p.1 #2 · Beware if you fly with a laptop, PDA, iPhone, etc.
And people wonder why we in the UK are now less likely to visit your country.
Add to this time consuming and rude immigration procedures plus the amount of information we are expected to share about ourselves before we travel - and it ain't worth the effort.
And I am a white Anglo-Saxon. I can't imagine how I would feel about the likely problems if I were a young Muslim
p.1 #3 · Beware if you fly with a laptop, PDA, iPhone, etc.
paulhodson wrote:
And people wonder why we in the UK are now less likely to visit your country.
Doesn't fit the facts. The exchange rate has increased tourism. From the Chicago Sun-Times of 8/3/08:
"International visitors to the United States increased to more than 56.7 million people in 2007, an 11.1 percent increase over the previous year, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce. Visitors from Canada, Mexico, England, Japan and Germany top the list."
p.1 #4 · Beware if you fly with a laptop, PDA, iPhone, etc.
Fair enough - but I can give you a list of people I know who won't now go - and I think you will find that though figures are up your market share is down! Lies, damned lies and statistics
The reason for any increase of course is that the value of your currency is as crap as ours - we can't afford to go anywhere else!
"The last vestiges of a free press." Hyperbole without basis. In Oct 2006, the International Herald Tribune published a story about laptop seizures, and there may have been more before that (someone who can access Lexis-Nexis could check). It's been in the news multiple times in 2007 and 2008.
Regarding legality, unless Congress does something, the practice is likely to remain unchecked. It's already been upheld by the 9th Circus, excuse me, Circuit Court of Appeals. And since that court is the most or one of the most liberal federal appeals court, it doesn't seem likely that another court would rule otherwise. Always possible, just not likely.
p.1 #7 · Beware if you fly with a laptop, PDA, iPhone, etc.
This is not new news and not accurate in practice. I'm not even going to bother writing my bit about it (I have in other threads here at FM) but lets just say that don't beware unless you fit a profile that would get you "randomly screened".
p.1 #11 · Beware if you fly with a laptop, PDA, iPhone, etc.
" It's already been upheld by the 9th Circus, excuse me, Circuit Court of Appeals. And since that court is the most or one of the most liberal federal appeals court,"
True, but it's also the most overturned Court of Appeals in the US.
p.1 #12 · Beware if you fly with a laptop, PDA, iPhone, etc.
It gets worse. This just in from my corporate email affecting all travellers to the US under the Visa Wiaver Program:
USA to introduce Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA) by the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
What is ESTA ?
ESTA is a new online system that requires all short-term visitors who travel to the United States without a visa to register their details online at least 72 hours prior to departure. This means that business travellers from some 27 countries, including the UK, France and Germany, who currently use the visa waiver programme and simply complete an I-94 card whilst on board the plane, will now need to prepare in advance.
What is the benefit of the new System?
A key benefit of the new systems is that registration is valid for two years and travellers can make multiple trips, making the process much more efficient in the long-term. On arrival in the United States, business travellers enrolled on the programme will be able to confirm their identity via biometric check at kiosks – avoiding lengthy queues and rapidly speeding up immigration procedures.
Applications can be carried out by third parties, minimising any impact whilst maximising knowledge sharing to prevent security risks and improve passenger safety.
How do I register for ESTA?
Voluntary applications will be accepted via the DHS website from August. However, until the system becomes mandatory on 12 January 2009, clients need be advised that they will still need to complete the I-94 card.
Is ESTA safe and secure for my personal data ?
Clients should feel confident that their personal information is being handled by some of the most secure IT platforms in the world - the ESTA website is subject to the same strict controls that have been established for similar travel screening programmes governed by US laws and regulations, including the Federal Information Security Management Act.
What is the web address for Department of Homeland Security?
p.1 #13 · Beware if you fly with a laptop, PDA, iPhone, etc.
I first read about ESTA a while back and after I'd calmed down (my husband and I travel to the USA most years), I searched around and found that the Help pages state:
When do I need to apply for a travel authorization?
Applications may be submitted at any time prior to travel to the United States. The Department of Homeland Security recommends that travel authorization applications be submitted at least 72 hours prior to travel. Unless revoked, travel authorizations are valid for two years from the date of authorization, or until your passport expires, whichever comes first. ( my emphasis)
p.1 #15 · Beware if you fly with a laptop, PDA, iPhone, etc.
You'd probably want to ask the people that suggest the search authority involves the random seizure of laptops. That's not the way the program works, just the rumors. That's not was reported in the article cited. The article suggested "increasing numbers" of travelers complained but didn't offer any real numbers nor suggest that the complaints were all about laptops, etc.
The recent case the 9th decided on was on child pornography and doesn't seem to have been random. If nothing else, that doesn't seem to have been one of the issues ruled on.
p.1 #17 · Beware if you fly with a laptop, PDA, iPhone, etc.
Can you spell:
P-A-R-A-N-O-I-A
Hopefully a change in US administration brings about more 'world-friendly' foreign policies from this once great nation... It really is a shame what fear has done to the world in the last 7 years....
p.1 #18 · Beware if you fly with a laptop, PDA, iPhone, etc.
paulhodson wrote:
And people wonder why we in the UK are now less likely to visit your country.
If it makes you feel any better, I won't be heading to England any time soon either. You guys don't even want me to have a pocket knife! As to the topic at hand, just because they don't confiscate laptops as a matter of practice it doesn't mean they wont in the future. Their policy allows it and that is the fundamental problem, they have written in a clause that gives them virtual free reign. Who's to say that in 10 years after another terrorist scare they won't start doing it all the time?
p.1 #19 · Beware if you fly with a laptop, PDA, iPhone, etc.
Nathan27 wrote:
If it makes you feel any better, I won't be heading to England any time soon either. You guys don't even want me to have a pocket knife!
Actually you may carry a knife with a blade length of 3.0" or less so long as it is capable of folding.
But I would never claim that you have a monopoly on unreasonable authorities
