I've said it here before:

There was a case c. 1 year ago of a caucasian English guy, married to an American, living in England. They'd regularly trip over to see her folks. This one time he was detained for hours at the airport, interrogated and then sent back to Blighty, his wife, of course, allowed to continue the visit. The reason? The last time he'd visited he'd failed to register his leaving the country when he returned to Blighty.

Last time I visited the US, from Canada, my passing through customs (from New Brunswick to Maine) of course was registered. Going back to Canada (esp as I was in a canuck car) I was just waved through, like most of the queue. I never gave it a 2nd thought till I heard the above story. Now I wonder if I were to visit the US it might all be a wasted journey and I might be turned away at the airport (HURRAY! I hear the shout) if it can happen to THAT guy.

The customs men at Maine were nice though. When I asked them if the clock went back an hour one of them said, "Yep, that's what you pay your $6 for - the extra hour")

>Here's an article describing the unintended consequences:
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>http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17201007/site/newsweek/
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>I don't think the cost of these consequenses can be at all measured. We are taking the people who should be our advertisement for the USA. Instead we have another group of people who are upset with our govt.
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>We now have fewer people coming to the US as foreign students. There are at least several repercussions of this. Some that I know of are a) Loss of international students tuition. The international tuition helps many universities with their financial requirements. b) The USA is no longer the "place to be" for the worlds best and brightest. This could be a big loss of the scientific and research industry.
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