<story><title>Avoiding a transit of the United States</title><url>http://wikitravel.org/en/Avoiding_a_transit_of_the_United_States</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>samfoo</author><text>It&apos;s frustrating to read things like this. If you think the US is easily the most unwelcoming country even to citizens -- to be frank -- you just haven&apos;t been through that many countries.&lt;p&gt;Does flying through the US as the citizen of a non-waived-visa country suck? Yup. But it&apos;s not like the US is the only country that has these policies. The UK has a list of countries that require transit visas. The Schengen Zone has a list of countries that require transit visas. Russia does.&lt;p&gt;And to add further anecdotal fuel to the fire (and counter yours): As a US citizen the worst customs I&apos;ve been through is far and away the UK.</text></item><item><author>acabal</author><text>I don&apos;t blame people for not wanting even a layover in the States.  We&apos;ve easily become the most unwelcoming (even to citizens!) and foreigner-hostile country around, short of some backwater dictatorship.  Last time I flew back from LHR-&amp;#62;ORD I was actually &lt;i&gt;scared&lt;/i&gt; that I&apos;d have to go through a body scanner after landing (this a few months back, after a news story of a citizen refusing a body scan at ORD after landing from an int&apos;l flight).</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>acabal</author><text>Check the website of my company, &lt;a href=&quot;http://turkeysandwichindustries.com&quot; rel=&quot;nofollow&quot;&gt;http://turkeysandwichindustries.com&lt;/a&gt;, for a map of places I&apos;ve been.  The past few years I&apos;ve been living an expat traveler lifestyle.&lt;p&gt;Yes, other countries have visa requirements; I myself was bitten by the Schengen Zone requirement last time I was in Belgium and Germany.  But the point is that I don&apos;t need to spend hundreds of dollars, navigate a series of confusing bureaucratic hurdles, and then have my &lt;i&gt;body&lt;/i&gt; and bags x-rayed and the minutiae of my personal life cross-examined by high-school graduates on a power trip just to have a 4-hour layover in most other countries... unlike America.&lt;p&gt;To contrast this, the last international flight I took was entering Mexico last month (where I am now); the line was long, but I wasn&apos;t asked a single question before my passport was stamped.  The 2nd to last international landing I had was in Belgium: I was asked the purpose of my visit and was waved along in 30 seconds.&lt;p&gt;The most complicated visa requirement I&apos;ve run in to was Vietnam, which required a stamped visa to be processed before you crossed the border.  Even then it was a matter of giving $25 to my travel agent along with a short customs-style form.&lt;p&gt;Yes you can say that, say, an Iraqi citizen will have a hard time getting in to any country, not just the US; but when we&apos;re talking people from England, Europe, China, hell, even Mexico and Canada--neighbors and close allies for generations--the process can &lt;i&gt;still&lt;/i&gt; be harrowing.  And that&apos;s not just unfriendly, it&apos;s damaging to relations in the long-term.  20-something backpackers who get hassled crossing into America today, or who choose to go to a different country for 6 months instead of face American border bureaucracy, will take those experiences with them when they enter industry and leadership positions in the future.&lt;p&gt;Edit: another anecdote--on entering New Zealand I was asked for proof of onward travel (as I later found out, a requirement to enter the country).  I didn&apos;t have any; I had planned on staying a few months then carrying on to Australia when I felt like it.  When I told the agent this, she laughed and waved me on.  Can you imagine a US border agent doing that?</text></comment>
<story><title>Avoiding a transit of the United States</title><url>http://wikitravel.org/en/Avoiding_a_transit_of_the_United_States</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>samfoo</author><text>It&apos;s frustrating to read things like this. If you think the US is easily the most unwelcoming country even to citizens -- to be frank -- you just haven&apos;t been through that many countries.&lt;p&gt;Does flying through the US as the citizen of a non-waived-visa country suck? Yup. But it&apos;s not like the US is the only country that has these policies. The UK has a list of countries that require transit visas. The Schengen Zone has a list of countries that require transit visas. Russia does.&lt;p&gt;And to add further anecdotal fuel to the fire (and counter yours): As a US citizen the worst customs I&apos;ve been through is far and away the UK.</text></item><item><author>acabal</author><text>I don&apos;t blame people for not wanting even a layover in the States.  We&apos;ve easily become the most unwelcoming (even to citizens!) and foreigner-hostile country around, short of some backwater dictatorship.  Last time I flew back from LHR-&amp;#62;ORD I was actually &lt;i&gt;scared&lt;/i&gt; that I&apos;d have to go through a body scanner after landing (this a few months back, after a news story of a citizen refusing a body scan at ORD after landing from an int&apos;l flight).</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>OstiaAntica</author><text>As an American citizen I also avoid domestic air travel.  The U.S. is becoming a bizarre, irrational police state-- we cannot even travel freely within our own borders without enduring unconstitutional searches that serve absolutely no security purpose.</text></comment>