(Secondary Inspection) Travelling after I751

[daijia 1]

Just now, Deagle said:

I was traveling on extension letter and I didn't have any issues when entering the country. A year later I got my GC snd I was brought into secondary inspection upon returning to the US for almost 6 hours.

 

 

Oh sorry to hear that! But they just let you wait there for 6 hours while they are checking documents? So still no extensive interrogation or electronics checked?

 

Probably you should be thinking to apply for GE, that might really help, plus you get TSA Pre haha.

[Deagle 508]

Just now, daijia said:

Oh sorry to hear that! But they just let you wait there for 6 hours while they are checking documents? So still no extensive interrogation or electronics checked?

 

Probably you should be thinking to apply for GE, that might really help, plus you get TSA Pre haha.

 

It was not the TSA. It was the CBP. It was extensive. Took my phone and asked me to open it and they read my messages and looked at all the pictures I had and opened food containers that I had and it was spilled and went to trash and they didnt even bother to say sorry. They took my fingerprints 5 times, every hour an officr will come and take my fingerprints. I dont know if they were just bored because I was the only one in the holding area. 

 

They were asking me if I cook and what type of food and if I like chicken and if I play videogames and took my wallet. During the search my transit flight took off. They put me on a shitty one after and gave me my stuff and said you are all set to leave.

 

It was horrible experience

[daijia 1]

1 minute ago, Deagle said:

 

It was not the TSA. It was the CBP. It was extensive. Took my phone and asked me to open it and they read my messages and looked at all the pictures I had and opened food containers that I had and it was spilled and went to trash and they didnt even bother to say sorry. They took my fingerprints 5 times, every hour an officr will come and take my fingerprints. I dont know if they were just bored because I was the only one in the holding area. 

 

They were asking me if I cook and what type of food and if I like chicken and if I play videogames and took my wallet. During the search my transit flight took off. They put me on a shitty one after and gave me my stuff and said you are all set to leave.

 

It was horrible experience

This sounds to me like a an abuse of authority, because to me there are no need to check you so extensively. The reason that you are a PR is because USCIS had done an extensive search of you entirely.

 

Did you file complaint afterwards? (I am not sure if you could do so or not? )

 

And which airport did you land? Did this happen to you afterwards?

[Deagle 508]

5 minutes ago, daijia said:

This sounds to me like a an abuse of authority, because to me there are no need to check you so extensively. The reason that you are a PR is because USCIS had done an extensive search of you entirely.

 

Did you file complaint afterwards? (I am not sure if you could do so or not? )

 

And which airport did you land? Did this happen to you afterwards?

This happened in Montreal airport wich has a POE for CBP. The Canadian side didnt ask me much, the American side did this. 

 

I told the officer that my fingerprints will not change every hour. Why do you keep taking my fingerprints? He said he was doing his job and just sit and wait. 

 

I didnt file a complaint no although I could. This was my most recent travel in 2018. I dont know how my next travel will be.

[daijia 1]

4 minutes ago, Deagle said:

This happened in Montreal airport wich has a POE for CBP. The Canadian side didnt ask me much, the American side did this. 

 

I told the officer that my fingerprints will not change every hour. Why do you keep taking my fingerprints? He said he was doing his job and just sit and wait. 

 

I didnt file a complaint no although I could. This was my most recent travel in 2018. I dont know how my next travel will be.

Hmm I passed once through YUL with pre-clearance, and the CBP agents' attitude are really bad. They are like interrogating me that I have to respond the question in one second after they asked. But I was not pulled to the secondary inspection though.

 

This sounds terrible, I am not sure if other people had similar such terrible experiences? Have you read other posts regarding people's feedback of being pulled into secondary inspection? And anyone had similar experiences?

 

[Angela & Paul 12]

22 hours ago, Bill & Katya said:

My wife traveled multiple times with her expired GC and extension letter, and was never pulled into secondary.  A few times Customs conducted a baggage search, but we think that was more random.  One other suggestion, when you get your extension letter, make a few copies of it and keep the watermarked original safe.  One time at check in the airline wanted to keep a copy of my wife’s letter, luckily she had some as you need to present the original at CBP.

 

Good Luck!

Always bring the ORIGINAL extension letter, not a copy.

My wife has a horrific story when she tried to return from Brazil to the US and she got stopped in Lima, Peru because the agent there asked for the original... even if the airline agent in Sao Paolo let her take the flight to Lima with the copy. The airline (LAN, before they merged with TAM) admitted they made a mistake at the point of origin. She had to spend the night in Lima with our baby who was just a few months old, and that was just 2 days before Christmas Day. They flew her back to Sao Paolo the next day where she waited to received the original letter I mailed her FedEx..

But that's not all, because the first segment of the flight was used - even on their own mistake - , LAN refused to provide her with a new ticket to SFO. I had anticipated potential problems with LAN, a shoddy airline at best, and since I really wanted to spend New Year with her and our son, I had purchased a ticket from Sao Paolo to Los Angeles with Korean Airlines at a pretty hefty price. I drove from SFO bay area to LAX to pick her up on Dec. 31st at 5pm. We had our New Years celebrations in a hotel next to the airport, but couldn't care less.

I wrote the airline in Lima HQ a letter (certified, return receipt,...) asking for reimbursement of the Korean Air ticket, which they promptly ignored.

I told my wife we will never fly LAN ever again and we have kept our words.

 

[Dashinka 24,941]

5 hours ago, Angela & Paul said:

Always bring the ORIGINAL extension letter, not a copy.

My wife has a horrific story when she tried to return from Brazil to the US and she got stopped in Lima, Peru because the agent there asked for the original... even if the airline agent in Sao Paolo let her take the flight to Lima with the copy. The airline (LAN, before they merged with TAM) admitted they made a mistake at the point of origin. She had to spend the night in Lima with our baby who was just a few months old, and that was just 2 days before Christmas Day. They flew her back to Sao Paolo the next day where she waited to received the original letter I mailed her FedEx..

But that's not all, because the first segment of the flight was used - even on their own mistake - , LAN refused to provide her with a new ticket to SFO. I had anticipated potential problems with LAN, a shoddy airline at best, and since I really wanted to spend New Year with her and our son, I had purchased a ticket from Sao Paolo to Los Angeles with Korean Airlines at a pretty hefty price. I drove from SFO bay area to LAX to pick her up on Dec. 31st at 5pm. We had our New Years celebrations in a hotel next to the airport, but couldn't care less.

I wrote the airline in Lima HQ a letter (certified, return receipt,...) asking for reimbursement of the Korean Air ticket, which they promptly ignored.

I told my wife we will never fly LAN ever again and we have kept our words.

 

I agree, the original is required to check in and to re-enter at CBP.  In my wife's case, she checked in at Beijing (PEK) with the original, but the check-in agent wanted to keep it.  Luckily, my wife had some copies with her which the gate agent accepted and my wife retained the original for her eventual re-entry in Detroit.  I did not mean to say not to take the original extension letter when traveling, I meant to say also bring some copies just in case.

[daijia 1]

9 hours ago, Angela & Paul said:

Always bring the ORIGINAL extension letter, not a copy.

My wife has a horrific story when she tried to return from Brazil to the US and she got stopped in Lima, Peru because the agent there asked for the original... even if the airline agent in Sao Paolo let her take the flight to Lima with the copy. The airline (LAN, before they merged with TAM) admitted they made a mistake at the point of origin. She had to spend the night in Lima with our baby who was just a few months old, and that was just 2 days before Christmas Day. They flew her back to Sao Paolo the next day where she waited to received the original letter I mailed her FedEx..

But that's not all, because the first segment of the flight was used - even on their own mistake - , LAN refused to provide her with a new ticket to SFO. I had anticipated potential problems with LAN, a shoddy airline at best, and since I really wanted to spend New Year with her and our son, I had purchased a ticket from Sao Paolo to Los Angeles with Korean Airlines at a pretty hefty price. I drove from SFO bay area to LAX to pick her up on Dec. 31st at 5pm. We had our New Years celebrations in a hotel next to the airport, but couldn't care less.

I wrote the airline in Lima HQ a letter (certified, return receipt,...) asking for reimbursement of the Korean Air ticket, which they promptly ignored.

I told my wife we will never fly LAN ever again and we have kept our words.

 

I am planing , as Bill&Katya suggested, bring both Original and copies in case the check-in agent wants to keep copies.

 

So I suppose after your wife received the original, the agent only took a look at it but did not retain the original one right?

Edited November 19, 2019 by daijia

[daijia 1]

4 hours ago, Bill & Katya said:

I agree, the original is required to check in and to re-enter at CBP.  In my wife's case, she checked in at Beijing (PEK) with the original, but the check-in agent wanted to keep it.  Luckily, my wife had some copies with her which the gate agent accepted and my wife retained the original for her eventual re-entry in Detroit.  I did not mean to say not to take the original extension letter when traveling, I meant to say also bring some copies just in case.

Which airline did your wife took? I Do have plan to visit China soon (Still thinking🤔)

 

And she has no other troubles checking in and boarding the plane in PEK? So who did took the copies, the gate agent or the check-in agent?

 

And you can get a Chinese visa on submitting your copy of green card and the COPY of extension letter?

Edited November 19, 2019 by daijia

[Angela & Paul 12]

6 hours ago, daijia said:

I am planing , as Bill&Katya suggested, bring both Original and copies in case the check-in agent wants to keep copies.

 

So I suppose after your wife received the original, the agent only took a look at it but did not retain the original one right?

That is correct, they did not retain the original and they shouldn’t. 
You should never leave any original document with the airline or TSA. 

[daijia 1]

3 minutes ago, Angela & Paul said:

That is correct, they did not retain the original and they shouldn’t. 
You should never leave any original document with the airline or TSA. 

Okay sure thanks. I really feel that this is because of the airline did not well trained the agents, and for those agents, they do not dare to do something that they are not certain as if what they did is actually wrong indeed, they might be fined as well. 

So after all, this is really hard to avoid or predict because the problem is not ourselves since we are all well prepared