Atlanta as a POE

[KaiserD 12]

I hate to say it but i wonder if it is easier if you are white. Most of the immigration officials at ATL are white middle aged dudes and whilst they always seem fine with me i guess it is possible that they are harsher towards non white immigrants.

Maybe, but I've seen loads of black people both at the entry booths and around the airport. One thing I found is the people at POE were all GRUMPY! I remember the first time I went to see SO (that guy was black), he gave me a big lecture on the facts of internet safety and was I sure this man was who he said he was I was quite embarrased, but it was kinda sweet really.

I guess cause I've been so many times visiting now, and ATL is the only stamps in my passport, they don't hassle me much when I go in. Maybe it will be a different case when I go for my final time, but that is a few months off yet.

[lawrencetoland 3]

My husband came through Atlanta and he refuses to go through there. He was treated with contempt and I have to say he is as white they come. He is highly educated, polite and kind. He was withheld water for 8 hours and got dehydrated before he was put on a plane and sent back. He is still pissed about it. And rightly so.

[KarenCee 3]

My husband came through Atlanta and he refuses to go through there. He was treated with contempt and I have to say he is as white they come. He is highly educated, polite and kind. He was withheld water for 8 hours and got dehydrated before he was put on a plane and sent back. He is still pissed about it. And rightly so.

Whoa...totally uncalled for. To be denied water for 8 hrs? And then sent back? He has every right to be upset. So sorry to hear that.

[JenT 0]

Avoid Atlanta like the plague.

Jen

[Saddle Bronc 124]

Atlanta isn't the nicest POE by a long shot. There are some here who have had problems coming through ATL... It's the reason my husband chose to come through another POE, even though we live close to ATL airport.

If you remember where you heard this information, I hope you can point us to those posts. I did a VJ serach on Atlanta but could not find any such complaints, in fact I found just the opposite:

<see post>

Then you've missed my frequent arguments with TracyTN (in whose opinion "Hartsfield Airport is the entrance to hell").

Basically, Atlanta IS the world's busiest (passenger volume) airport, and is correspondingly huge in area (so making a flight connexion there can be problematic). In my experience (I used to live in Atlanta), it was not too bad a POE (but as I was always ending flight there and going home, it's different from clearing imm/customs and making a connexion in the same place).

I had two POE experiences there (one from Gatwick, other from Brussels). On the Gatwick entry, there was a potential glitch (I happened to be a TN-1 worker with approved I-140 then; the imm officer asked "where's the visa?" showing that many imm officers even six years in were NOT NAFTA-cognisant).

Edited September 12, 2006 by CherryXS

[chri'stina 190]

I hate to say it but i wonder if it is easier if you are white. Most of the immigration officials at ATL are white middle aged dudes and whilst they always seem fine with me i guess it is possible that they are harsher towards non white immigrants.

Could be, after all we are talking the deep south.

Hmm I don't know about that. I came through Atlanta as our POE when returning from India and many other officers I saw were black themselves, so why would they treat white people nicer? Since I am a US citizen I have no idea how they would act different if I was a foreigner. Besides waiting in a long line, the experience for me was fine. And the customs officer and immigration officers I dealt with were both black. I know it may be different for foreigners who have to go into another room or get asked lots of questions. That doesn't sound fun.

Edited September 12, 2006 by stina&suj

[KaiserD 12]

I'm not looking forward to it now!

[Saddle Bronc 124]

Sometimes used as a solution by Canadians (in US on temp work visas) is to ensure the trip goes through Canada.

(of course, it really only works on Atlantic route for Ontarians and on Pacific route for BC'ers--lousy option for all else).