PantomimeGoose
Difficulty:  | Review Topic: Port of Entry Review
Got to the new international terminal and did a lot of walking to get to the POE called the "TRIPOD" area. Systems were unfortunately down so we had to wait for about 45 min for things to get up and running again. They're training new staff: While no one was unfriendly, there was a lot of folks standing around, seemingly unsure of what to do.
There wasn't exactly a que, just a handful of people in the waiting area, so my husband eventually went up to the desk to make sure we were in the right place. The agents barely looked up from where they were clustered when he approached. He was told yes and waved back into the waiting area after they took his passport and sealed packet. More standing around while staff played around with the computers.
Eventually I went up to make sure it was ok that I (USC) was waiting with my husband. There was one rather curt, no-nonsense female agent whose English was still dodgy, and who seemed to be training everyone else. She explained to me that I could go through the regular USC line but that I wouldn't be allowed to reenter, or I could wait...and then looked at me a little like I was crazy when I said I would wait. Got waved back into the waiting area.
Husband was called to take fingerprints by a friendly agent, and sent to sit back down. Several minutes later, he was called back to do electronic fingerprints with some more confusion and friendly banter between the agents. He was sent to sit back down briefly, and then we were both called.
When I got to the desk, Sassy Lady Agent and another agent were explaining to the agent who handled my husband's case that he had stamped his visa in the wrong place. The agent on the case then told us about the duration of the visa, when to remove conditions, and so forth. Sassy lady agent then turned around and reiterated the same information, a little sharply, and a little needlessly. Then the case agent handed us our passports and told my husband "Welcome to America" javascript:emoticon(' ')
No real hassle, just disorganization...but hopefully that was just because of the new terminal opening, computer issues, and new agents being trained.
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Port of Entry Member Review #15210
Entry Date: 2012-05-23