From The horses mouth:

[Emmalee25]

:) the london embassy has had some serious problems that they are trying to address

This is a quote from an email from my Va today! am working on him for more details and he seems to be in the know of a big prob behind the scenes....
will keep you updated :)

Em x

[Susie]

Yea,


About bl--dy time too!!!!!!!! As I said in another thread, the blame should rest at the top and then follows through to the bottom. The first step is admitting and problem the second is doing something about it


Now lets jump on the band wagon and write to them and ask what the heck is going on and get draft letter sorted asap

USC and others want to sell their business, people want to buy, so whats the problem

Thinking and box come to mind !


You have a buyer and seller, so subject to good moral character why not let people get their visa after all you cannot get benefits in the usa

[Emmalee25]

That has alwaye been my thought Sue,
BUT unfortunately nothing is EVER as simple as that! my friends, coming thru on vwp got hauled for secondary questioning because the woman at the booth (on airport entry) said she didnt want the likes of them coming in and living off the USA, when my friend retorted "we couldnt if we wanted to" she replied "but most of you lot do" ????????????????????????????????????
these people obviosuly dont realise we cant and dont want to, the majority of UK people seeking to leave the UK are actually trying to get away from the likes of benefitn sluggers!!!

I still belive in all honesty the prob lies with President Blairs and Bushy!!! Blair doesnt want us to go, so says pretty please to Bushy....and there you have it! c*ck up in London!!! :rolleyes:
Em x

[haytonmac]

Em did your friends come through Sanford?

[Grumpy]

Yea Em agree,

But what a hell of a c--k up!

[Emmalee25]

No anneke,
MCO? they are coming thru sanford next time tho!
Em x

[Emmalee25]

Yea Em agree,

But what a hell of a c--k up!

LOL!
I know, but the americans have always Liked to do everything bigger than everyone else...LOL

[DEE F]

my daughter and grandson where sent back from philadelphia after being give an abslutely horrendous time, she was told she was going to prison ,and that my granndson was goingto be put in care, if she didnt stop lying to them, they accused her of living and working here, no true she was here to visit us, they also got her to sign a form to say they would give them food and drink whilst being detained, and then refused to do so, makes you wonder if that would have happend to an American at an English airport, if anything would have been done had been !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So be warned.

[Emmalee25]

sinilar thing happened to us Dee,
although not sent back we received secondary questioning and when i asked for a drink of water for my 2 year old and a place to change his nappy! I was dealt with very rudely!
Em x

[DEE F]

The worst thing was Em is they refused my grandson even a drink of water and he was dehydrated from his flight, they kept them 5 hours then put the on a plane to UK, my poor grandson thought he was in florida didnt understand what was going on,she then went down to embassy to apply for b visa and was told she couldnt have one, when she asked why , they told her they didnt want her sort in their country, whatever the hell that means!!!!! Needless to say we no longer see them and it is very very upsetting at this time of year especially, the irony of it is she wasnt doing any of the things she was accused of but they jsut didnt believe her,

[chris]

The treatment these 'officials' meter out borders on what those little thugs did about 50 years ago - the ones with the little squaredy designs on the red & white armbands!
Whilst I do not recommend taking them to task at the POE, I would seriously recommend people try and get their badge numbers and after getting in, file a formal complaint to their supervisors.
At the end of the day these people are nothing more than hired hand civil servants and as I always say they are there to serve and be civil. Those that do not do that are are a disgrace to the uniform they wear and the country they represent.
I believe a posting was on the Florida Forum last week about an article in the online Daily Telegraph. It was about the 'welcome' folks get coming into the USA and the gestapo like tactics of the uniformed 'greeters'. Apparently, there have been some celebrated cock ups, one involving UK actor Sir Ian McKellen who was refused entry from Canada. He eventually got a profuse apology from Homeland Security. They (USA) have admitted that some staff have had to be re-trained (brain transplant more like).
Anyhow, it is one more nail in the coffin of the USA as far as visitors are concerned (they are down 17% from places like UK & rest of Europe), so one fine day they may wake up and wonder what they did.
Emmalee - don't get umpty about my comment about civil servants - I used to be one! Thankfully I got out in time!!

[Emmalee25]

Lol Chris,
wouldnt get 'Umpty' about it mate, my hubby hated being a civil servant and got out as soon as redundancy reared its ugly head! my hubby was/is a hard worker, he said the main pain in the civil service is that so many get away with doing so little!!!
this...is sooooo true!
Dee, they refused us the water too, my son was 2 years old, has a heart condition and had just endured 8 hours on a plane, we were held for 2 hours, in the end i changed his nappy (a rather smelly one :( ) on the floor of the waiting room!!!!!!! LOL
Em x

[DEE F]

Oh Em you poor thing, it is unbeleivable isnt it, but hey how easy is it to itimidate a young waoman with little boy in tow, when not only are they being extremely threatening but are also armed, can you imagine how my grandson felt he was 9 at the time to be sat outside a room and to hear his mum crying, luckily for them she was in Philadelphia and not at OIA because then they would have had to deal with me lol, but seriously it dosnt seem like there is a d..m thing anyone can do, i wnder was this a violation of her human rights???????????

[punky]

my daughter and grandson where sent back from philadelphia after being give an abslutely horrendous time, she was told she was going to prison ,and that my granndson was goingto be put in care, if she didnt stop lying to them, they accused her of living and working here, no true she was here to visit us, they also got her to sign a form to say they would give them food and drink whilst being detained, and then refused to do so, makes you wonder if that would have happend to an American at an English airport, if anything would have been done had been !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So be warned.

That's truely scary, especially for those who think they may stand a chance at being denied entry into the country :(

How were they detained? Where they locked in a communual room in the airport? Or held in a prison cell?

[Emmalee25]

Dee,
My VA (visa attorney) was appaalled at the treatment i received, he meets with the immigration staff and managers once per month from MCO and he relayed my story to them, apparently we should all be treated courteously and in the old way of "innocent until proven guilty" BUT there are so many vigilantes that work there that would never happen, I did get the guys name and badge number and told him he would be reported, he just shrugged!
What made me laugh! and this is not meant be any means as a racist remark, but the 2 people i dealt with that day were from peurto (sp?) Rico and Mexico, and English was definiately a second language! i mean they must be citizens to work there! but this did make me laugh! whereas the guy who we came thru at sanford, was a fat, happy aged guy, who really did not give a toss!!! :confused:
Em x

[Emmalee25]

This is the Telegraph link

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main...ws/2006/11/22/

wusa22.xml

What part was of interest to you? I read the one about benefits etc? is there one to do with immigration that i missed...sorry to ask?
Em x

[DEE F]

hi Punky, they were in a holding ofice of some sort, we only found out after our daughter hadnt rang us to say she had landed in philly before taking off for Orlando, when I treid to get through to someone at Philladephia i was finally put onto some bloke , when i asked what was going on with my daughter and grandson,he said quote" she hasgot am immigration issue she cant ovecome: I then asked him, could we help and was told no she was over 21??? I then proceeded to ask where they both ok and his reply was they are fine but i no longer want to talk to you, and promptly hung up on me grrrrrrrrrr I was sooooooooooo mad but didnt have a clue what I could do about it.

[chris]

This is a link to the Customs and Border people. The link explains how they will treat you on entry and how to complain. Either it was written by a trainee or someone in Washington who deosn't get out much. It could be worth while printing this off and having it handy just in case Adolf's hispanic cousin decides he doesn't like the look of you gringo's!
http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/travel/customerservice/pledge_travel.xml
Wrapping a big piece of lead around it will also serve a useful purpose, but don't count on getting back in if you use this method of seeking customer satisfaction!

[Kriz1]

Would anyone like to write out their story so I can print it on my blog....?
You can PM me with it....I could add some links....like the one Chris gave out....I sometime have a lot of traffic...and I could print them in my political group...

[britcan]

my daughter and grandson where sent back from philadelphia after being give an abslutely horrendous time, she was told she was going to prison ,and that my granndson was goingto be put in care, if she didnt stop lying to them, they accused her of living and working here, no true she was here to visit us, they also got her to sign a form to say they would give them food and drink whilst being detained, and then refused to do so, makes you wonder if that would have happend to an American at an English airport, if anything would have been done had been !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So be warned.
Report this to Lou Dobbs....seriously...

[Emmalee25]

Yep,
My VA told me to report my treatment but am worried about raising my head incase of a backlash on future re-entries!!!
Kris, do you want stories of mis treatment on entry to the US?

Em x

[Kriz1]

Yep,
My VA told me to report my treatment but am worried about raising my head incase of a backlash on future re-entries!!!
Kris, do you want stories of mis treatment on entry to the US?

Em x

Yes...not sure if it will help much....but I can print the stories on my blog...and ask people to pass them along....no names need to be used....and any links about mistreatment would help too...

[punky]

hi Punky, they were in a holding ofice of some sort, we only found out after our daughter hadnt rang us to say she had landed in philly before taking off for Orlando, when I treid to get through to someone at Philladephia i was finally put onto some bloke , when i asked what was going on with my daughter and grandson,he said quote" she hasgot am immigration issue she cant ovecome: I then asked him, could we help and was told no she was over 21??? I then proceeded to ask where they both ok and his reply was they are fine but i no longer want to talk to you, and promptly hung up on me grrrrrrrrrr I was sooooooooooo mad but didnt have a clue what I could do about it.

Thanx for that. :)

Treatment for people refused entry is an issue that I / Expat's Voice are taking seriously interest in, and its great to have someone with first hand experience (although not you for you obviously :))

[anniefromessex]

What about being denied entry from the Bahamas back to the U.S.

[punky]

What about being denied entry from the Bahamas back to the U.S.

You was denied entry into the Bahamas?

[Emmalee25]

No Punky,
her son was denied re-entry to the US from the Bahamas! ;)
Em x

[anniefromessex]

Thanks Em for putting Punky straight - please keep up Punky, ha ha!!

[DEE F]

Did they send him back to UK Annie and if they did how was he treated , hopefully not as bad as my daughter,i forgot to mention earlier that when they finally escorted them to the plane,the guards with her went on the plane and gave the stewardess their passports and told her not to give them back till she landed on British soil and that they didnt have to feed them either!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!i actually spoke to my daughter today and she said she would never set foot in America again as she was so disgusted that they are allowed to treat people like that, and that the whole episode totaly traumatised her and she needed pills from her doctor to calm her nerves, not a pretty story I know but one that happens all to often , I wish I had known at the time that there is actually a complaints dept as this all happened in July 2005, but with the way security is over here and the way immigration tars us all with the same brush it seems we are all fighting a losing battle, it would be interesting to hear from anyone who actually stood up to their bullying tactics.

[anniefromessex]

Hi Dee,

I am so sorry for what happened to your daughter, it must have been a harrowing experience and one that is not easily forgotten!

If you read my introduction you will see that we went to the Bahamas with my son so they could apply for B1/B2 Visas. To cut a long story short they were denied so the next day went to the airport to get our flights back to America - they were going to be leaving here on the Sunday and this was on the Friday. They were hauled aside for secondary questioning, my granddaughter was 2 at the time and after 4 hours or more after having nothing to eat or drink -my granddaughter had strep throat at the time - they were told they would not be allowed back to the States and would have to get a flight back to England. They only had summer clothes and not many of them at that as we were only meant to be gone for 3 days, not only that but my grandson was staying with friends in the States and they could not have given a damn!!! They ended up having to spend another night in the Bahamas (more expense) and paying $5,300 for flights back to the UK.

It was a terrible experience for us all, I had to have medical attention because they even hauled us aside (see my intro), and one that I will never forget. It has made me very bitter to be honest with you, but I do not want to be beaten by these people and continue to fight.

That, unfortunately, is what we all have to do and hopefully things might change in the future for others. We can live in hope!!

Annie

[Emmalee25]

I did argue with the guy at POE,
They hauled us off to a room and then hauled my husband off alone. I could hear the officer shouting down the corridor! i assumed he was getting arsey with my Hubby and so i got arsey back (apparently my hubby had asked the guy to shout up as he was deaf from a bad landing...:p ) so i got all hett up for nothing!
It was wierd, the guy gave us all this speech about illegal immigrants etc, and then once he had decided we could enter and stamped our passports for 90days he became Mr. Nice guy, saying it was only his job etc and no offense!!! ;) LOL, i had my stamped passport back by then so told him what i thought of his bedside manner and that i had indeed taken offence and there was no need to treat us this way etc etc, my hubby dragged me off in the end!!! my mouth can get me in no end of trouble when im annoyed...OOOOPs!
Em x

[DEE F]

To Annie and Em it is truly unbelievable that in this day and age we are still subjected to the treatment baled out to us from these so called upholders of the truth, all I can say is if we are Americas closest allies then I would hate to think what would happen if they classed us as their enemies,and Em if I had been at the airport when this happened to my daughter and grandson it wouldnt have been my mouth they would have had to worry about, must admit that was funny about your hubby.

[chris]

A lass from Leeds getting snotty with people. Never! They are all genteel and stay quietly in the background!
Anyhow, here's a link to the Field Adjudication Manual of the USCIS. There is a section that details how they handle an interview including manner and what to wear. On the last bit, I simply couldn't find any reference to jackboots!
http://www.uscis.gov/propub/ProPubVAP.jsp?dockey=724ce55f1a60168e48ce159d28615 0e2
I mentioned this my wife, who is a genteel scouser and she suggested being all nice and letting them do their rant & rave bit, then when they'd stamped the passport and you're in, you then demand to speak to their supervisor. Personally, I'd complain later, but you know these women when they get riled!
No matter how you look at these examples, there is no excuse whatsoever for their standard of behaviour or attitude. It is gross, ignorant, rude, arrogant and a few others adjectives that I won't quote here.
I believe that so long as you know you are bullet proof in your reaosn for entry, then complain, complain, complain!

[DEE F]

That is a good point Chris, but who do you complain to when they send you back to UK and as all this happened to my daughter over a year ago (wish I knew about the forum then) is it still worth filing a complaint , even though after her ordeal she feels she never wants to step foot in America again she is just too scared, they never gave her a chance to speak really they just kept intimidating her , and like I said on a earlier post , how easy is it to do that to a girl on her own. And because of this she has no faith that she wouldnt get the same treatment again, it makes you wonder doesnt it??

[chris]

Dee,
I can only suggest these routes. Someone else may suggest more. I would first write to the Homeland Security Dept HQ in Washington filing a formal complaint about the person at the airport, there manner, etc, etc. There was a posting on the Florida Forum last week which carried an article in the Daily Telegraph about the treatment of foreigners by these 'people' at US airports . It detailed how complaints have risen and EU folks coming in have dropped by 17%. It highlights that if you p**s people off and make them feel unwelcome, then don't be surprised if they stop coming. It also said that Homeland Security recognised that some were not behaving as they should and were being retrained (at Guantanomo Bay no doubt?) to be nicer (stick finger down throat here).
The other folks I would complain to would be the British Embassy in Washington and the British Consular General in Orlando.
It's important that these latter know how their countrymen and women are being treated by the US. If 1 person complains, then its a one off, if 100 people complain then a picture starts to emerge, it can't be ignored and requires action. Lets face it, Orlando is the destination capital of the world and the tourist industry needs numbnuts at the airport like it needs a hole in the head. If Embassies amass data about the treatment of their nationals in a particular country, it is often handled back in the UK by the UK Foreign Office by calling in one of their diplomats for a good a***e kicking. For really serious issues, they will haul the Ambassador of that country in for a good kicking by the UK Foreign Secretary.
This may sound all high and mighty, but every single one of us are important and should never be ignored. It may only take one of these numbnuts at the airport to overstep the mark and someone with a health condition pop their clogs in the interview room, then all hell will break loose.

[DEE F]

Thanks for that Chris I will let my daughter know all this and see if she wants to take it any further, but you are 100% correct in what you say, they cannot go on treating people that come to their country as guests, treat them like common criminals and then except sympathy for their causes, it just isnt right, and you are also right in saying that if someone had a heart attack due to their gestapo like tactics What then??? Civility costs nowt as my dad used to say .Do you also think that because it happened a year ago at least to my daughter , that it would actually make any difference?

[Emmalee25]

Dee,
i would say it would still matter to them, you get 3 years to sue after a car crash or medical matter so surely we get some time to overcome what ahppened, get it all straight in our heads before we go in with a hammer for the big kick off! Ill defo be up for sending letter of complaint re treatment, i mean, there are at least 3 of us on here alone, imagine how many more get treated this way?
Em x

[anniefromessex]

I'm up for it too Em, I still have nightmares about it and on talking to my son today about them coming back here he was very down in the mouth about it - ie can't get excited, can't get motivated etc etc. I do understand how he feels because when I am back in England and believe you me I have spent a lot of time back there over the last 3 years, what with my Mum, now my Dad - sometimes 6/8 weeks at a time, without hubby I might add which has not been good, but you then adjust to life back there and you just do what you have to do; I think this is what is happening to my son and his family, this all seems like a bit of dream to them at the moment, after all they have to get on with their lives for the sake of the kids, so the thought of going through all the hassle they coped with for 2 years, seems scary!!

He is very down in the dumps though and I know in his heart of hearts this is where he wants to be but he really doesn't think he stands a cat in hells chance - so what do you do? I know I don't want to be back in England but at the same time don't know if I can survive out here without them, plus I have another granddaughter back in England who is going to be 2 Xmas Eve, I know I am missing out big time on her life - don't really know what the answer is. Even though I love it here (especially loved it when they were here), I know in my heart of hearts that there is something missing from my/our life and the decision has to be "can we carry on here without our family around us or be selfish and say yes we can and we have to live our life whatever and the consequences be damned". Hard call to make?!!!

Sorry, got off track there for a minute but I was not happy with our treatment in the Bahamas and would tell our story, for what good it might do to help others. Just say the word.

Anniex

[anniefromessex]

Hi again,

Re making a complaint, I think it was Chris was gave me a link on this posting which I went into and it gives an address in Washington to complain to - the link is http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/travel/cu...dge travel.xml. What a clever person he is cos I just had to click on his link and got on it, unfortunately I am not up to that standard so just go back one page, read one of his postings and clink on the link, hey presto you have the site!!

[Emmalee25]

A lass from Leeds getting snotty with people. Never! They are all genteel and stay quietly in the background!
Anyhow, here's a link to the Field Adjudication Manual of the USCIS. There is a section that details how they handle an interview including manner and what to wear. On the last bit, I simply couldn't find any reference to jackboots!
http://www.uscis.gov/propub/ProPubVAP.jsp?dockey=724ce55f1a60168e48ce159d28615 0e2
I mentioned this my wife, who is a genteel scouser and she suggested being all nice and letting them do their rant & rave bit, then when they'd stamped the passport and you're in, you then demand to speak to their supervisor. Personally, I'd complain later, but you know these women when they get riled!
No matter how you look at these examples, there is no excuse whatsoever for their standard of behaviour or attitude. It is gross, ignorant, rude, arrogant and a few others adjectives that I won't quote here.
I believe that so long as you know you are bullet proof in your reaosn for entry, then complain, complain, complain!


LOL Chris,
Thats me, the quiet Leeds Lass!!! LOL ;)
em x

[Susie]

Thanks for that Chris I will let my daughter know all this and see if she wants to take it any further, but you are 100% correct in what you say, they cannot go on treating people that come to their country as guests, treat them like common criminals and then except sympathy for their causes, it just isnt right, and you are also right in saying that if someone had a heart attack due to their gestapo like tactics What then??? Civility costs nowt as my dad used to say .Do you also think that because it happened a year ago at least to my daughter , that it would actually make any difference?


Hi

You can complain to the Ombudmans office not sure if it will help but maybe worth looking into

I will see if I can find a link to his site

[Sharon]

The treatment these 'officials' meter out borders on what those little thugs did about 50 years ago - the ones with the little squaredy designs on the red & white armbands!
Whilst I do not recommend taking them to task at the POE, I would seriously recommend people try and get their badge numbers and after getting in, file a formal complaint to their supervisors.
At the end of the day these people are nothing more than hired hand civil servants and as I always say they are there to serve and be civil. Those that do not do that are are a disgrace to the uniform they wear and the country they represent.
I believe a posting was on the Florida Forum last week about an article in the online Daily Telegraph. It was about the 'welcome' folks get coming into the USA and the gestapo like tactics of the uniformed 'greeters'. Apparently, there have been some celebrated cock ups, one involving UK actor Sir Ian McKellen who was refused entry from Canada. He eventually got a profuse apology from Homeland Security. They (USA) have admitted that some staff have had to be re-trained (brain transplant more like).
Anyhow, it is one more nail in the coffin of the USA as far as visitors are concerned (they are down 17% from places like UK & rest of Europe), so one fine day they may wake up and wonder what they did.
Emmalee - don't get umpty about my comment about civil servants - I used to be one! Thankfully I got out in time!!

Chris,

You are so right, when will the USA get it6 into their heads that they are shooting themselves in the foot?