I went through this process at O'Hare last year and now again yesterday at Midway, the process for passport/security check of re-entering the US as a resident blows. Someone (or some company) clearly made a great pitch to "automate" this process with those self serve kiosks, only for security to still require a real person to ask the same questions.

 

So the US check requires a kiosk visit and then only has 1 security personnel to ask the questions (literally the same ones). The international line has like 4-5 security personnel. So as a US resident you get in line for a kiosk and then wait in a long ass line to go talk to that one officer. f***ing insane that they bottleneck the US process so badly, and the kiosks do absolutely nothing that the security officer doesn't ask anyways. How the hell did this get approved and implemented? Almost every person in line was amazed at how bad it was.

I went through this process at O'Hare last year and now again yesterday at Midway, the process for passport/security check of re-entering the US as a resident blows. Someone (or some company) clearly made a great pitch to "automate" this process with those self serve kiosks, only for security to still require a real person to ask the same questions.

 

So the US check requires a kiosk visit and then only has 1 security personnel to ask the questions (literally the same ones). The international line has like 4-5 security personnel. So as a US resident you get in line for a kiosk and then wait in a long ass line to go talk to that one officer. f***ing insane that they bottleneck the US process so badly, and the kiosks do absolutely nothing that the security officer doesn't ask anyways. How the hell did this get approved and implemented? Almost every person in line was amazed at how bad it was.

For the most part every time I have had to go through customs coming back from another country it has been really easy. The only time I really saw it get backed up was coming in from Columbia.

For the most part every time I have had to go through customs coming back from another country it has been really easy. The only time I really saw it get backed up was coming in from Columbia.

Is that as a citizen or a "US Resident"?

 

The US puts non-citizens through hell.

I did it everyday for years while working in Mexico.

Just tell them that Allah won't allow you to be treated that way,.

Is that as a citizen or a "US Resident"?

 

The US puts non-citizens through hell.

Well the non-US citizen lines went 2x as fast as the US citizen lines. We may not get asked as much but they are sure more efficient at getting them through.

ONLY thing I like about the process is when they say "welcome home." I feel your pain, though. Awful process.

ONLY thing I like about the process is when they say "welcome home." I feel your pain, though. Awful process.

going to Eurpoe for two weeks on Sunday, thanks for the heads-up!

going to Eurpoe for two weeks on Sunday, thanks for the heads-up!

Enjoy the trip!

Enjoy the trip!

Thanks! right now 50/50 mix of looking forward to it for the adventure and for not working for 2 weeks!

going to Eurpoe for two weeks on Sunday, thanks for the heads-up!

 

Heading to mexico on Sunday for a week, see you at the airport! Haha.

If you really wanna speed the process, get Global Entry.

Is that as a citizen or a "US Resident"?

 

The US puts non-citizens through hell.

Yep I can pretty much vouch for that. Occasionally I've actually had to show proof that I have a return ticket home, in order to get the whole 90 day Visa Waiver thing.

 

For the original thread starter, maybe it's just that way at the Chicago Airports. Whenever I go through LAX, it's usually a 5:1 ratio the other way around, so I end up having to wait 90 mins or so just to get through customs (which if you have a connecting flight is a nightmare).

Yep I can pretty much vouch for that. Occasionally I've actually had to show proof that I have a return ticket home, in order to get the whole 90 day Visa Waiver thing.

 

For the original thread starter, maybe it's just that way at the Chicago Airports. Whenever I go through LAX, it's usually a 5:1 ratio the other way around, so I end up having to wait 90 mins or so just to get through customs (which if you have a connecting flight is a nightmare).

That's how it was when we had a large group going through LAX, the citizens breezed through and everyone else took forever.

Yep I can pretty much vouch for that. Occasionally I've actually had to show proof that I have a return ticket home, in order to get the whole 90 day Visa Waiver thing.

 

For the original thread starter, maybe it's just that way at the Chicago Airports. Whenever I go through LAX, it's usually a 5:1 ratio the other way around, so I end up having to wait 90 mins or so just to get through customs (which if you have a connecting flight is a nightmare).

It might just be a Chicago thing, I can safely say I was not the only one just shocked by how bad of a process it is here.