Held by Immigration
Oct 31st, 2008 by Rex
There was an extraordinary amount of security at the Honolulu Inter national Airport. When the aircraft door was opened, passengers were not immediately allowed to disembark. A security officer announced over the PA system that all passengers should be ready with their passports in their hand, “This is a passport check!”
Security personnel kept an eye over passengers as they entered the airport as if someone would dare sneak out of the tube. Inside the airport, security reiterated each passenger should have their passport in their hand. Behind my head I was wondering why they can’t just wait until we get to the immigration counters. There were at around six immigration officers checking passports.
I stepped ahead with confidence and handed my passport to two immigration personnel with the visa side up. I was thinking the worst thing with my documents is the picture on my visa which was taken almost 10 years ago. They looked at my visa, then scrutinized my passport, and asked me to step aside for some questions. It turns out that all the immigration officers were specifically looking for me!
Yes. The reason why they set up a passport check for our flight is because they wanted to intercept my entry into the US. To summarize their many questions, they said my passport was reported to be lost and they needed to make sure that I am who I claim to be and that I am really the owner of the passport which I just presented.
I did lose my passport but only at home. It took me and my mother a few days only to find it in a bookshelf, but we never officially reported it to be lost! They asked if we ever told anyone that it was lost. Yes, we told my father, my brother, and my grandmother but there’s no way they’re going to bother executing an affidavit of loss or anything close to that. It’s my passport and I should be the only one qualified to state that it is lost, right?
Then it dawned on me that I once announced in the chat box of my dorm’s blog that I lost my passport. While the chat entry was only identified with “Rex”, it included a link to this blog which happens to contain my full name. Could their intelligence network have picked up that chat entry and placed my name in their passport watch list? Besides, a terrorist might have incidentally found my passport and replaced the picture. I, the bearer of the supposedly lost passport, was a threat to national security!
Is US intelligence monitoring online chat? Are they getting too smart? Then why didn't they detect that I already found my passport?
For once in my life I had two security escorts to another building where long lines of incoming passengers went thru the immigration counters. We zigzagged our way ahead to an empty counter where the officers checked our passports, visas, and fingerprints. They looked at each other as one nodded again and again, “Verified!”
I thought they’d finally let us go, but we were told to wait in another room. They said they needed to confirm my passport with the Philippine Consulate which doesn’t open until 9 AM. It was already 8:45 AM but I was crossing my fingers the Philippine diplomats come on time. We will be in Hawaii for only 2 days and this is definitely not the best use of our time.
More than an hour later (!), an immigration officer told us everything seems to be okay but they still need to do a few more checks. He advised me that to protect my identity, I should get the new machine-readable passport because a mistyped passport number at the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) might be the cause for all this trouble.
So they weren’t snooping at my chats and blogs after all? Does the DFA report stolen passports with the passport number alone without a name to match?
Out of boredom I almost started taking pictures of the room and surf the net on my laptop until I realized they might suspect me of spying or communicating with some accomplices in the airport.
Another hour passed (!) before an immigration officer came and said they needed to check with the DFA office in Iloilo because that’s where my passport was issued. For a second I was terrified because it was only 3 AM in Iloilo!
Fortunately, he added “We’ll do that from our end. We’ll let you guys in.”
To US Intelligence: I know you’re reading this! 
Finally!
Hi Rex! Lucky you, you made it thru the US immigration!
We drive regularly to the States crossing the Canada-US border. The US border guards are sometimes strict and they asked so many routine questions that we know them by heart! (Citizenship, nature of your travel, how long will you be staying, if we’re bringing forbidden stuff, etc.) One day, we drove down to NY to meet my wife’s visiting sister from P.I. who don’t have Canadian visa. We brought with us Filipino foodstuff as we planned to cookout there. One border guard noticed a bag of rice in our trunck and called my attention. “Sir, are you aware that you’re not supposed to bring any grains or fresh fruits and vegetables without prior quarantine clearance?” I said, yes. He was demanding for that paper but, I don’t have any. “Sir, you either have to leave the rice here or turn around and drive back to Canada. I said, “Excuse me, officer, but this rice is made in USA, check the marking in the bag”. He was about to check with his supervisor but “bisor” overheard our conversation and instantly gestured him to let us go thru. He just scratched his head looking at us LOL!!!
Some of them are rude, yelling at us, so, I yelled back at them, too!My whole family froze in disbelief and later relieved when we where allowed to get thru the border.
Most of them are friendly, though. One guard one time told us why we’re crossing the border, instead of us telling him, “So, you’re going shopping, eh?” A resounding yes!!!
Enjoy your visit, REX! Say hi! to your mom, maybe I know her (CPU arts & sciences 1973-74).
Lee, that’s one hilarious experience there with the rice! BTW, my mom graduated from UP in 1980. Perhaps it’s my dad that you know since he was educated almost entirely in CPU.
Sorry, Rex, my mistake~yes, maybe I know your dad. What’ your dad’s name now?
That pix in your header must have been taken from one of your trips in Hawaii. It’s very relaxing to be sitting beside a wall-to-wall aquarium! Putting myself in the picture, I can stay there the whole day. I wish it’s a flash video loop header though! I know, Rex, that’s too much to ask.