Stopped at the border

TheITBod

Hey - I recently visited Poland and something weird happened trying to get through passport control...

I pulled up to the desk and the person behind it took a while looking at my passport, conferring with their screen and looking puzzled. They then phoned someone, spoke for a few seconds and then hung up, gave me my passport back and sent me on my way.

A little unnerving but all's well that ends well.

When trying to leave a few days later, there was another Passport Control to get through to my gate where the exact same thing happened.

This hasn't happened to me previously. Only thoughts (and I'm not sure if they'd be relevant) are that I had visited Dubai a month earlier AND/OR I only had about eight months left on my current passport at the time?

Either that or I'm wanted for an international crime I didn't commit? Unlikely given I'm still walking around freely.

Any thoughts/insights? Worried that I'm due to visit America in the new year :eek:

bradders1983

Could be anything, the fact that you look different from the pic in the passport which is over 9 years old probably the frontrunner. As you say if it was that serious they wouldnt have let you in/out.

shaun_from_Africa

TheITBod wrote: »

Either that or I'm wanted for an international crime I didn't commit? Unlikely given I'm still walking around freely.

Or another person with the same name as you is wanted for a crime and when your passport details are entered, a flag pops up and the immigration official needs to get confirmation from another official before they are allowed to acknowledge that you are not the wanted person.

bobblebob

Had something like this in NY years ago. I go to passport control, the guy asked if i had been to America before. Just so happens i had been to Vegas a few week earlier. He told me to go to this other room where i waited with other people for them to check my passport on the computer. After a while they did and said i was free to go.


Went through customs and was told they want to search my whole luggage, then after a million questions i was free to leave

DigForVictory

There's a lady I know gets pulled going over to America Every Single Time - her name is clearly on some list. It's now a running family joke, but the first few times were a bit stressful.
In your case OP, if it is seriously stressful, it Might help to update your passport photo, but if a criminal someone shares your name, may I suggest you start making bets on how long the wait is? The walking around freely will almost certainly continue.

shaun_from_Africa

TheITBod wrote: »

Any thoughts/insights? Worried that I'm due to visit America in the new year :eek:

Do you already have an ESTA or visa (if needed)?
If not, I would apply for whichever you need as soon as possible. It's very unlikely that you will have problems but if there is a snag, it's better to find out now.

peachyprice

shaun_from_Africa wrote: »

Or another person with the same name as you is wanted for a crime and when your passport details are entered, a flag pops up and the immigration official needs to get confirmation from another official before they are allowed to acknowledge that you are not the wanted person.

This ^^^^^^

Jasonh2015

I was asked to go to another desk in Newark airport on my way to NYC. I had been the previous Aug, and was going in March to see a snow covered New York.

5 CBP officers asked me if i was travelling alone on my way, and the last referred me to desk B.

He asked me for my passport, i just passed it over, i didn't say anything to him. He looked at the screen, then at me, the screen, then i got a "have nice day" and he handed it back.

I think they were looking for a white male travelling alone that day.

tberry6686

I had a bit of a delay a couple of years ago going to Houston. New passport machines that give you a reciept and direct you to 1 of 2 desks depending on whether everything is ok. The first desk just stamps your passport, the other goes into more detail.

I was sent to the second desk and then told to wait behind the desk and someone would come and get me. I then got taken to a room off from the immigration area with a seating area, a reception desk, a few offices and (worryingly) some cells.

Most of the people there looked Hispanic to me (I was the only european looking person there). I got taken to an office and informed that the system had flagged me up as requiring extra checks and they wanted to know everywhere I had travelled to in the last 5 years (easy for people who travel only on holiday, much harder to remember if you travel a lot for work.

I turned out the issue was that I had made 2 work trips to the Kurdish part of Turkey and they needed me to explain why I had been there. After my explaination my passport was stamped, given back to me and sent on my way. No checks by customs or anything else. Took about 5 hours to get through in total.

So in short, It could be that you have visited a country that they are not keen on.

gettingtheresometime

shaun_from_Africa wrote: »

Do you already have an ESTA or visa (if needed)?
If not, I would apply for whichever you need as soon as possible. It's very unlikely that you will have problems but if there is a snag, it's better to find out now.

Would it worth the OP getting a new passport first given that the ESTA is linked to the passport?


It's a standing joke with hubby that every time we fly I get pulled for the extra security checks, including having my hand luggage swabbed

peachyprice

gettingtheresometime wrote: »

Would it worth the OP getting a new passport first given that the ESTA is linked to the passport?


It's a standing joke with hubby that every time we fly I get pulled for the extra security checks, including having my hand luggage swabbed

Not unless they're going to change their name!