Am I being paranoid.. ? Worried I'm on some sort of US airport list?

Question

Ok.. I'm a UK woman who backpacks a lot around the world... a couple of years ago I went to Alaska, then Tunisia, Florida, Guatemela, Honduras and Nicaragua in a space of two years.
I then flew to Miami as I was going to the Keys to meet up with a friend from the UK. The flight to Miami was via Ohio and I was quite shocked that I was stopped and extensively questioned for about an hour and a half about: why I was staying in the Keys, who I was meeting up with; who owned the property I was staying at; how much money I had on me; whether I had a criminal record, what i did in the UK.. it just went on and on.. then they said I had to do this iris recognition thing and only when they saw my textbooks in my backpack did they let me go .I've been very concerned about returning to the US mainly because although I have absolutely nothing to hide, I want an easy life and found the whole thing at Ohio very intimidating.Do you reckon i'm on some sort of security list now?

I wanted to go to the Grand Canyon over Xmas but not if they think I'm some sort of criminal or terrorist!!

The thing is in the UK lots of people got to Morocco, Tunisia and Egypt as a cheap holiday destination....
I went to Guatmela when I visited Mexico and went overland across the border to see the Mayan ruins. I just love unusual destinations .. [not Tunisia]...

I wasn't worried about waking up in a prison I was worried about being refused entry after spenidng money on a ticket to get there...that would really cheez me off.

Answer 1

I think the reason you were stopped was routine. I have friends that travel fro all over the world, some are stopped and questioned, some are not. With the new security practices, it's really a luck of the draw. I do know that iris scans are now manditory for foreign visitors to the US. Read this:

http://www.travel.state.gov/visa/immigrants/info/info_1336.html
In the Enhanced Border Security and Visa Entry Reform Act of 2002, the U.S. Congress mandated the use of biometrics in U.S. visas. This law requires that Embassies and Consulates abroad must now issue to international visitors, "only machine-readable, tamper-resistent visas and other travel and entry documents that use biometric identifiers. A biometric or biometric identifier is an objective measurement of a physical characteristic of an individual which, when captured in a database, can be used to verify the identity or check against other entries in the database. The best known biometric is the fingerprint, but others include facial recognition and iris scans.

I also travel to many places (in my passport are stamps from France, Germany, London, Egypt, Morocco, UAE, Tunisia, Italy, Malta, Turkey....to name a few) and the one and only time I had prolems through customs was when I was LEAVING the US to go back home to Tunisia because my son had liquid medication with a prescription from his doctor.

It's not just you. Do you remember right after America started allowing flights again after 9/11? There was a big uproar because they were making women taste the breast milk they had expressed for their children, thereby making it useless afterwards.

Also, On 11 January 2002, Joseph J. Foss - a 86-year-old former governor of South Dakota, major in the USMC during World War II, a colonel in the USAF during the Korean War, and later a brigadier general with the South Dakota Air National Guard — was held for 45 minutes by airport security. Why? Because he carried with him his Medal of Honor, as well as a Medal of Honor commemorative nail file and a dummy bullet which had been made into a key fob. Each of these items was regarded as a potential security risk by airport personnel: the bullet for being a bullet, the nail file for being a nail file (metal nail files are now banned on flights in an out of the USA), and the Medal of Honor for being a suspicious five-pointed metal object that might have been a weapon. After being repeatedly searched, Foss was allowed to board the plane with his Medal of Honor, but he had to mail the bullet and nail file home to himself. Several columnists have since used this incident as the centerpiece of newspaper articles about the issues surrounding heightened air travel standards since September 11 because it highlights the problems inherent to new airport security measures. Where does a reasonable standard of protection leave off and lunacy begin? (http://www.snopes.com/military/medal.htm)

I am sorry for you hold up at the airport, but I truly do think it was just due to new security measures and not because of the places you have traveled. Be sure to check out the TSA website: http://www.tsa.gov/index.shtm to make sure that the next time you travel you don't bring a restricted item - it should help in making the process go easier. And remember, if you feel you were mistreated, voice your concern. Call, write a letter, or send an e-mail. They will respond to you. If you need help in getting the info for a specific airport, I'll be more than happy to help you. I wish you better luck next time!

P.S.
I'm an American who has been living in Tunisia for the past 5+ years and I can tell you that despite what is told on American news, it is NOT a hotbed for terrorists. I actaully feel safer here than I did in America. I can walk alone in the middle of the night and not fear that something bad is going to happen to me or get harrassed. The government here takes great measures to rid the country of terrorists and severly punishes those caught linked to terrorist orginizations.

Answer 2

Even Americans flinch when they come thru American customs... I think that we require those people to be surly and suspicious!

Heres' what I'm guessing --

1. You went to Tunisia, which would draw attention. Tunisia is a hotbed for terrorists (or so the press tells us). This would be like you visiting Syria right before going to Israel -- someone is bound to ask a few questions.

2. You also went to Guatemala, etc. Those countries are known for drug traffic -- as is Florida. Again, reason for people to ask questions.

3. Even if you are on a "list" that doesn't mean that you'll wake up in some secret prison somewhere. My mother-in-law ended up on that list (60 years old? Grandmother?) because of her last name, which might sound "Arab". I think that someone reported back that she wasn't a terrorist, and she didn't have problems again.

Answer 3

No. It's nothing to be worried about. They've been checking people's flight info to help fight terrorist attacks. You've just been flying a lot.

Answer 4

no it's not you that's paranoid. it's America they are really scared . now the people know that there government and all there technology can't prevent terrorists from blowing people up in there country. where do they go now ?

Answer 5

Just check the TSA web page and look at the list:

http://www.tsa.gov/index.shtm

Answer 6

Just sounds like typical America to me. Don't sweat it and keep on enjoying your travels!!!!

Answer 7

Dont worry :) They just have to question because of security and it just happened to be u :)

Answer 8

yup

Answer 9

No you are all right kid