Next fall, we will be on a cruise from Athens to Rome, which on one day will be stopping at Kusadasi, Turkey, the port city for the Greek ruins at Ephesus. Ireland and the UK will also be on our itinerary.

Upon return to the U.S. (U.S. citizens), we will be asked to fill out a form that asks "which countries did you visit on this trip".

Which approach would be the best one?

(1) Omit Turkey as a de minimis visit, and list the others, to avoid unnecessary questions related to Middle Eastern turmoil.

(2) List Turkey first, and then the others, to see whether that generates more questions than usual.

(3) List all the countries, including Turkey, in the order visited.

 

List all countries in whatever order you want, including Turkey, and, if questioned state what you were doing there, and don't lose sleep over it.

Turkey is not considered one of the 'problem 'countries, and is an ally of the US.

 

Why is this so hard?
Why would you not just proceed with "3)"?
What is wrong with listing Turkey?
What has the "Middle East turmoil" got to do with it?
If you're asked what were you doing in Turkey - just answer honestly "was on a cruise. We stopped in ..."
You're making way more out of this than is needed.

 

Yet again, despite what many Americans think, Turkey is NOT in the Middle East.

Look at the destination fora on FT for instance.

 

While Turkey is a country that ISIS sympathisers travel to in order to cross into Syria, context is everything.

Unless there's a six month stay in Yemen, Pakistan or Somalia in your travel history, I doubt CBP officials would even give it a second thought.

 

Not a good measure to go by.

For instance, Cyprus and Iran are in the Middle East forum.

Probably shouldn't go by mileage charts either...

 

Pump the breaks. OP never said Turkey was in the ME. OP mentioned that Turkey is related to the ME turmoil which is entirely true if that turmoil is ISIS.

I'm glad you could take the opportunity to stand on your soapbox, however, and educate us all.


OP - list the countries in whatever order you want. Turkey has been part of NATO for more than 50 years, its name won't draw a second glance from CBP upon entrance to the U.S.

 

Not only is Turkey a European country (although geographically, most of it is in Asia) it is an advanced ally of the United States and a member of NATO, subject to the common defense provision of Article Five.

 

True, but I was one who lobbied to have Turkey moved, based largely on the ignorance of some FTers. The photography on a UA flight comes to mind, where the actions of the airline were justified because IST is apparently located in the bad 'Middle East'.

Have you looked at a map? OP is going to the most western part of Turkey, nowhere near the Syrian border. What does visiting there has to do with ISIS or the Middle East?

 

You really have nothing to worry about. It is not going to look suspicious at all. There are tons of passengers uneventfully crossing our borders every day that have visited Turkey.

 

List all the countries. Turkey is a US ally, although not our best friend all the time. You won't be dinged for going to Turkey. I have gone to countries where the US was either openly or secretly at war with them and never had a problem on return.

 

Not to mention the fact that Turkish air has daily nonstops between Istanbul and various US cities every day. I wonder what those passengers do? Leave "Turkey" off their list of visited countries?

 

Indeed I have looked at a map, but if you have a unique one you would like me to consider, I'm happy to take a look for you and give you my thoughts. Istanbul is one of my favorite European cities.


Turkey and ISIS are intertwined within the media on a daily basis. The OP asking whether there is a concern for this country upon return to the Terror-Driven-U.S.A. is not as stupid a question as you seem to think it is considering the state of U.S. fear mongering. I don't agree with it, I agree with you, it's not the "Bad ME". But the question is still legitimate. CNN doesn't often give geography lessons for the general American public.

To make up for it, I will apologize to you on behalf of all those Americans who don't have the intimate geographical knowledge you do of Turkey.

Feel free to PM me with addition thoughts you have on the geography of Turkey, OP doesn't need to have it cluttering up the thread.

 

Or 4) refuse to answer as a US citizen exercising 4th amendment rights. Just make sure you have a long layover

 

I wish the USA was like the EU where they can't ask any questions of returning EU citizens. That's the way it should be.