Mr. Borkström
Difficulty:  | Review Topic: Port of Entry Review
Once we’d landed, ahead of schedule actually, and after I’d collected my carry-on bag, I walked through a bunch of long halls and corridors. After a while I got to these big steps and "Welcome to the United States of America" was printed in huge letters above the steps. I walked up the steps and came out in a huge waiting hall. Tons of people were waiting in line to go through passport control. There were a lot of border officers though, so it went fairly quickly.
Once it was my turn, an officer took my fingerprints and (I think) scanned my eyes. He looked through my passport with the immigrant visa, held it up in the air and hollered ”Escort!” An armed guard escorted me to a side room and above the doorway it said something about Secondary Inspection. I gave my passport and the big brown envelope I got from the embassy to a woman behind a computer, and I was asked to take a seat. There was maybe six people in the waiting room, and there was a bench, sort of like in a courtroom, where three CBP officers sitting behind computers, were questioning intending immigrants. The crowd consisted of literally people from all over the world. There was a man who looked to be in his 50′s, he looked and sounded like he was Italian. A young guy must have been from the Philippines or some such place. There was a young woman from some South American country. There was also an Indian couple with two loud, annoying twins in a baby stroller. There was also a woman in her 30′s, holding a little boy in her arms.
Something that felt kinda awkward to me was the fact that everyone in the room could hear what the CBP officers were asking the immigrants. One guy was called up to one of the officers, he was probably about my age, maybe a couple years younger, of normal height, perhaps a tad on the skinny side, and he had a rather thick German accent. He went up and talked to the officer for a while and was then asked to sit down and wait again. He returned to a seat in the row behind me. While he was sitting down the officer dialed a number and started talking to someone on the phone. – Do you know a Tobias something something? Are you his sponsor? Are you aware that he has a battery conviction?” I could feel every muscle in my body scream at me ”Move to a seat across the room, man!” – Oh nice, I thought to myself, the first thing that happens to me in my new life in America is I’m going to be strangled in a stinking waiting room by a crazy German person. Welcome to America indeed! Luckily though the German was called up again, he was approved and disappeared out the door.
Another man, who had an accent that I can’t remember right now, was asked if he had ever been denied a visa. I got the impression that he had. He was carefully warned by the officer that if he lies about it again in the future, the CBP officer will send him back to his home country. Immigration is definitely serious business in America.
I am not sure how long I sat there waiting. When there’s no clock it’s always hard to tell how fast time passes. A man came in after me, he looked like he was from the Middle East. He was taken to a private room for further questioning almost right away. People came in after me, and got out before me. I was starting to lose my confidence, maybe especially since I’d just gotten off a very tiring flight. Finally it was my turn, though. I walked up, expecting a full on interrogation, but all I basically had to do was sign my name and leave my fingerprint. That was it. – You can wash your hands in the lavatory over in the corner, the officer said. He gave me my passport back, I washed my hands and went out the door to pick up my luggage.
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Port of Entry Member Review #15359
Entry Date: 2012-12-23