Unfriendly Welcome
One would think that a nation of immigrants would treat its visitors well when they enter the country, but as Reuters reports, that’s often not the case in America. (Don’t let the misleading headline throw you, like I said, this is Reuters).
U.S. most unfriendly place to visitors, survey says
| Rude immigration officials and visa delays keep millions of foreign visitors away from the United States, hurt the country’s already battered image, and cost the U.S. billions of dollars in lost revenue, according to an advocacy group formed to push for a better system.To drive home the point, the Discover America Partnership released the result of a global survey on Monday which showed that international travelers see the United States as the world’s worst country in terms of getting a visa and, once you have it, making your way past rude immigration officials.
The survey, of 2,011 international travelers in 16 countries, was conducted by RT Strategies, a Virginia-based polling firm, for the Discover America Partnership, a group launched in September with multimillion-dollar backing from a range of companies that include the InterContinental Hotels Group, Anheuser Busch and Walt Disney Parks and Resorts. The survey showed that the United States was ranked “the worst” in terms of visas and immigration procedures by twice the percentage of travelers as the next destination regarded as unfriendly — the Middle East and the Asian subcontinent. More than half of the travelers surveyed said U.S. immigration officials were rude and two-thirds said they feared they would be detained on arriving in the United States for a simple mistake in their paperwork or for saying the wrong thing to an immigration official. |
As someone with a small contingent of foreign friends, I’ve already heard a few stories like this. One such person missed her first semester of school at my home university due to visa troubles and another has parents who are currently wading through the forms (which never arrived the first time) to come visit their daughter.
Certainly after 9/11 we have every right to be suspicious of foreigners, but there is absolutely no reason nor justification to treat our visitors like this. I hope this situation improves, and to help insure that it does, I’ll be writing to my senators about it. I just can’t stand the thought of my dear Chinese friends being hassled like this simply for wanting to visit America.
If you’re a foreigner who has had a bad (or good?) experience on your way in or out of the States, please share your story here. I’d love some anecdotal evidence to gauge just how bad this problem is. If you have had trouble, I do sincerely apologize for the conduct of my countrymen.
It’s a real shame that the first people that a visitor meets is an unfriendly and untrusting border official. I won’t condone this, but they’re probably under pressure from management to be very critical of each person, which may lead to them being unhappy. In general I think a problem like this is caused by management not the worker.
I’ve visited a number of European countries and China, and coming back through the US customs was the most aggravating. The people I dealt with were not unfriendly (this was pre-9/11), but they make you very nervous like you did something wrong. Sometimes this makes you feel even more uncomfortable because you don’t want to look nervous. That might be another sign that they are looking for.
↓ Quote | Posted November 21, 2006, 6:57 pmDave, we have the same problem in our country.
↓ Quote | Posted November 22, 2006, 1:07 pmRemember, i flew back to China during the summer. The officer weren’t that friendly to me when I walked through the door to check my passport in Shanghai, even though I AM A CHINESE. That gave me a really bad impression.
I think next time I will probably force them to say “Welcome back” to me, hahahahaha………………………………..
Not once during the multiple entries into China did an official give me a smile or a ‘have a nice day’ in English or Chinese. Not a single time. It was look at the picture, look at me, look at the computer, stamp, stamp, grunt, and I was on my way.
However, on many occassions I was given a ‘Welcome Home’ when entering the U.S. I can’t tell you how good these few words made me feel.
Moreover, I’m not sure those checking paperwork are the ones to be smiling and all happy go lucky. Anyone that has spent any time in customer service knows that smiling 8 hours a day is difficult. I’d prefer if they checked the paperwork and critically thought about each presentation.
When I entered Beijing the first time the smell of urine filled the airport. Now that’s rude.
↓ Quote | Posted November 23, 2006, 5:52 amSummer 2005 my luggage got delayed in O’Hare, but I didn’t find out about it until after a lot of sleuthing at Pudong. During the process I ended up in the office of a bunch of customs officials. While I was in that office an official walked in, sneered at me, turned to his colleagues and asked “What is this laowai doing here?” in a very unfriendly voice. A true Chinese official’s welcome to China! It was great to be back.
↓ Quote | Posted November 23, 2006, 7:11 pm