“Oh God! Not the United States!!”
World travelers fear coming to the United States more than any other country because of strict entry policies, according to a survey released… by a group representing the travel and tourism industry.
“The U.S. entry process has created a climate of fear and frustration that is turning away foreign business and leisure travelers from visiting the United States,” said a survey released by the Discover America Partnership.
According to the survey of more than 2,000 people, 39 percent of travelers rate America’s entry process as the “world’s worst” and 64 percent say that U.S. immigration officials are “rude.”
70 percent, “worry about … the way foreign visitors are treated by U.S. immigration officials and security officials when arriving or departing from U.S. airports.”
Terrorism and crime do not scare foreigners thinking of traveling to the United States, but dealing with the U.S. government does. According to the survey, 36 percent of travelers won’t travel to the U.S. because they fear they will be detained at the border because of a “simple mistake or misstatement.”
[But] visitors like the United States. Among those who had traveled to the U.S., 76 percent had a favorable opinion of the country.
So we’ve got a nice country but scary public officials. Who knew?
Related Link: Discover America Partnership
You’re missing the point – it’s about perception.
And the perception is that they are incompetent, petty, over-zealous, inefficient, and have powers that are wildly unchecked.
That perception isn’t that far off, and it’s not like we’re dealing with some back-water dictatorship – this is the USA we are talking about. Saying “we’re better than those other guys” doesn’t really cut it when those other guys aren’t even in the same league, let alone team.
I’m a UK citizen, living in the States for ten years now and I must say every time I re-enter the US it’s not fun or welcoming, even now I’m a permanent resident.
Before coming to the States I used to work for long periods in Saudi Arabia and the entry experience between the two is, I would say, comparably hellish but in different ways.
In Saudi you get the sense they deliberately make it horrible because you’re a western infidel; there’s something of a language barrier because even though the immigration officials all can speak English perfectly they tend to prefer not to in their own country; they check everything you bring in in great detail in case you have a copy of the Times sports section that contains a picture of a female tennis player.
In the US, you just get the sense that you could be detained simply because the guy behind the desk you happen to get doesn’t even know his own countries most basic immigration laws, and in any case aren’t they personally doing you a favour by deigning to let you in?
One time I was on line right behind a fellow UK citizen of Nigerian descent, who was given nothing short of an interrogation by the INS staff. I heard them ask him questions “Who’s the Prime Minister? And the one before that? And the one before that? And the one before that?” until even I had trouble remembering. Even though he was very polite and answered all of their questions he was clearly unnerved and they red-tagged him anyway and escorted him away.
I can definitly confirm the result of this survey. The U.S. are a intersting country and worth a visit. I have been there once and was planning another visit. But at the moment I would not go there even if the flight was free. The immigration officials are asking lots of questions and gathering biometric data even if you are just a tourist.
I don’t know what happens if I give a “wrong” answer to one of there questions and more important I don’t know what they are doing with the data. They will certainly not delete it after I’m gone. I’m afraid they sharing it authorities in my country or maybe even selling it to someone. I do have the impression that the US officials don’t care at all about the rights of foreigners.
The last time I made visit to the US was definitely my last time. I’ve been disabled and in a wheelchair all my adult life. When I last entered the US I was accused of trying to gain entry so that I could get on your welfare system and receive free medical care. This is absurd as I’m a Canadian and we have free health care and our welfare system pays more than yours. I was driving a new SUV had two gold cards on me and $800.00 in cash. I can’t figure out why in the world anyone would think I was in need of welfare. I was told that if I wanted to gain entry I should bring my bank statements and the title of my house so that they would be sure that I had a reason to return to Canada.
I’ve had the pleasure of entering the U.S. twice. I’m a citizen and I was totally unclear on the ramifications of all the paperwork. I was a bit concerned when I entered from Costa Rica and they asked if I’d been on a farm lately. Well, yes, the day before I had ridden a horse. What would they do? Would I be detained for a week? Would I be forbidden entry to the country? Would my shoes be incinerated? As it turned out, they just dipped my shoes in some cleaner… And then there was the host of questions surrounding a painted feather I brought back – it is an animal product with a painting of a bald eagle on it – suppose one of the officials mistakes the feather as one from an eagle! Then I get locked up for centuries or something…. Who knows? I certainly didn’t, as an infrequent traveler.
Even domestic travel is curtailed because of absurd security measures – my wife and I contemplated flying the three of us (a then-5-month-old) or driving 700 miles over 2 days then driving back. We took the car because Homeland Security made it (seem?) way too inconvenient to fly with a baby.
Sounds like the French are kinder than the US.
#5 – I do have the impression that the US officials don’t care at all about the rights of foreigners.
Comment by nihil_baxter — 12/7/2006 @ 7:17 am
They aren’t all that concerned about the rights of Americans either.
I’ve been to the States dozens of times, mostly for work (including attending those infamous Dvorak Comdex parties year after year) and I’ve travelled very widely throughout Europe, South America and the Far East. US immigration and customs officials are without doubt the nastiest of the lot.
My neice was planning to marry in Las Vegas in 2008 but they’ve now changed their minds (not because of this reason) but I’m very relieved because I really didn’t want me, my wife and my 3 yr old son to run the gauntlet of entering the US. I was fearfull of retina scans and goodness knows what else and I really dont want my sons privacy invaded like that. Talk about Orwellian!
Now maybe I’m wrong but that’s my perception and I used to travel to the US regularly pre 2001 and it was pretty unpleasant then so goodness knows what it must be like now.
Also, I can’t stop this kind of police state growing up under the current climate of fear peddled by our “leaders”, it’s happening here in the UK as well, but I can choose not to enter the US so that’s what I choose, I shall spend my money elsewhere!
Pedro – are you a US citizen? Because that might have a LOT to do with it.
I’m not, though I live in the Bay Area now, and let me tell you – the average time for a US citizen to pass through seems less that a couple of minutes. Non-US citizens can be there for up to an hour (I seem to average around 30mins including the line).
So that would certainly influence the perceptions of people.
I actually have no particular problem with them (though I hate the biometric crap) but it is the system that they work in that carries the problem. They can’t help that, but it doesn’t matter.
I am an American citizen and I have not traveled abroad, at least not on an airplane.
Regarding everyday life, terrorism and crime don’t scare me at all, and they honestly have very little effect on a day-to-day basis.
But dealing with the government in almost any fashion scares the crap outta me.
#3. When he got back to “William Pitt the Elder”, the immigration officer said “Isn’t he one of ours?” and threw him in leg irons. Grin.
From Vancouver, Canada, I’d rather take a 5-hour direct charter flight to a resort in Mexico and then a 6-hour bus ride to my destination, than to take a regularly scheduled flight with one or two stops in USA with only a 30-minute ride at the end.
I can’t say that there’s a single experience which justifies this preference, just the ennui and apprehension at “what will they think of next?” It is all perception.
Incidentally, 35 years ago, entering Mexico via an airport could be a harrowing experience, but now, aside from occasional long boring lineups, I’d rate it as relaxing compared to USA. Leaving Mexico, they go through the luggage you are about to check, while you are waiting in the line to check in. So no time is lost and I bet it’s a pretty effective deterrent to suicide bombers.
Incidentally, has anybody caught the chiling British TV series “The State Within” ? A propos of travel in the USA.
In Europe, mostly there are no border controls, but for those countries that do have them, I’d have to rate Switzerland as hassle-free.
I dont not know why an international passport system hasnt been setup.
Every country that has an intercontental airport would have access to it, and could trace the origin of any traveler.
It wouldnt be that hard. Pic and info on any person that gets a passport or Visa to travel. You could even place a code on each for looking up the data..
You could also add this to those that WALK accross the borders at a stop. Input the data of their origin, and take there picture..What a great way to watch immigrants/terrorists.
I have not been to the US for many years and I have no intention of going there anytime soon exactly because of the possibility in my mind that I will pay my ticket, board the plane, arrive in the US and then denied entry for a number of stupid reasons (maybe incompetence, maybe overzealous officials etc.). This will (a) ruin my holidays, (b) make me lose my precious time, (c) greatly inconvenience me and my family and (d) cause me financial damage (the cost of ticket).
Why chance it? I will simply choose another friendlier destination for my holidays.
Don’t get me wrong; I am not saying that things will work this way, it’s just the PERCEPTION in the (non-US) mind that by going to the US you risk inconvenience and you can be even denied entry.
PS: I had visited the Soviet Union in the late 80s and I had no fear that they would turn me back at the airport. Yes, I expected them to be rude (and they were) but from the moment that they gave me a visa to visit their country, that means that they had approved me; all they had to do at the airport was to make sure that I was the one that they had actually given the visa to and let me in. This basic fact seems not to apply to the USA today.
PSS: My mother, who is pushing 70 and speaks only basic English, visited the US last year. She waited at the airport for entry to the US aprx 45-50 minutes but it took her 1 ½ hrs to clear customs on _leaving_ the USA. WTF?
The first Americans you meet as you enter the country are a bunch of bureaucratic pricks. But it’s always been like that.
BTW my absolute worst experience in entering a country came from visiting Israel. BUT I could appreciate that they were totally PROFESSIONAL about it and knew what they were doing under a system that (later) made sense to me. It was difficult and time consuming but it did not gave you the impression that you were at the mercy of the whims of one person who might just happened to have a bad day.
This perception doesn’t surprise me in the least. During the 60’s, my schooling involved numerous movies and lectures regarding government oppression of people living in the USSR and China. I honestly wondered why anyone would want to visit either country.
I see little difference now between traveling in the USA now versus the USSR in 1965. I remember two months after 9/11, I was going through an airport screening at St. George, UT, when the screener took exception to my razor. I started to argue that my belt was more dangerous than that razor when the National Guardsman with his M-16 took position three feet behind me.
I bid goodbye to my razor and my childhood memories of a free USA.
As an American living in Australia, I can totally understand the frustration with the US immigration. You can’t get a straight answer out of them. One says one thing, The other says the opposite. An Aussie friend of mine is going through that madness right now.
Our two largest gateways, LAX and JFK, are national embarrassments. I am amazed that most people don’t simply turn around and get back on the airplane. These airports are about as welcoming as rectal exam. They look and feel old and tired.
The staff are rude. The signs are confusing. I can’t image how bad it is if you don’t speak or read English. It honestly feels like you are arriving in a 3rd world country.
The last time I flew into LAX, there were some airport security staff standing in front of the last exit door, before you step outside, after you clear all customs and immigration and are free to go.
Most of the passengers who were leaving were Asian (Japanese if I had to guess). They had formed a queue in front of the this door and were awaiting instructions, or permission, from these “guards” to pass. The guards were standing there BSing with each other and ignoring the passengers, who were too polite to interrupt.
After waiting myself for a minute, I couldn’t figure out what the hold up was. So I went to the head of the queue to ask these guards why they were holding everyone up. They claimed they were not and I was free to proceed. They just wanted to block the door for fun I guess.
Seriously… if you don’t already know what you are doing or what is expected next, LAX would be a hellish experience. The people that run that airport need to walk through it with new eyes and try to see it as people who first visit the US do.
One of the problems we have is that there are too many bosses. No one thinks of how the whole experience of arriving in the US is received. The passengers don’t care that Immigration has no control over the poor signage or rude “security” people. They don’t know that most of the “authorities” they see wearing uniforms at the airport are minimum-wage high-school drop outs who can’t manage to speak a complete sentence. They try to respect authority. But the “authority” half the time is asleep or sitting there picking their nose totally oblivious to what is going on around them.