Parents emotionally harassed at immigration in abu dhabi for trip to SFO

[thomas.e.nisha]

Immihelp have helped me a lot in finding answers to most of queries regarding Visa. I would like to share my parents experience on their trip to SFO via Abu Dhabi by Ethihaad. Immigration is now done in Abu Dhabi instead of USA if we travel by Ethihaad. I thought this was convenient approach for old parents to travel.
This idea turned out to be the worst night mare for my parents. The immigration officer treated my parents like criminals coming to US. The duration of the stay and the return ticket was taken for 6 months leisure trip as most of my parent's siblings are here. They were questioning in a harsh and notorious tone what are you going to do with your relatives for 6 months, even i (immigration officer) don't have anything to see in US for 6 months. There was a continous session of grilling and questioning for 30 mins, it was a emotional harrasment. Ethihaad delayed the first flight which made them miss their connection and being tired and frustrated with the harassment my parents told the immigration officer "WE DONT WANT TO US, we want to go back to India" Hearing this statement he said enjoy your trip..

The immigration officers are very rude and do not care for the age , we are humans after all and I really do not undrstand what the whole point of this mental harassment is . I really wished i could formally lodge a complaint against the immigration officer for harassing my parents for no reason.

This is unfair to us...no offense to Ethihad but i suggest the choice of taking ethihad atleast for B2 visa for parents is a bad choice for the reason that they have to transit in Abu dhabi and face the rude officer.

[inadmissible]

Dealing with rude, cruel, and offensive consular officers and border agents is the price aliens have to pay when seeking entry to the United States. I don't see the culture in the Department of State changing in my lifetime. That said, the Department of Homeland Security is working hard to change their culture from the top down. The CBP officers working at the Abu Dhabi per-clearance facility work for DHS which these days is run mostly by immigrants or children of immigrants. Please consider filing a complaint with DHS TRIP to help them further their goals, they want all visitors to have a pleasant experience. They want officers to do their job and enforce United States law, but they want them to treat everyone with respect, even if they do ultimately deny aliens admission. They want officers to be respectful even to criminals and terrorists, certainly little old ladies.

[pb2au]

Sorry to hear about your parent's distress.

It is possible that aggressive questioning (perfectly okay) came across to your parents as "harassment." There are always a few rogue officers here and there but by and large the U.S. Immigration officers are courteous. Certainly you are far more likely to be treated better by them than an Indian government babu.

Also - you have to understand that there have been enough cases of fraud by Indians (and other Third World nationals) that leads to such aggressive interrogation. Again, it is regrettable that your parents had to go through this but you should consider the other side as well and not make it personal.

[inadmissible]

I should add, it sounds like your parents were completely unprepared for their admission interviews at the port of entry. B and F visa holders are held to a high standard, they are presumed to have immigrant intent and all need to be denied entry unless they can clearly demonstrate nonimmigrant intent. They are required to have specific and realistic plans for their stay, as well as have the intent to return to their residence abroad. B/F admission interviews are akin to job interviews... would you go unprepared? Some people mistakenly think that their visa sticker is their ticket into America, but you know better. The fact that they have relatives living in the US makes their case more difficult.

Pre-clearance has its pros and cons, but obviously dealing with American "expatriats" in the UAE is very different than dealing with American "locals" at SFO. The CBP officers that grew up here in the Bay Area are accustomed to Indian people being their landlord, their pediatrician, their cardiologist, their CPA, investment portfolio managers, startup founders, venture capitalists, school teachers and university professors, and CEOs of publicly traded corporations. In the Middle East, the expats are accustomed to Indian people being their maids and construction workers with few rights, people who literally sign up for a life of peonage and abuse. These observations surely mold the views of the American citizens who end up working as border agents.

[immihelp]

What happened is unfortunate, but practically, there is really not much you can do.

I also was inappropriately harassed by CBP officer at the Niagara Falls, NY border when we (I and my visiting parents) were returning from visiting Niagara Falls in Canada. He accused us of coming here, producing anchor babies and just staying here forever. We had no baby with us. My wife and kids were not even with me and I already had employment based green card at that time. This was over 15 years ago. And obviously, as everyone knows, just producing a baby in the US does not give you any automatic right to stay in the US. (Even today, the rule is no different except Obama talking about immigration reform.) The US citizen baby has to become at least 21 years old, financially be able to support parents and then file for family based green card petition. Of course, I knew those rules even then, but I simply kept quiet.

In short, this can happen anywhere.

Only thing your parents can do is prepare better the next time.

[Archie S]

You should stand up for your parents

"The immigration officers are very rude and do not care for the age , we are humans after all and I really do not undrstand what the whole point of this mental harassment is . I really wished i could formally lodge a complaint against the immigration officer for harassing my parents for no reason."

Yes. After being in US for 23 years and being a US Citizen, I had the same experience when returning from a Europe Tour recently with my elderly parents. Mom was in wheel chair. The local SFO CBP officers were very rude and unwilling to answer any questions that we had. There was no drinking water in the room where a whole bunch of elderly and young people of color were held up. I have logged a complaint about this. Here is what you can do--
1. Lodge a complaint on CBP as well as DHS websites.
2. Call you local senators and congressmen--tell them that you were disappointed at the mistreatment of your elderly parents. Tell them you have no problem with the screening/security process but every person should be treated with respect and dignity. The US economy depends on tourism and if all Chinese and Indians stop traveling to US we will be in a poor position. Please kindly remind people that they can do their job but need to be nice/polite.
3. Contact the Consul General of India in SF and let him know what happened. Contact teh Consul General/Ambassador in Abu-Dhabi and do the same.

If you want this to change and if you want more respect for your parents/children -- stand up and protest peacefully. A pen is more powerful than a sword so write about this where ever you can.

Very sorry that your parents had to go through this. Hatred and racism gives rise to instability in our world and by being rogue and hateful Immigration officers are not helping the situation. Don't let anyone justify this cruelty and don't just sit and take the bs.

[Hema Sardesai]

Travel to India

Hi All,

I am travelling to India on feb 7th 2017 and my H1B visa is stamped till Dec 2017. considering current situation, will there will be any issues at port of entry. is it advisable to travel at this point in time.

[pmf123]

You should surely update it. There's two months between the expiration date and your trip.

You need a calculator... its 10 months