Dumbest Question By US Immigrations Officer...I May Have The Winner.....
May 26, 2008, 6:57 pm
#1
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Dumbest Question By US Immigrations Officer...I May Have The Winner.....
After deplaning my CA flight at JFK on my return leg from PEK/HKG on Sunday I had the absolutely oddest encounter with a US Immigrations Officer.
I need to preface this with the fact that I covered "homeland security' for more than 3 years as a news photographer. I documented a lot of stories with Customs and Immigrations and the Boarder Patrol. I have seen some really odd happenings. I have also received some very odd questions after handing over a passport showing me entering Kuwait for a day, Bahrain twice in a month, with no stamp showing me having left Bahrain in the middle, and the questions when my passport shows me entering Frankfurt, Hong Kong, Incheon, Tokyo in 3 days, while I'm trying to reenter the US.
......however yesterdays questions take the cake. As a US Citizen, traveling on US Passport, that shows I was born in New York and that the Passport was issued in Boston, I should have no questions about my ability to work in the United States, but yesterday I was questioned about this.
I handed over my passport and landing card and was met the the usual "you were away on business? what do you do?" I answered that I am a photographer and I was in Hong Kong photographing a wedding. She then asked if I worked in the US, I said yes,. She asked if I was connecting to another flight and I told her my kids were waiting outside and I was headed to the beach to see my folks before heading home............... The next question threw me for a total loop, she asked "do you have a visa to work here in the US?" I informed the agent that she was looking at my US Passport and that as a US Citizen I need no papers to work in the US. The agent looked up at me like I had pissed her off and demanded to know if I had a visa or a permit that would allow me to work in the United States.........we went round and round for a minute or two.
The Immigrations Officer took my passport and went to get a supervisor. The supervisor looked very confused when he approached the passport control booth. He had the passport in his hand and the agent sat down and stated "he has no visa to work in the United States." The sup'v looked at the cover of my US passport , again confused, flipped it open looked at the photo, looked at me and said "where are you coming from?" I answered "Hong Kong via Beijing" He took the stamper, stamped the book, flipped it shut and said "Welcome Home Sir." As I walked off I could see he closed her lane (Lane 21, at JFK T1, around 2:10pm)
Shouldn't a Immigrations Officer know a US Citizen does not need a visa or permit to work in the United States? Isn't there an academy they must attend first (I know the answer to that one)?
I need to preface this with the fact that I covered "homeland security' for more than 3 years as a news photographer. I documented a lot of stories with Customs and Immigrations and the Boarder Patrol. I have seen some really odd happenings. I have also received some very odd questions after handing over a passport showing me entering Kuwait for a day, Bahrain twice in a month, with no stamp showing me having left Bahrain in the middle, and the questions when my passport shows me entering Frankfurt, Hong Kong, Incheon, Tokyo in 3 days, while I'm trying to reenter the US.
......however yesterdays questions take the cake. As a US Citizen, traveling on US Passport, that shows I was born in New York and that the Passport was issued in Boston, I should have no questions about my ability to work in the United States, but yesterday I was questioned about this.
I handed over my passport and landing card and was met the the usual "you were away on business? what do you do?" I answered that I am a photographer and I was in Hong Kong photographing a wedding. She then asked if I worked in the US, I said yes,. She asked if I was connecting to another flight and I told her my kids were waiting outside and I was headed to the beach to see my folks before heading home............... The next question threw me for a total loop, she asked "do you have a visa to work here in the US?" I informed the agent that she was looking at my US Passport and that as a US Citizen I need no papers to work in the US. The agent looked up at me like I had pissed her off and demanded to know if I had a visa or a permit that would allow me to work in the United States.........we went round and round for a minute or two.
The Immigrations Officer took my passport and went to get a supervisor. The supervisor looked very confused when he approached the passport control booth. He had the passport in his hand and the agent sat down and stated "he has no visa to work in the United States." The sup'v looked at the cover of my US passport , again confused, flipped it open looked at the photo, looked at me and said "where are you coming from?" I answered "Hong Kong via Beijing" He took the stamper, stamped the book, flipped it shut and said "Welcome Home Sir." As I walked off I could see he closed her lane (Lane 21, at JFK T1, around 2:10pm)
Shouldn't a Immigrations Officer know a US Citizen does not need a visa or permit to work in the United States? Isn't there an academy they must attend first (I know the answer to that one)?
Last edited by sefrischling; May 27, 2008 at 5:49 am
May 26, 2008, 7:17 pm
#4
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Wow -- that tops any of my experiences.
May 26, 2008, 7:18 pm
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I was half-waiting to get deported back to PEK.
Of course I had no visa for China, I was in-transit for under 24hrs (under 90 min in both directions), so no visa was required for Mainland China.......so what would happen then?
Of course I had no visa for China, I was in-transit for under 24hrs (under 90 min in both directions), so no visa was required for Mainland China.......so what would happen then?
Last edited by sefrischling; May 26, 2008 at 7:34 pm
May 26, 2008, 9:13 pm
#11
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As astonishing as her inquiry was, I wonder if the agent got caught up in a "Oh, Duh!" moment and didn't feel she could save face. Cuz, god forbid you come off human once in a while.
May 26, 2008, 9:36 pm
#14
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The last time I was so dumbfounded by sheer oddity in the Immigrations/Customs entry are at JFK T1 was while photographing a story for a national magazine on the merging of Immigrations and Customs. Except while shooting the story I witnessed a Nigerian woman who had a few million dollars in counterfeit cash in her bags while getting seached by Customs. She then tried to bride the two Customs Officers with "$2,000,000 each" if they turned a blind eye. One officer was laughing so hard as he explained to her that bribing a Federal Officer is a Federal crime and then reminded her that her money was fake and worthless in any capacity, except for convicting her in court.
May 26, 2008, 9:39 pm
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