my first encounter with US-visit

for those who dont know, i just left australia to head back home to canada. this is probably no big thing, but it bugged me a lot. i have one connecting flight in the US. through customs, i encountered this program called us-visit, which pretty much digitally logs every passenger that passes through US airports via two index fingers and one head shot, regardless of time of stay. im actually in LAX on a internet kiosk right now with 1min left, i'll have to repost later. til then. dfh out.

Hey man ..have a safe trip back home..

it must be a nightmare for all people in your situation,I wonder what the whole flight industry makes of all this.It just can't be good for business...
It's like that movie 'Escape from L.A;' or demolition man,you know where there's an Underground society and another one above..'Brave New World'..etc..
anyways 'I hope you get some kind of a reconpence in the food department on board your connecting flight bach home...with a glass of bollinger to go with that meal....

Its called security and its the result or a post 9/11 America. If you dont like it book a direct flight to Canada or one with a stop over in another country.

[edit on 8-12-2004 by ShadowXIX]

One one hand i'm really sorry for your inconvenience, one the other I am happy to see that atleast one of our airports are looking out for us.
Hope you had a safe trip home. When you have more time maybe you could tell us more. I for one would like to know these people were kind to you while taking your picture and getting your finger prints.

Originally posted by ShadowXIX
Its called security and its the result or a post 9/11 America. If you dont like it book a direct flight to Canada or one with a stop over in another country.

Exactly, when I flew into Texas from Amsterdam I was X-rayed four times, my bags were searched and manually inspected as I stood and watched. Not to mention my entire body was analyzed for radiation. And I'm American!

It's the modern day version of the walls of Troy.

Wow, when I flew in from Korea they didn't even search my bags or anything, (that I know of). I wonder if they trusted me just because I'm in the Army. Doesn't seem like a very good reason, though, since being in the Army I have access to classified information and weapons. I'd almost think they'd search me before they searched a civilian. I flew through customs and immigration no questions asked, though.

ok, made it back home, in one safe piece.

to straighten a few things out, i took this flight due to money and time issues, else i would have booked through hongkong or something like that.

yes, i understand it is security, but how far can or are you willing to take it. i would consent to them having a record while i was in the country, but would prefer them destroyed after i left, but whats the chances of that, now im "tagged". heres a question though, do they require this on the american/canadian border as we cross over? i dont think so, and thats why i somewhat object.

the entire process was not friendly or rude, it was professional and straightforward, ie; finger, finger, face, done. plus you get all the other usual questions at customs like intent of stay and etc. i thought about refusing to have it doen, but then decided that i didnt want to start a scene or issue out of it all, i mean i have nothing to hide. but then maybe i should have atleast tried.

i had no idea that this was a new procedure, so was pretty much helpless in having a say on the matter, however, that could be contributed to myself not doing the research on the update policies.

so over all i dont really care, but am still kinda pissed off that they have my prints and headshot. dfh out.

That information is only used to round people up when we invade their countries.

Let's see... Canada... ah, here we go: you can breathe easy for at least 7 more years.

So don't sweat it!