US Immigration horrendous

We were embarking onto a Celebrity Infinity in Vancouver last week going to Alaska. The USA immigration at Vancouver port were a disgrace. Firstly they made all non US or Canadian citizens sit in the hall until all the US and Canadian citizens had passed through. This took over 2 hours. Then they decided to make the rest of us stand in a Disney queue to be seen, which took on average another 2 hours. Half way through the machines broke down, and so instead of fingerprinting and pupil iris photographing everybody they suddenly went to just stamping your passport and letting you through! It took us nearly 4 hours to get through. We arrived at the port at 11.30am hoping to be on board by 1pm. It was 4.15pm when we walked on board and immediately we were ushered into the Lounge for Emergency drill. Even in here we had to wait for all other passengers to board before they started the drill and we were not even given a drink of water whilst we waited! Imagine if in Southampton we made US Citizens sit and wait until all other passport holders had been allowed to board, there would be outrage! This will be the last time I travel to the USA via a cruise ship and I am sure many others felt the same.

Yikes! That is terrible. Soooo sorry you had to go through this.

I would be angry too. Does anyone know if this is standard operating procedure for U.S. Customs in Vancouver now? We did a Pacific Coast cruise from Vancouver a few years ago and this was not the procedure at that time..

We have had 3 hours wait in Miami airport on 1 occasion--another time I was asked how I knew my husband when the agent had both passports in her hand!!

Now just take it as part of cruising in the USA

Sorry confused Aussie here, they finger print & iris scan? or were you being sarcastic .

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Hi that is the situation Fingerprint & iris scan been going for a couple of years now

I did a cruise from Miami to the Carribeans in December. Didn't have fingerprints taken or notice my iris being scanned! Is it only in Canada this is happening?

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Not as far as I'm aware as we had it in LAX last September

Found this on searching Google

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-02-26/welcome-aboard-first-us-marshals-will-scan-your-retina

I have a friend who no longer has her sister visit from Germany because of the horrible experience her sister had arriving at JFK.

It is sad that we are losing tourism dollars by making travel here so burdensome, but it is tragic that we are losing the friendship and goodwill of the people of other countries and cultures who have been so important to international relationships.

Ugh. I've boarded a few times in Vancouver and have only had this segregation thing happen once. I'm hoping that's not the case this September

First I do not understand why US Immigration if you are arriving to Vancouver that is a Canadian city?

Some occasions the USA immigration officer will send you and your family for a secondary revision. To scan all your belongings.

Take calm

First I do not understand why US Immigration if you are arriving to Vancouver that is a Canadian city?

 

Some occasions the USA immigration officer will send you and your family for a secondary revision. To scan all your belongings.

 

 

 

 

Take calm

It's boarding the ship, not landing at the airport. You go through US immigration before boarding.

First I do not understand why US Immigration if you are arriving to Vancouver that is a Canadian city?

 

Some occasions the USA immigration officer will send you and your family for a secondary revision. To scan all your belongings.

 

Take calm

It's boarding the ship, not landing at the airport. You go through US immigration before boarding.

The U.S. immigration service has offices at several Canadian airports so travelers can pre-clear customs before their flights. Those flights then can land as a domestic flight in the U.S., not an international flight. So since they already have the people and organization in Vancouver they pre-clear at the port for cruises going to the U.S.

Not a bad job if you could get it. It's a nice U.S. government job, which I assume is paid in U.S. currency but you live in Vancouver with everything priced in our $.80 dollar.

I know fingerprints and iris scans have been taken on international arrivals at US airports for over ten years.

We have sailed many times from a US port, the last time being September 16 in Seattle, and have never known this to be done at a port on embarkation.

And why would there be a need? biometrics are taken on all non-US international arrivals at a US airport. (Unless pre-cleared at origin)

I can only assume that the biometrics at Vancouver port are because the ship is sailing into the US from a non-US port.

This will be our first time entering the US via this method.

We are also sailing on Celebrity Infinity from Vancouver this September going to Alaska, and we were planning to arrive early at the pier.

Being made to sit and wait while all US and Canadian pass through first is a little distasteful to say the least.

We never had this issue sailing into Canada from the US.

I sure hope the practice of being made to wait isn't going to be the normal practice or this will be the first and last time that we travel to the USA via a cruise ship.

First I do not understand why US Immigration if you are arriving to Vancouver that is a Canadian city?

 

Some occasions the USA immigration officer will send you and your family for a secondary revision. To scan all your belongings.

 

 

 

 

Take calm

If you fly into the US from Canada, you clear US Immigration at the Canadian airport before boarding. Upon arrival in the US, you simply walk off the plane.

The same applies to Alaska cruises departing Vancouver. You pre-clear before boarding the ship and don't have to go through Immigration when arriving as US ports.

We boarded Infinity last month in Vancouver and there was a big room where the non US and Canada folks were sitting in rows of chairs. Horrible that they have to wait for two hours so others can go ahead. What would be the reasoning for this?

 

I can only assume that the biometrics at Vancouver port are because the ship is sailing into the US from a non-US port. This will be our first time entering the US via ship.

 

This seems to be the case. There's been quite a bit in the news lately about adding biometrics at US points of departure to track that those who entered either on a tourist visa or visa waiver actually left. (That's largely an airport thing; hadn't heard about cruise terminals until this post.) There seems to be a significant privacy act issue on the retention of that data on US citizens versus international visitors. "Maybe" that's part of the reason for processing the groups separately, but that seems like just poorly developed software...

If you've traveled internationally much, you'll realize the US is pretty much the only country you've been to that didn't have passport control at both entrance and exit. US airports, even international airports, commingle domestic and international passengers. And most (but certainly not all) US cruises are closed loop from the US.

Back before Global Entry, pre-clearance in Canada for air travel could be an adventure. Always seemed to be the B, or may C, team doing the work. It allowed you to travel from Ottawa to Washington National (not an international arrivals airport), but it could definitely be "interesting" at times.

The cruise companies should do something for the comfort of the passengers

Back before Global Entry, pre-clearance in Canada for air travel could be an adventure. Always seemed to be the B, or may C, team doing the work. It allowed you to travel from Ottawa to Washington National (not an international arrivals airport), but it could definitely be "interesting" at times.

LOL "interesting" is a very polite way to describe it. I probably would have used one of George Carlin's 7 words.:D

Found this on searching Google

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-02-26/welcome-aboard-first-us-marshals-will-scan-your-retina

In the article where they were flying from ATL to Mexico, that's just so they can ID your body when it's returned to the U.S. from Mexico.

Non-US citizens have an easy option; boycott the US until they treat would-be entrants in a civilised manner. As for the number of people with valid visas turned away, apparently due to their ethnicity or place of birth - like the UK teacher with a school trip, or the Australian MP on a parliamentary delegation, don't get me started . . .

Most US citizens I have met, not least on Celebrity cruises, have been wonderful, but your country's attitude to non-US citizens stinks to high heaven. There are enough other places on this planet to visit until people realise the reputational damage which is being caused.

Stuart

Every time you cross the boarder from BC to Washington State and being Canadian or othe Non-US citizen you are treated as a criminal. They do not train them to be polite or curtious. A bunch of power abusing and impolite people. No I'm not just talking about my experience but what many many Canadians think and see.

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We sailed out of Vancouver on the Solstice in May. There were 2 other ships with passengers embarking that same day. Wow ... it was really bad then, too!! We were told to wait until 11:30 AM to show up but our flight landed at 9:00 AM at YVR, so what to do?? Well, we just headed to the port and good thing we had as there were people already lining up and our wait was about 3.5 hrs in all, but heard others, that arrived later, had up to 6 hours of standing in lines and waiting. It was one line followed by another line and some pax got those green boarding cards but weren't told what to do with them so threw them away. Ooooohhhh.... there was an angry mob onboard. Not us, though ... we had breakfast on the flight so we weren't starving and as soon as they handed me that glass of welcome champagne, that experience was way off in the distance in my 'rear view mirror'!! :D

I still heard people complaining about it 8 and 9 days into the cruise ... geez!! I can't imagine they could even be enjoying their cruise if they were still letting that affect them so many days into their cruise.

But, yes, I agree ... Vancouver needs to do something about that embarkation process, especially when there is more than 1 ship involved. I said that on another post and got reprimanded by Canadians ... 'it is US immigration ... not the Port of Vancouver ... that is responsible'. Well, maybe so!! All I know is that there was only 2 US immigration officials for all those thousands of people and nobody around to direct you to the 'next' line or room in which they wanted you to wait so I see both sides being responsible for the chaos. Oh yeah, and that hall where people had to sit and wait after check in ... well, nobody did it ... so maybe the pax themselves were partly to blame. BTW ... the rest of cruise was absolutely fantastic!!

Non-US citizens have an easy option; boycott the US until they treat would-be entrants in a civilised manner. As for the number of people with valid visas turned away, apparently due to their ethnicity or place of birth - like the UK teacher with a school trip, or the Australian MP on a parliamentary delegation, don't get me started . . .

 

Most US citizens I have met, not least on Celebrity cruises, have been wonderful, but your country's attitude to non-US citizens stinks to high heaven. There are enough other places on this planet to visit until people realise the reputational damage which is being caused.

 

 

Stuart

US Customs and Border Patrol treats the US citizens with the same disrespect at the interior border check points within the US but within miles of the Mexican border. There are lots of youtube videos of US citizens who commute through these checkpoints on a daily basis who are tired of being stopped and questioned when they have not left the US. I have an upcoming trip to Big Bend and will be harassed by USCBP just for visiting Big Bend.

On my last international flight from Munich to Newark, I was asked "why are you requesting entry into the United States?" My response, "because I am US citizen".