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Comment by staticelf | Hacker News Reader

I recently visited the US and I thought the process was going to be hell after reading a lot of these threads on HN. Turns out it was pretty chill, got some questions before boarding and was selected for extra security check. Then upon landing I got like 3 questions from the officer, how long I would stay, where my friends were and what the purpose of my trip was.

Sure they didn't seem very friendly but it wasn't a big of a hassle. I didn't bring my laptop though because I don't want it searched.

It seems like you run on luck mostly. You only need to give up passwords and such if you are unlucky.

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I don't think most people who oppose these policies do so because they expect themselves to suffer from them. It's quite obvious that the US isn't going to detain 100% of travellers for hours, if only because it would be prohibitively expensive.

I'd say the opposition is fuelled by (a) an aversion to be in a situation where you have basically no rights, as opposed to the uniformed goons on the other side, (b) the fear that such policies are used to target others, such as journalists, thus having an impact on me even without being applied to me, and (c) solidarity with people who may be at a higher risk for reasons such as their ethnicity, political opinion etc.

There are other ways these policies have a chilling effect without being applied wholesale. I have, on previous flights, chosen the halal food option just for kicks (and gotten bewildered looks when I chose a red wine for dinner). I wouldn't do so flying to the US these days. That may seem inconsequential, but I can easily see someone not sharing that anti-war article on Twitter these days, at which point the possible consequences have become quite real.

> You only need to give up passwords and such if you are unlucky.

Very comforting, isn't it? Especially when this is said about a legal process.

Frankly, I find the thought of having to give my passwords away to be baffling to say the least. No chance I will ever visit the US under these conditions, because I tend to dislike totalitarian countries.

I think you misunderstand the definition of a totalitarian country.

Not really, no. Especially when you're used to just walking through an automated machine which I get to do for most of the time when I travel.

First I thought I would bring my computer with pirated movies on it but when I read up online I decided not to bring a computer at all.

People in the thread seems to think I am defending the process which I am not. I just state that people seem to hype the evilness of the border control.

> I decided not to bring a computer at all

I also prefer travel without much electronics, since it's easy to get it lost or stolen. But it's not always an option - if you're traveling for business, you have to take the computer, and also everybody has a smartphone these days.

> I just state that people seem to hype the evilness of the border control.

Maybe to you it seems like a hype. But I was born in totalitarian country, and while it was pretty benign for ordinary people (I was a child), it's not something that I want to live through regardless.

Asking about trip details or looking if I don't have weapons and so on is fine for a visit.

But looking at my social media accounts (although I have almost none) and data on my devices - these are totalitarian practices. I understand that you don't feel that way, because you perhaps never experienced totality, but please you should also understand that many people feel differently (like the guy with the top comment).

I do feel that way though. I wouldn't want my devices to be searched and is the only reason why I didn't bring my laptop.

Trust me, I am against searching peoples computers and private lives as much as anyone but I still think it's a bit blown out of proportion.

Fair enough. I have two questions, then:

1. Don't you think that to decide not to take electronic devices in 21st century for travel is a reaction that is out of proportions? It's pretty drastic measure, if you ask me.

2. How are the foreigners to change U.S. government's mind, if not by "blowing it out of proportions"? What other recourse is there?

Maybe for U.S. citizens, and especially those that have to do with the tourism or international business or academia, yeah, it sucks that it's "blown out of proportions". But see - they are the citizens, they can pressure their government to take strong stance on the issue and forbid these practices as totalitarian (and obviously useless - no combination of bits on my phone or computer is by itself going to harm anyone).

Exactly. The Basecamp instructions are written on the assumption that not all of their employees will be "lucky" all of the time (where "lucky" means "treated with what in most countries would be considered a bare minimum of respect").

Luck and skin melanin content have an interesting inverse relationship when it comes to these things...

Not really. All those Poles/Romanians/Bulgarians/other eastern Europeans do not have matching experience.

> You only need to give up passwords and such if you are unlucky.

Hence the need for documents such as this guide, because companies don't want to risk sensitive business information to luck.

> It seems like you run on luck mostly. You only need to give up passwords and such if you are unlucky.

How on earth does that make it OK?

It doesn't. I didn't say it is a good procedure. But let's be real, very few get detained or need to give up more information than me.

Same here; LAX on April 14. Smoothes immigration ever since I've been flying to the us (since June 2001). Positively surprised.

any reason for extra security check, are you white man?

No I don't believe so. I estimate that 1/3 was selected. I am whiter than snow.

that somehow contradict the other guy who posted that 99.9% are smooth without extra check and now you dump here 33% checked :) that seem fairly big even to me, can't imagine what European country would deserve such percentage, were you departing from Brussels or Istanbul?

Brussels and my origin is Sweden. The chances of me being a terrorist is pretty much non-existant.

there you go, HQ of EU and terrorists in Europe

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