> If you have all of your papers sorted out (and nothing is fishy), what's so mentally anguishing about having to wait?
You are right, if you're sure you haven't done anything illegal, it will all be OK.
But the problem is that those people can really cause you trouble. Not only they can keep you waiting for hours (is there even a maximum amount of time they can hold you for at the border?), which can result in lost connection flights, etc. that won't be reimbursed, but they can also allege that there's something wrong with your data and threaten deportation. There's a comment in this thread from a reader that almost saw his wife deported to her home country for apparently no reason. Yes, you'll get to be heard by a judge, but not until you've spent a considerable amount of money, time and patience.
The problem is that those people don't seem to be penalized for their faults. Immigration/customs personnel bullying passengers is seen as OK by central authorities, as homeland security and the struggle against terrorism are the priorities. If in order to catch a couple of terrorism suspects we have to give the rest of the population a bad time, it's still OK. Better "safe" than sorry, right?
You are right, if you're sure you haven't done anything illegal, it will all be OK.
But the problem is that those people can really cause you trouble. Not only they can keep you waiting for hours (is there even a maximum amount of time they can hold you for at the border?), which can result in lost connection flights, etc. that won't be reimbursed, but they can also allege that there's something wrong with your data and threaten deportation. There's a comment in this thread from a reader that almost saw his wife deported to her home country for apparently no reason. Yes, you'll get to be heard by a judge, but not until you've spent a considerable amount of money, time and patience.
The problem is that those people don't seem to be penalized for their faults. Immigration/customs personnel bullying passengers is seen as OK by central authorities, as homeland security and the struggle against terrorism are the priorities. If in order to catch a couple of terrorism suspects we have to give the rest of the population a bad time, it's still OK. Better "safe" than sorry, right?