probably be $100/mo or something ridiculous. It could easily cost me much more than that in wasted tax dollars before I retire.
I wasn't aware of that, no, but I don't really have any intention of returning to the UK. I like it here. I get homesick sometimes, but usually it's a combination of childhood nostalgia and watching too much BBC programming. The Britain I see through those rose-tinted glasses is not the Britain that actually exists.
Try Sea-Tac airport. 20 lanes at the border, 17 reserved for American citizens, of whom there are probably about 20 on a 400-seater plane.
I've traveled all over the world, US borders are the most unpleasant. I'v had border guards in FSRs point guns at me but hey, those guys are just doing their jobs. In the US they go out of their way to be rude, lazy, incompetent and just plain obnoxious.
Or PDX, where Immigrations was so hostile that demand dropped to zero on direct flights from Asia and the airlines had to pull the routes.
Evidently it was better to simply book your flight to SEA, wait for those 3 lanes, then catch a separate flight south to avoid the pain and suffering at the hands of the PDX border guards.
When a man with a swarthy complexion and a huge beard wearing faded camo gear shows up at your border and shuffles through a selection of passports before deciding which one to try, then hands you one that looks nothing like him, you can be a little suspicious ;-)
Then again at another FSR border I was extremely drunk and insisting to the guard that despite what my passport says I was in fact Dutch and they just rolled their eyes and waved me through... I later bought a passport in that same country.
Ah, that makes more sense now (I thought 'Four State Region'). So, what's up with all the passports? I wonder if I'm missing out (mainly because it could be handy to have a backup in cases where one has to mail a passport to an embassy to get a visa).
It takes one phone call to speak to someone at your Congresscritter's office about this. They really do listen and, occasionally, even act on things which generate heat from constituents (ask any Republican who flipped on immigration circa 2007-2008). If you feel strongly about it, make the freaking call. (Or, better, write an honest-to-God on-dead-tree letter.)
I actually HAVE written to my senators about this issue, unfortunately I didn't even get the courtesy of a form letter in response - and they're both Democrats. I didn't bother writing to my rep since he's a Republican.
Basically that's the problem. It's estimated that there are somewhere between 3-7 million non-military Americans living overseas, but that's less than 3% of the population. If the US had senators and representatives dedicated to those people, we would have some clout, but because we still have to have "residency" in a specific state, we aren't really large enough to have much political clout.
Unfortunately most of the people who live in the US really don't understand the bullshit treatment that people get when entering the country. --It's not as bad for US citizens, but I still get questioned more coming into the US than any other country I've visited.
Part of it is the motivation to return home. I'm Australian, and we've got a fairly intensive customs procedure, but I could care less, I'm an hour or less away from home now.
Visting America was a different story though: I'm getting fingerprinted, and people are jumping queues, and the security is crazy... and all I'm thinking is "Why did I bother?"
Waiting for americans to care enough about the discomfort of vistors (relative to motivation to be there) might take a while.
I went on a rugby tour there from UK around the time of the last foot 'n mouth outbreak... australian immigration were very concerned of the mud on our team's rugby boots so they cleaned all 26 pairs! I'd never played with such spotless (and disinfected) boots!
What is up with the Aussies and quarantine? Going from the US to SE Asia, you fill out a little slip declaring if you're carrying snails or orchids, and if you say you are not, you sail right through. No worries!
Because Australia doesn't have many of the diseases and pests that the rest of the world has. For example, Australia is one of the few places on the world where bee colonies are free from the mite that has devastated hives the world over. Australian beekeepers are now exporting to the USA, and it's these imported bees that are keeping the industry alive.
One english settler decided, in the 1830s or so, to release a small hutch of rabbits so they could scamper around his property and he'd be able to take potshots at them for fun. The rabbits went on to systematically destroy most of the arable land in the country.
It's not only the agricultural industries. Many of the unique Australian wildlife has never been subjected to common animals from the rest of the world. The fox decimates native mammal populations.
I could go on and on. There was a fire ant quarantine breach a few years back and they literally hunted down every nest and colony that had occured and (I think) have re-declared fire ant free.
So, if you're travelling to Australia, don't treat it as some sort of TSA impost. Be thankful that people are there protecting the borders so you have some unique animals, and fantastic food quality to come and see.
Fun fact : I have a friend who is a dog handler in an Australian airport. The worst offenders are little old ladies of either asian or middle eastern origin. They're always carrying some noxious weed as part of an old family recipe to cook for their descendents who have settled in Australia. So if you see someone with a dog bailing up an old lady in an Airport, you know why.
On the plus side - they will clean your boots for you, free of charge - they do a fine job of it as well. Unless you're trying to hide your muddy boots, then you'll get fined a couple of hundred bucks for being sneaky. Best to declare your boots and get them cleaned for you.
We've got one of the most isolated agricultural systems in the world. To even ship grain to or from Australia you need specially accredited ships (I have a friend in Maritime law and it causes her no end in hassles trying to find these ships).
Because of the isolation, we don't have too many pestilence problems (gross oversimplification) and we want/need to keep it that way.
Australia is very stable geologically, apart from a bit on the S.E. corner, which is why it is flat. It is very old and hasn't had the evolutionary disruptions caused by mountain raising and flattening. The animals have evolved quite distinctly in their own niche. Foreign imports could seriously disturb the balance. See, for example, rabbits, foxes, cane toads.
Makes perfect sense. I guess I'm left wondering why smaller, remote islands don't have to do this. Places like Hawai'i, New Guinea, the Philippines, Iceland, or Japan. I'm no biologist, but my guess is that those places aren't known for large-scale agriculture.
The basic answer is: too little, too late. By the time they realised what was going on, the problems had already been caused. Hawaii has been devastated by imported plants and animals. Thousands of bird species have been lost, and huge parts of the islands are overrun with noxious weeds. They're fighting it as best they can, but it's a case of preserving what is left.
As for the phillipines - they've been trading with other nations for a long time, as have Japan. I'm guessing that the transfer of pests and diseases happened a few centuries back.
Australia is unique in that basically no trade of any kind happened until 200 years ago. There's been a lot of mistakes, but that's no reason to give up.
