Homeland security is a joke. I got two forms on the plane on the way down: immigration and customs. I filled them both out, and the immigrations and customs people asked me a couple of simple questions and sent me off. Ask me why, and I’ll tell you I think it’s because I look like a nice, trustworthy guy. Well, I am, but I just hope these people are all super-good judges of character.
On the way back to the
Customs was different. They were very strict there. The guy looks at my passport and my customs sheet. He draws one great big vertical scribble on the paper. He hands me the customs sheet and my passport and says “You don’t need that any more.” I glance at my Homeland Security paper on the counter and say “And this? Will I need it later?” “Nope. You just killed a tree. Have a good night.”
I laughed and walked off with my gross lack of my explosives and contraband.
Oh, in the airport in
Especially if they were white and had honest enough looking eyes.
Dan | 28-Jan-08 at 9:26 pm | Permalink
We had the same problem but to a further extent. We were going through security in Costa Rica and they stopped my wife’s carry-on. Shucks, we had an unopened bottle of Bailey’s that we had bought at the duty free store on our way in. As Terry can attest to there was no shortage of liquor at our villas. Not wanting the bottle to break in our luggage we put it in her carry-on. Remember the three ounce rule. “Sorry, we’ll check it,” we say to the security agent as we explain what happened. No, it’s not that the agent says. She opens a box and finds a pair of baby shoes for my sister in-law. “I have to scan these,” she says. A stupid pair of baby shoes had to be run through separately. Never mind my camera bag which had, three cameras, five lenses and countless other wires and other electronic components. Your Ok to go she says.
So we move onto our gate, there we ran into the security person checking carry-ons that Terry experienced. Didn’t I just go through this? She quickly opens my camera bag and says OK. The bag with the Bailey’s wasn’t as lucky. She asks for a duty free ticket and when I couldn’t find it, she confiscated our bag. She put a zip tie around the zipper and sent it off with an agent to be put with the checked luggage. Oh well, hopefully it won’t break and now we don’t have to carry it. I think they were looking for duty-free items but that doesn’t explain why they were wanding random passengers.
Immigration Form: One per family. Kori (my wife) fills it out. Standing in-line, this big burly guy tells her to come over. She goes through just fine. I was in-front of her but when she was called over we became separated. I go up to the agent right next to the one helping her. “Immigration form please.” My wife has it. She’s right there, it says, “One per family” You’ll have to fill one out yourself now. You did not come through together. She tried to bring me hers and her agent started yelling at her, GET BACK, LEAVE THE SECURE AREA, GET BACK, like she was going to do something awful at this point. Security runs over and she quickly follows them out of Immigration. I filled out my form and the nice young man helping me did not require that I stand in-line a second time.
WORDS OF WISDOM: Fill out your own immigration form and don’t forget to check those pesky liquor bottles.
The Bailey’s did make it home safely.
tcabeen | 28-Jan-08 at 9:29 pm | Permalink
Longest.
Comment.
Ever. :D
Sorry you had such trouble. Glad everything made it home ok. Hope the baby shoes didn’t explode…