Jeeper79 said:

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I worked in Mexico at one point, traveling over the border and back everyday.

Temporary works visas felt like a joke. Like just very unofficial.

I had some fireworks in my trunk that were confiscated on the Mexico side. I'm sure the had fun with those.

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Visas aren't like that anymore. Lots of trips to the INM and your US-side embassy or consulate. Getting a residency and/or work visa in Mexico is no joke.

I went to Thailand for what was supposed to be 3 weeks in mid-late January of 2020. Arrived at my house in Samui and a few days later, my dad and admin were blowing my phone up to get my ass back to the states due to the plandemic. After a few more days I was able to make it back to Bangkok. I woke up late AF for my flight back to the US and got the airport about 45 minutes before takeoff. I have never seen such madness. There had to be 10,000 people in the departure desk area of BKK.

After getting ticketed and making my way up the escalators, I see the lines are wrapped for miles for customs. If anyone has been through BKK pre-2022, then you remember the multi desk process to leave the country and the length of time needed to accomplish the task of making it to your flight on time. My only saving grace was the immigration official (what used to be the first of 3 desks) saw my GETS Card and other credentials with Homeland Security logos on them with my passport and rushed me to my plane. They ended up holding the plane for me, got a lot of nasty looks as I boarded. When we landed in Houston, the pilot told us Bankgok airport was officially closed. If I had not made it on that flight, I would have been stuck for a very long time. I've been to Thailand several dozen times, but none as short as 4.5 days. The best part of the entire experience was my admin booked my flight back for me on company dime. First class the whole way. There was so much confusion with our company like everyone else, that it slipped right past the cracks on expense reports.

Worst experience I had was denied entry into Israel for having an Isle of Man stamp. I was supposed to go on a 9 day bus tour of the Holy Land. That trip sucked.

I almost got stuck in France because my employer didn't book me as a returning vessel crewman with right credentials.

I had to be gracious with a Singapore customs agent who let me leave after I pulled a rookie mistake and put my passport through the wash and all but obliterated my start date stamp for my 30 day visa.

I once had to exit Africa through Cameroon due to a reroute of our rig tow and our local agent had to pay something like 2 separate fees (semi official expediency bribes is more likely) per person to get our crew stamped through on short notice. It was like 5 different checkpoints and stamps on the way out.

I had to hand carry emergency crane parts to Australia because I was the only one in the supply chain team that had a current Australia work visa, so they gave me the parts and put me on a plane same day. They didn't give me ANY paperwork, so when roll into customs with some giant bearing parts in my backpack and have to declare them, I thought I was going to have problems. By some miracle, the Australian customs agent at my line in the airport had a brother working on the same rig I was going to, and I'm not sure how but I went right on through.

Then there is the shakedown you apparently get every time you leave Mauritania. Literally in a booth with a dude with an AK that asks you if you have any local currency, and if you do, you must turn it over.

Only real hassle was flying to London with my wife at around 30y/o.

Agent asked us a lot of the routine questions,Why we're visiting, what we're doing, etc. Got through it the first time and then they started back at the top. This time drilling in further, asking for reservations, etc. Then asked us how we planned to get into London, and I told them taking the Tube. Then he said, you told me this is the first time you've been to London, how would you know how to use the tube? I was like, "My wife researched on the internet?".

Got through all the in depth questions, and back to the top of the list again, but asking my wife primarily. At that point I was getting frustrated and about to ask for a supervisor when he finally waved us on.

I'm not sure what flag we tripped, but they were definitely trying to trip us up with the questions. I was just glad they didn't separate us.

Back in about 2002 I needed an FM3 visa from Mexico. Got my paperwork squared away and went to the Mexican consulate in Houston.

Had to pay the guy double the price above and beyond in cash. It was made clear to me that was what it would take for the application to be processed.

About a dozen years ago is was leaving the secured area of the Vienna airport carrying nothing but a big old grungy looking backpack. I mus have fit the "profile", because two uniformed guards waived me over.

Guards: "Are you carrying any drugs'

Me: [laughing] "No. Why? You want some?"

Guards just laughed and waived me on.

My wife and were leaving through Vienna a few weeks ago. She saw a new line open up and started to walk that way I said no let's stay in this one. She said why there is nobody in the new line.

I had noticed the two agents were a man in his 60s and a girl that looked 18. So somebody getting training. I was right.

We didn't lose too much time but every item and every pocket was searched while the older dude told the new hire what to do and look for.

Been to Mexico multiple times always getting some delay and admonitions to keep my paper or risk a big fine. They recently changed that approach apparently. Israel is uber easy because you go through a separate screening/interview before boarding the aircraft.

Traveling from China to Taiwan via boat. Upon arrival we had to go through customs. The Taiwan customs inspectors were going through the Chinese' luggage pulling out all sorts of weird mushrooms, laughing at it, and throwing them away.

No stories to tell because I have neither the need nor desire to travel to any foreign country for any reason past present or future.....ever.

VaultingChemist said:

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I remember that they had a machine on which each passenger had to press a large button. It would light up green or red to indicate if you had to be searched.

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Everytime I travel for work to central Mexico I get searched. I go to Colombia a lot (have never had any issues there), but those passport stamps make me a suspicious person in Mexico. The only truly bad experience I've had was in the US in 2013 when they deported my wife while returning from Colombia (where she had just updated and renewed her visa at the US Consulate in Bogota). Can't say that was a pleasant experience and took almost three years to get reversed.

I started to get hassled by US Immigration every time I re-entered the US starting in about 2003. At the time all my trips were to Europe or the Caribbean. Hassled as in pulled aside, asked numerous questions, often about current US sports or culture, always re-asked different ways to see if I would change my answers. My suitcase and backpack would get thoroughly searched.

Around the 5th time this happened I finally got an officer to tell me I had the same first, last and middle initial of a guy that was wanted for selling state secrets to Iran. I have a fairly common first and last name that's very much European too. It finally stopped after I renewed my passport in 2010. Maybe they finally caught the guy around the same time and that was a coincidence, but my old passport was a bit tattered too.

My wife and I landed in Casablanca from NYC on our way to Marrakech. We had to deplane on the tarmac. The outside of the terminal had welcome to Casablanca or Morocco in big letters, don't remember which, so my wife stops and takes a couple of pics, then we move on. We get inside and two Morrocans in plain clothes come up to us as we're waiting to enter the country; they pull me aside and start asking me what my wife was photographing. They wouldn't speak to her, only to me. Ultimately they made her open her phone and they deleted the pics she had taken. Later that night we found numerous pics online of the same terminal, so not sure why they were so worked up about it.

Mission trip to Chihuahua early 2000s. Crossed at Presidio/Ojinaga. Going in the Mexican border guys were getting worked up because one of our chaperones, an old Mexican-American man, told them we were going to go work at an orphanage. He said we didn't have visas to work in Mexico, and our chaperone told him "when we get there and the orphans ask us to help them, I will tell them no we can't because you, Sr. (whatever his name was), told us not to." Funny guy. They eventually came to an agreement that we were just going to visit and not work.


On the way back home, USBP brought all 20 of us into a room packed with Mexicans waiting to enter the country. The guy at the desk looked at us, asked if we were all US citizens, and told us to go on our way.

why where you denied entry for Isle of Man stamp?

1999... touring New Zealand.

Arrived in Auckland and the next day... went to the Auckland airport for the flight to Christchurch.

Checked in and my suitcase was placed on the conveyor.


On to security I thought. No... check in then right to the gate... no security, no metal detectors (at least I did not see any).

So weird.

Guess the type of plane and it's fuel range was the reason ... maybe it could not get beyond NZ without ditching in the ocean.

My cousin and her unborn baby were killed in a head on collision on 77 South between halletsville and Victoria by an....you guessed it an illegal imigrant

Not a US border story but I can confirm that when the 70 year old Swiss customs inspector puts on a second pair of gloves he's going in deep.

I grew up in the Valley so... my whole childhood?

laavispa said:

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About 30 years ago took the car ferry from Bar Harbor over to Yarmouth, Nova Scotia. in rental car with RI plates as I recall. Anyway, when we landed pulled out my Texas DL as identification (all you needed then). Drove up to Immigration (woman) first question 'You are from Texas?" A. :Yes * , Immigration: " you have any guns in car?"

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Every time I drove to Canada from Seattle, I got asked this.

How could I forget this one???

~1993 the Farm Services Agency head in Eagle Pass headed for a routine trip across the border at Piedras (EASY, quick crossing back then). A quick search by Federales found one .45 caliber bullet in an ashtray or door bin (dumbass). He was charged with smuggling machine gun ammo and spent a week in the Mexican jail before he could be bribed out. He got his once nice truck back a couple of months later after much bribing - it still had 4 wheels (not his), no toolbox, no radio, no rear seat, etc…….just what it took to start and roll back across the border.

Last May my buddy walked across the Rio Grande to purchase some breakfast tacos near Boquillas, then walked back across the Rio Bravo del Norte with them. Only hassle was cleaning the mud off his feet.

Hoyt Ag said:

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I went to Thailand for what was supposed to be 3 weeks in mid-late January of 2020. Arrived at my house in Samui and a few days later, my dad and admin were blowing my phone up to get my ass back to the states due to the plandemic. After a few more days I was able to make it back to Bangkok. I woke up late AF for my flight back to the US and got the airport about 45 minutes before takeoff. I have never seen such madness. There had to be 10,000 people in the departure desk area of BKK.

After getting ticketed and making my way up the escalators, I see the lines are wrapped for miles for customs. If anyone has been through BKK pre-2022, then you remember the multi desk process to leave the country and the length of time needed to accomplish the task of making it to your flight on time. My only saving grace was the immigration official (what used to be the first of 3 desks) saw my GETS Card and other credentials with Homeland Security logos on them with my passport and rushed me to my plane. They ended up holding the plane for me, got a lot of nasty looks as I boarded. When we landed in Houston, the pilot told us Bankgok airport was officially closed. If I had not made it on that flight, I would have been stuck for a very long time. I've been to Thailand several dozen times, but none as short as 4.5 days. The best part of the entire experience was my admin booked my flight back for me on company dime. First class the whole way. There was so much confusion with our company like everyone else, that it slipped right past the cracks on expense reports.

Worst experience I had was denied entry into Israel for having an Isle of Man stamp. I was supposed to go on a 9 day bus tour of the Holy Land. That trip sucked.

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As someone who went to Thailand for the first time back in 2024, being stuck there sounds like a dream to me. I would have immediately found transportation to Krabi, found a termporary place to live, and set up shop there a a couple of months.

Me too, as Valley Rat this one always sticks in my mind.

Went to Reynosa with a date- back in the dark ages- had a heck of a good time at a club just beyond the bridge (Trevino's??). Anyway, back in U. S. at customs. The argent wants to check my car, OK. Oh S**t I forgot there was a .22 single shot rifle stored along my front seat. I'm sweating bullets at this point, agent looks at rifle opens action-empty, single shot- puts it back in car a waves me though.

Then there was the time at Arturo's in Nueva Progresso.........

It was a pain to get my e-visa to enter Vietnam. The website was so crappy that it took 2 weeks of trying back in November/December. I flew to Da Nang and was like worried that it was going to be a hassle at immigration but it v was quick and painless.

I flew from Saigon to Taiwan Monday and did my visa on my phone at the airport and went to the immigration official and since I wasn't asian I blew through it. I left yesterday and the process was painless. Walk up to an unattended booth and have your picture taken and do the electronic fingerprint and that's it. Not even an exit stamp for your passport.

Travel to Israel, customs was done in the US and I was waved right through.
Germany, I brought so much beef jerky and Dr Pepper, I thought I'd be searched - no issue.
Cruise to Mexico and back, no issue. I don't even remember going through customs.
Accidentally crossed into Canada in Glacier National Park, we got escorted back. No concern.

Going from Florida to Texas, my entire bag was searched and torn open. They found a .22lr cartridge and confiscated it in 2021. Most issue I've ever had traveling.

Quingdao china. Had to stand in front of multiple armed military folks going through customs. You have to get a pre-approved visa but it still took 10ish minutes to get through and answer questions etc.

I will say, walking out into a less "international" airport in china as a 6' white man was a weird all alone experience. Not a soul looked like me. Not a soul spoke English.

Thankfully, my travels have been trouble free.

Canada is always pissy about entering because they're afraid you're there to work, but when you say vacation, they calm down.


I'll share on from India that didn't happen to me, but was irritating to watch.

I was there on a work trip and we were at customs to leave the country (Mumbai). A guy a ahead of is up for grilling. The agent starts talking to him in Hindi, and the guys throws up his hands that he doesn't understand. The agent switches to English and starts asking him where he's from. The guy answers somewhere in southern India. The customs agent starts berating him with questions on why he doesn't know Hindi. I ask my PM who is with me and a Mumbai original what's going on, and he tells me the many down there don't use Hindi often.

The agent then asks him what his mother tongue is and he says Tamil. Not sure why he asked because he then just yells at the guy that he doesn't speak Tamil and should not have to. Poor guy looks like he's about to cry at this point, but the agent finally stamps his passport and continues to berate the poor guy that he is from India and should know how to speak Hindi.

We're in this agent's line, so now I'm worried. Especially for my PM who is a naturalized US citizen. Thankfully, we get through with very minimal griping from the agent.

The first time I went fishing in Cabo was in the early 2000s. I was travelling with my fishing buddy, John. We had a large time for several days catching striped marlin, dorado and tuna. We had the hotel freeze the fish in gallon zip locks and since we had a direct flight back to Houston, didn't bother with trying to buy an ice chest. I just stuffed 20 pounds of frozen fillets into my backpack and jumped on the plane. Everything went smoothly until we got to Customs at IAH. I got pulled aside, my backpack was torn apart and the bags of fillets were beginning to thaw and starting to drip bloody water all onto the stainless table. The customs officials started giving me the 9th degree about what I was smuggling inside the bags and why I hadn't declared anything on the form. After about five minutes I looked over and John was standing there with his, unknown to me sister who happened to be a customs official and they are both laughing their asses off at me. He had called her and set me up! Needless to say, we were on our way home in about five minutes.

Not international but a run in with US border patrol. Me and a couple buddies were in South Texas going from one ranch to another or something and came up on a checkpoint. Drivers rolls down the window, agent asks "what country are you boys from?" and my buddy instantly answers "Texas". Agent just laughs and waves us on.

Montezuma's Revenge!

Still scarred from that disaster

BQ2001 said:

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Not international but a run in with US border patrol. Me and a couple buddies were in South Texas going from one ranch to another or something and came up on a checkpoint. Drivers rolls down the window, agent asks "what country are you boys from?" and my buddy instantly answers "Texas". Agent just laughs and waves us on.

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One of the agents at a border stop outside of El Paso told me to "state my citizenship" and without thinking I instantly said "Texan"...He got a laugh out of that and said "I meant what country?"...I told him I knew what he meant but just had a brain freeze...He wouldn't let me go until I said US Citizen though.

Another time when I was very young in the late 80's maybe early 90's, my parents and some family friends and I travelled to Mexico and when entering back into Texas they pretty much refused to believe my dad wasn't Mexican. He was very dark complected from working ranches and the oilfield his whole life, plus he was partially French Indian ancestry. They kept us at the border for 2 hours searching my parents van thinking it was a bunch of white people smuggling a Mexican dude into the country I guess and maybe other contraband. I don't know all the details because I was very young, but I know my dad had his Texas Drivers License and last name is an English name. I remember him raising cane with them for a long time on the side of the road and they finally let us go.

YouBet said:

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The Fall Guy said:

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YouBet said:

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Pre-9/11 we would cross the US-Mexican border at Boquillas. Pay a $1 to get ferried across the Rio Grande, and then $1 to ride a donkey into town (if you wanted) and go get hammered at the in-town bar on Soto.

Would do the same coming back. No border patrol in site. Just freely roaming across the border.

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In 1992 came across from Nuevo Laredo drunk and in the back of a pickup. Those were the days when you didnt need a passport and just your Texas ID

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Yep. Spring break South Padre in mid-90s a friend of mine and my GF at the time simply drove across border at Matamoros and went inland a few hours. No idea where they went but he was on some kind of quest to find a certain bottle of tequila or some ***** I didn't really care. I think I told them, "Good luck". And went back to drinking.

Imagine doing that now. No way in hell. And I refused to do it then when it was "relatively" safe.

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Same thing, except we were looking for the bull fights. Never found them, but thankfully no one kidnapped the two drunk gringo's cause no one would have found us either. So damn stupid.

Rattler12 said:

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No stories to tell because I have neither the need nor desire to travel to any foreign country for any reason past present or future.....ever.

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If I ever say these words and lose my desire to travel, I give anyone on this forum permission to hit me in the face with a rusty shovel as many times as you like.

At that time, Israel was on guard for a lot of money laundering activities out of the Isle and so they said no entry. Spent 20 or so hours in the airport and flew back to IAH. Went back in a few months with a clean passport book with no issue.

I was driving back from The Valley once and had to stop at the Falfurrias inland checkpoint. I stopped and rolled down my window, and the border patrol agent told me to move on.