Travel Advisory to the US

[ssaloon]

got this via email. read on...

> For the biyaheras!
>
>
> >FYI,
> >
> >
> >
> > Subject: Travel advisory to the US
> >
> > Just a friendly reminder: if you have plans of
> going to the U.S., please
> > take precautionary measures on all "padalas"
> especially those containing
> > fake/pirated compact discs/DVDs.
> >
> > US Embassy employees have been given an advisory
> that "as US Gov't
> > employees, we should abide by the U.S. laws,
> including Intellectual
> > Property Rights (anti-piracy) laws. As an
> additional incentive, the
> > Consular Section recently received a report that
> the Department of Homeland
> > Security (DHS) searched the bag of a Filipino
> entering the U.S. on NW 72 in
> > Detroit. During the search, 70-80 compact discs,
> 30-40 empty DVD jackets
> > and 10-20 DVDs were found. Since the travelers
> were not American Citizens,
> > their visas were canceled and they returned to the
> Philippines. If they
> > had been Americans, they could have been subject to
> arrest and criminal
> > prosecution in addition to civil fines and
> penalties."
> >
> > Please remember even ONE pirated item can
> jeopardize your trip. Also,
> > the fingerprinting system has successfully been
> instituted in all port of
> > entries. I suggest you bring extra identification
> cards in addition to
> > your passport to faciliate your entry in the US
> Immigration.

[TJMaxx]

Just came back from the US
No such thing...
They (Customs) did not even open bags.
Basta lakad ka na lang palabas.
As for ID, yes its a good idea to bring anothr
ID aside from your passport.
They photo and fingerprint EVERYONE coming
in who is above 12 years old. Kaya tumatagal
ang pila sa immigration dahil doon...

[yebo]

TJMaxx,

been searched before. tsambahan yan, pag na-type ka ng customs/quarantine/police they will search your luggage. even before 9-11 ginagawa na nila.

was searched several times already. the reason was the same all the time -- i have too many US entry visa stamps on my passport kasi so i may have been tagged as a "mule" so sorry na lang ako. been body searched twice, asked into the immigration office for questioning 3 times and baggage searched twice (hand carry lang lagi dala ko, just a duffle bag and no other luggage) and even had my shoes X-rayed. the questions they asked were the same everytime -- why so many trips to the US per year and why do i have a US driving license and US bank account when i am not an immigrant/citizen, etc.???

one time, finding nothing on me, they saw some VCDs and CDs in my bag and they scrutinized the seal for its authenticity. they even called universal studios to check the serial number! so if you are bringing CDs, VCDs and DVDs into the US, make sure the seal (yung circular silver or gold "hologram" sa cover) is intact or it might just send you back where you came from.

one time din i was stopped while about to board a plane GOING OUT of the US. they checked if i had cash in my bag hehehe!

mukha ba akong drug lord or what!

[5Speed]

fogee ka raw kase fafa yebo....hehehehe

na body search narin ako sa Narita Airport sa Japan...kakaasar.....

sa Seoul naman eh na-escortan na ako nang dalawang armed personnel tapos detain for about an hour, napagkamalan lang....hehehe

swertihan lang talaga....

[empy]

never been searched in all my international travels

innocent-looking kasi ako eh

[kiper]

Wish I have a VISA.

[odell]

bigalaan kasi ganyan.. apg type ka ng customs dali ka.hehehehe

[gretzy]

ang advice lagi ng mommy ko, look as young and innocent as you can be! kung pwede nga lang magpigtails eh!

[ssaloon]

btw, legit to coz yung mail galing sa PR ng US embassy.

[mikline]

maybe the guy looked uneasy coz of too many pirated discs in his possesion kaya he got subjected to search...bago pa man sa immigration officer tinitingnan na lahat ng nakapila from security cameras nila kung me tipong malikot ang mata, ninenerbyos o basta looking guilty, so maybe if u just look relax di ka na ma se- search...

[TJMaxx]

Saang airport ka ba sa US lumalapag, yebo?

Many years ago, natipohan ng mga pinoy at
egoy na customs sa San Fo yung handcarried
kong ensaymada. They confiscated it. Bawal
daw pero if I know better sure ako kinain lang
nila yun..

[yebo]

san francisco and LA.

unang body search ko sa san francisco, yung intsik na matandang babae nag-flag sa akin for body search, may nakita kasing chinese playboy sa bag ko after searching my bag! dumaan kasi ako sa hongkong kaya may chinese smut sa bag ko hehehehe!