Crown

fritz:

Carlos from Spain:

RC:

My wife gets "flagged" every single time when we enter the US, so we need to go to the immigration officer and re-do the whole thing. Why? She has a double first name with a dash between the two names and the system cannot read the dash, so it "flags" my wife and we have to go through the person to person check.  Great technology. LOL

Same thing happened to my wife the last time we visited the US. My daughter and I have US passports but my wife is spanish and therefore has a compounded first & middle name and two last names (first from father and second from mother). Well apparently the inmigrations officers take the first name only and the second last name as the last name, which should be the opposite, first & middle are one single name, and then the real last name is the first last name, not the mother's side last name. Long story short its not her name they use and it comes out to be a be very general comon name in spanish language, equating to the typical "John Smith" in english. So it gets flag because apparently there is a "John Smith" on the blacklist obviously, there must be hundreds. Ironically her real last name is very very rare.

So in we go to the room were the inmigration officer has to check with homeland security or whatever to identify my wife and clear her. Of course all phones lines to homeland are busy and took 3 hrs to get through and clear her with just a couple of questions  ... after a long transatlantic trip with two connections, lost a limo we had rented to get to the hotel, etc. Ridiculous and unnecesary.

I'm going to US next year and already dreading passing inmigration, I'm noot confident they haven't taken  notice of what happened the last time and will repeat it all over again. Actaully thinking of using this before the trip so they can solve it before we actually get there   http://www.dhs.gov/dhs-trip

Carlos, was your last trip made before before the ESTA Visa Waiver Program was introduced, maybe?  I suspect it must have been for her to experience those problems.
It appears that immigration officers at the desk now call up the "pre-approved" ESTA data online using passport number and nationality, eliminating recognition errors due to incorrectly entered names, etc.. The border check now appears to have the primary function of confirming that the person entering the country is the one whose details are shown in the ESTA file. 

It was two years ago, with the ESTA and everything. And its not like she hasn't been to the US before.

I have a friend (and archichect) who's same thing has happened to his wife (university proffessor) as well  ... it's ridiculous.

⇒ Carlos - Porsche 991 Carrera GTS

Carlos from Spain:

fritz:

Carlos from Spain:

RC:

My wife gets "flagged" every single time when we enter the US, so we need to go to the immigration officer and re-do the whole thing. Why? She has a double first name with a dash between the two names and the system cannot read the dash, so it "flags" my wife and we have to go through the person to person check.  Great technology. LOL

Same thing happened to my wife the last time we visited the US. My daughter and I have US passports but my wife is spanish and therefore has a compounded first & middle name and two last names (first from father and second from mother). Well apparently the inmigrations officers take the first name only and the second last name as the last name, which should be the opposite, first & middle are one single name, and then the real last name is the first last name, not the mother's side last name. Long story short its not her name they use and it comes out to be a be very general comon name in spanish language, equating to the typical "John Smith" in english. So it gets flag because apparently there is a "John Smith" on the blacklist obviously, there must be hundreds. Ironically her real last name is very very rare.

So in we go to the room were the inmigration officer has to check with homeland security or whatever to identify my wife and clear her. Of course all phones lines to homeland are busy and took 3 hrs to get through and clear her with just a couple of questions  ... after a long transatlantic trip with two connections, lost a limo we had rented to get to the hotel, etc. Ridiculous and unnecesary.

I'm going to US next year and already dreading passing inmigration, I'm noot confident they haven't taken  notice of what happened the last time and will repeat it all over again. Actaully thinking of using this before the trip so they can solve it before we actually get there   http://www.dhs.gov/dhs-trip

Carlos, was your last trip made before before the ESTA Visa Waiver Program was introduced, maybe?  I suspect it must have been for her to experience those problems.
It appears that immigration officers at the desk now call up the "pre-approved" ESTA data online using passport number and nationality, eliminating recognition errors due to incorrectly entered names, etc.. The border check now appears to have the primary function of confirming that the person entering the country is the one whose details are shown in the ESTA file. 

It was two years ago, with the ESTA and everything. And its not like she hasn't been to the US before.

I have a friend (and archichect) who's same thing has happened to his wife (university proffessor) as well  ... it's ridiculous.

That is crazy, since this problem probably arises with every aircraft arriving from Spain.  

fritz

apias:

Carlos from Spain:

RC:

My wife gets "flagged" every single time when we enter the US, so we need to go to the immigration officer and re-do the whole thing. Why? She has a double first name with a dash between the two names and the system cannot read the dash, so it "flags" my wife and we have to go through the person to person check.  Great technology. LOL

Same thing happened to my wife the last time we visited the US. My daughter and I have US passports but my wife is spanish and therefore has a compounded first & middle name and two last names (first from father and second from mother). Well apparently the inmigrations officers take the first name only and the second last name as the last name, which should be the opposite, first & middle are one single name, and then the real last name is the first last name, not the mother's side last name. Long story short its not her name they use and it comes out to be a be very general comon name in spanish language, equating to the typical "John Smith" in english. So it gets flag because apparently there is a "John Smith" on the blacklist obviously, there must be hundreds. Ironically her real last name is very very rare. ...

This is crazy. 

It was a pretty crazy picture, neither me or my wife broken the law ever, with a child sleeping in her arms after a long flight, in Orlando airport coming for a vacation to DisneyWorld, with hotels, tickects everything to show for it, two of us US citizens, her with ESTA and previous visits to the same airport in the past... and there we are detained on that room with my wife feeling like a crimminal waiting to be cleared that she is not that "john smith" they have on their list. Its like from the twilight zone.

The inmigration official was nice though, he could see that it was ridiculous, but like he said, he had to follow procedure or he could get in trouble. So got a bit special treatment, like being able to use my cell phone there (which wasn't alllowed, they repramanded another person there for pulling his cell out) and even allowed me to grab my bags from the carrousell which wasn't allowed either.

But still... not exactly a great welcome, especially because it was so pointless and unnecesary. Like I said, I will be going back this year again to the same airport, a family on a 20$k vacation on walt disney world, and I'm afraid its going to happen all over again...

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⇒ Carlos - Porsche 991 Carrera GTS

The ESTA approval is no guarantee for an entry into the USA. Many tourists may not be aware of that but if you travel with ESTA, you have no right whatsoever to enter the US. The final decision is made by the immigration officer and there are officers...and officers.  

The ESTA approval does not mean that US authorities have checked upon you and that they have cleared you for entering the US. This is a big misconception by travelers and also a reason why some, who get refused (or have issues entering the country), get angry at US authorities. ESTA only checks that you are not on the US no-fly list, that you are not blacklisted for entering the US, that you are using an approved carrier and that your country is participating in the visa waiver program. Nothing else. Thats it. So it can happen that the immigration officer refuses entry (mostly only happens when you enter for the very first time with the same passport) and there is nothing you can do about. You need to fly back and get a B2 visa next time.

Carlos and his wife were lucky. The fact that they led them to a separate room to check with DHS was bad, very bad. They were lucky that Carlos and his daughter were US citizens. Usually, they do not have that kind of patience and if it gets too complicated and you are traveling on ESTA...bye bye. This is called risk management and they just lower the risk by not letting you in. 

Carlos should get his wife either US citizenship  or a B2 visa and be done with it. No more problems when entering the US. Talking to the DHS (like he suggested before) is also a possible scenario but if they don't flag his wife "right" in the system, the whole thing starts again.

Actually, I think that after they checked on his wife, they made an entry into the system, flagging her "approved for entry". The DHS has probably flagged her "right", the immigration officer at the border entry cannot change entries in the system but the other officers (in that room) can. Since she (I assume) uses the same passport with the entry stamp from two years ago, I doubt there will be any issue next time. 

A former class mate (school) of my wife works as an DHS immigration officer in the US, so I know how this works. 

--

RC (Germany) - Rennteam Editor Porsche 991 Carrera 4 GTS Cabriolet, Porsche Macan Turbo, Ford Mustang GT500 Shelby SVT (2014), Mini JCW (2015), Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT (2014)

The ESTA approval is no guarantee for an entry into the USA. Many tourists may not be aware of that but if you travel with ESTA, you have no right whatsoever to enter the US. The final decision is made by the immigration officer and there are officers...and officers.  

That's the case for everybody even people with Green Cards. They can deny you entry at will and then you need to go through an Immigration lawyer (assuming you are GC holder and want to go home).

Dealing with US immigration is always tricky just because the power of granting entry lies with the individual immigration officer.

Btw to take you to the separate room is not unusual but it is an inconvenience because that means that you will miss connecting flights etc...The important thing is to stay calm and not panick. If you do panick they will keep you there for longer...

wantone:

The ESTA approval is no guarantee for an entry into the USA. Many tourists may not be aware of that but if you travel with ESTA, you have no right whatsoever to enter the US. The final decision is made by the immigration officer and there are officers...and officers.  

That's the case for everybody even people with Green Cards. They can deny you entry at will and then you need to go through an Immigration lawyer (assuming you are GC holder and want to go home).

Dealing with US immigration is always tricky just because the power of granting entry lies with the individual immigration officer.

With a Green Card, you have rights. With ESTA, you have a worthless piece of paper.  The DHS officers at the point of entry know that, so they deny entry to Green Card holders in very specific cases (usually they flag you and you need to take care of the "problem") but with ESTA, they can do what they want. Usually, they are more lenient with families and especially families with kids but if you're young and with an attitude....bye bye. 

RC (Germany) - Rennteam Editor Porsche 991 Carrera 4 GTS Cabriolet, Porsche Macan Turbo, Ford Mustang GT500 Shelby SVT (2014), Mini JCW (2015), Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT (2014)

Like I said the INS officer can deny you entry and then you have to fight for your rights using a lawyer  (good luck with that...)

RC:

The ESTA approval is no guarantee for an entry into the USA. Many tourists may not be aware of that but if you travel with ESTA, you have no right whatsoever to enter the US. The final decision is made by the immigration officer and there are officers...and officers.  

The ESTA approval does not mean that US authorities have checked upon you and that they have cleared you for entering the US. This is a big misconception by travelers and also a reason why some, who get refused (or have issues entering the country), get angry at US authorities. ESTA only checks that you are not on the US no-fly list, that you are not blacklisted for entering the US, that you are using an approved carrier and that your country is participating in the visa waiver program. Nothing else. Thats it. So it can happen that the immigration officer refuses entry (mostly only happens when you enter for the very first time with the same passport) and there is nothing you can do about. You need to fly back and get a B2 visa next time.

Carlos and his wife were lucky. The fact that they led them to a separate room to check with DHS was bad, very bad. They were lucky that Carlos and his daughter were US citizens. Usually, they do not have that kind of patience and if it gets too complicated and you are traveling on ESTA...bye bye. This is called risk management and they just lower the risk by not letting you in. 

Carlos should get his wife either US citizenship  or a B2 visa and be done with it. No more problems when entering the US. Talking to the DHS (like he suggested before) is also a possible scenario but if they don't flag his wife "right" in the system, the whole thing starts again.

Actually, I think that after they checked on his wife, they made an entry into the system, flagging her "approved for entry". The DHS has probably flagged her "right", the immigration officer at the border entry cannot change entries in the system but the other officers (in that room) can. Since she (I assume) uses the same passport with the entry stamp from two years ago, I doubt there will be any issue next time. 

A former class mate (school) of my wife works as an DHS immigration officer in the US, so I know how this works. 

--

 

RC (Germany) - Rennteam Editor Porsche 991 Carrera 4 GTS Cabriolet, Porsche Macan Turbo, Ford Mustang GT500 Shelby SVT (2014), Mini JCW (2015), Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT (2014)

 

Good to know, thanks for the info . May look into the visa thing. I even have to go to the US embassy to renew my daughter's passport in a couple of months.

⇒ Carlos - Porsche 991 Carrera GTS

wantone:

Btw to take you to the separate room is not unusual but it is an inconvenience because that means that you will miss connecting flights etc...The important thing is to stay calm and not panick. If you do panick they will keep you there for longer...

One of the reason I'm making sure that may last flight is the one arriving to Orlando, i.e. not making any connection flights within US, and do them instead in Europe. this way if this happens again, while going throiugh inmigration, I do not have any connection flights and I'm already at my destination.

I as a bit frustrated, tired and feeling bad for my wife of going through that, but I'm leveled headed type of guy and do not let the emotions get the better of me in those situations, I was civilised and straight, serious, cooperative and understanding so had no problems with the inmigration officer, he even gave us sort of special treatments like I mentioned before that none of the other people in the room were getting. Getting angry, unreasonable or panicing or the like will get you nowere in those situations. Sometimes people are their own worst enemies.

⇒ Carlos - Porsche 991 Carrera GTS

wantone:

Like I said the INS officer can deny you entry and then you have to fight for your rights using a lawyer  (good luck with that...)

There are no INS officers anymore, the DHS took over but I get your point. You're not quite right though, if you have a Green Card they can deny you entry only if they have a serious motive. Usually, they flag you (whatever they didn't like, usually they tell you) and you need to get your things in order for the next re-entry. Unless of course you argue with them, then...as you said...good luck because they will deny entry and you have to fly back to the point of origin and take a lawyer to fight your way back into the US.

@Carlos: Never ever argue with an immigration officer. They work completely independent, the decision they make is final. You can fight this in court but they know very well that you have no chance whatsoever with ESTA. With ESTA, it doesn't even go to court. 

I know your pain with entry to the US. After a 10 hour flight with the kids, we had to wait afterwards almost two hours at Hertz because they messed up our reservation and I didn't want to take a car with four(!) different tire brands and a faulty tire pressure sensor. My wife was ready to kill them. 

Also, last time in Miami, Sixt messed up our rental as well. I requested (and got a confirmation) for a car with SiriusXM radio, mainly because I know that the cheaper X5 and ML don't have it, so I would end up with a Mercedes GL or even G class. My strategy worked, they didn't have a car with SiriusXM, I insisted, so they gave me a Mercedes G class (G550). When I went to the garage to get the car, the guy there took my reservation sheet and came back over 20(!) minutes later...with a different reservation sheet saying X5 on it. I was so p.ss.d. He told me the G550 they had (it was right in front of my eyes) was already reserved for a customer on a later flight. I didn't want to take the X5 but this would have meant to go back to the counter downstairs and lose another half an hour or so because the counter was packed with customers when we left. We took the X5 (35is but still...a V6 ), barely fitted our five large suitcases in it and of course the car had no SiriusXM radio.  I got a refund and a 100 EUR apology for a next rental but I am still mad and I don't know if I will choose Sixt again next time. Already wrote a complaint and they apologized but... ​

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RC (Germany) - Rennteam Editor Porsche 991 Carrera 4 GTS Cabriolet, Porsche Macan Turbo, Ford Mustang GT500 Shelby SVT (2014), Mini JCW (2015), Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT (2014)

The wife of the friend that I mentioned earlier that happened the same thing as my wife, had that happen to her 3 times in a row! just because she has a common name. 3 times already! you would think that once is enough. Next time she will fill out that Traveler Regress Inquiry thing on the DHS site (http://www.dhs.gov/dhs-trip) see if that works, supposedly it for those situations

⇒ Carlos - Porsche 991 Carrera GTS

Just talked to another friend of mine, his wife has also a comon "second" last name and he said she was detained for 3 hours for secondary screening at inmigration by Homeland Security on their 3 last trips to the US. In one instance in NY they even separated her from him and their children and she did not speak english. Unbelievable.

So it seems that once the check that its a false alarm, they don't set the record straight for the next time either, the same mistake will happen all over again, they don't seem to care.

⇒ Carlos - Porsche 991 Carrera GTS

Carlos from Spain:

Just talked to another friend of mine, his wife has also a comon "second" last name and he said she was detained for 3 hours for secondary screening at inmigration by Homeland Security on their 3 last trips to the US. In one instance in NY they even separated her from him and their children and she did not speak english. Unbelievable.

So it seems that once the check that its a false alarm, they don't set the record straight for the next time either, the same mistake will happen all over again, they don't seem to care.

Oh boy...this is really annoying. 

So a B2 visa may be the best solution. With a visa, (almost ) all trouble is gone. 

RC (Germany) - Rennteam Editor Porsche 991 Carrera 4 GTS Cabriolet, Porsche Macan Turbo, Ford Mustang GT500 Shelby SVT (2014), Mini JCW (2015), Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT (2014)

May try the visa route but the parperwork is a pain in the arse   and knowing that all that is just for visiting the US for a european citizen makes it even worse... may try the Traveler Regress Inquiry thing at the DHS site and see what reponse I get first and then decide about the visa 

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⇒ Carlos - Porsche 991 Carrera GTS

Carlos from Spain:

May try the visa route but the parperwork is a pain in the arse   and knowing that all that is just for visiting the US for a european citizen makes it even worse... may try the Traveler Regress Inquiry thing at the DHS site and see what reponse I get first and then decide about the visa 

--

 

⇒ Carlos - Porsche 991 Carrera GTS

 

Good idea.  Just make sure they have enough time to react (it may take a day, it may take weeks).

The visa route is not a problem at all, the only annoyance is that you need to go there personally. You have to prove a fixed income and thats basically it. A simple document from your tax advisor accompanied by the last tax declaration should suffice. The only reason I do not go this route is because we may want to legally immigrate to the US at some point and the B2 visa can be a pretty steep obstacle in doing that, as weird as this may sound.

RC (Germany) - Rennteam Editor Porsche 991 Carrera 4 GTS Cabriolet, Porsche Macan Turbo, Ford Mustang GT500 Shelby SVT (2014), Mini JCW (2015), Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT (2014)

Maybe its not as bad as I thought, thanks for the tip. As I have to go to Madrid USA embassy anyways to renuew my daughters passport this year I can do both things the same day.

⇒ Carlos - Porsche 991 Carrera GTS

Carlos from Spain:

Maybe its not as bad as I thought, thanks for the tip. As I have to go to Madrid USA embassy anyways to renuew my daughters passport this year I can do both things the same day.

RC (Germany) - Rennteam Editor Porsche 991 Carrera 4 GTS Cabriolet, Porsche Macan Turbo, Ford Mustang GT500 Shelby SVT (2014), Mini JCW (2015), Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT (2014)