Why Am I Forbidden From Using My iPhone In US Immigration Areas?

http://www.feld.com/wp/archives/2013/03/why-am-i-forbidden-from-using-my-iphone-in-us-immigration-areas.html

by cgtyoder • 13 years ago

33 36 13 years ago

benologist• 13 years ago

That video was hilarious.

You aren't forbidden from using your iPhone. You are forbidden from using any cell phone. Why do apple fanbois find it necessary to make sure we know they have an apple product? They can never just say "my computer" or "my phone". Bleh.

enraged_camel4• 13 years ago

>Why do apple fanbois find it necessary to make sure we know they have an apple product? They can never just say "my computer" or "my phone". Bleh.

Polarizing and derailing in this manner makes you sound like a complete jackass.

asveikau• 13 years ago

Polarizing and derailing in this manner makes you sound like a complete jackass.

And what does calling someone a jackass do?

packetslave• 13 years ago

"fanbois" is not a word

cdash• 13 years ago

Just like thousands of other words that are not words in the english language, they become a word through use.

asd1112• 13 years ago

it is only one character, but I agree with you, it makes a big difference. maybe Microsoft should not have saved Apple...

radge• 13 years ago

Like it or not, iPhone is synonymous with "modern smartphone".

smtddr2• 13 years ago

The same reason you're not allowed/frowned upon to record law enforcement in public. They don't want you to have evidence of their wrong-doings. It's not about the phone per se, it's about the phone's audio/video recording abilities. I'm sure video-cameras aren't allowed either.

EDIT: Wow, those downvotes. My mistake for posting on controversial topics at night.

EDIT#2: Spoke too soon... :)

melling• 13 years ago

You aren't allowed to use any phone. So, your made up answer can't be right.

bowmessage• 13 years ago

How does that invalidate his answer? Any phone can record audio.

smtddr2• 13 years ago

melling, you're the best. :) I've seen your comments before, I got your number(pun intented). What do you think most people are thinking when they read your reply to my comment? They're thinking about what percentage of cellphones currently in use have audio and/or video recording abilities.

asd1112• 13 years ago

thankfully they will soon be able to disable all cellphone cameras in a x mile radius... someone has a patent already

Mikeb852• 13 years ago

Why should you be allowed to use a cell phone in US immigration areas? I find it ridiculous that people feel the need to be able to use their phone wherever they want. No one complained about not being able to use their flip-phone in hospitals, government areas and air-planes...

bulatb• 13 years ago

Because freedom means it's the restrictions, not the privileges, the government enumerates. I don't know if there's a reason cell phones shouldn't be allowed there, but if there isn't then they should be.

blinkingled• 13 years ago

Last time I had to wait in immigration line for 4 hours, I missed my connecting flight. My wife waited at my destination for a real long time, got intensely worried and basically was clueless up until I was able to get through immigration and call her. Not exactly a minor inconvenience.

_delirium• 13 years ago

That does point to the other problem, that the U.S. runs a completely incompetent entry process. I'm always embarrassed when non-Americans visit the U.S., because we can't operate an immigration system efficiently. Meanwhile, I fly to Germany and it takes me 15 minutes to go through security and customs, not 3 hours.

msoad• 13 years ago

Because one time when I returned back to US from a vacation the U.S. immigration officer asked me too many personal questions and when I asked why she needs to know my employer and it's location she yelled at me that she has this right. I didn't know at the moment that they do not have this right.

Next time I just wanted to make sure I am recording my conversation with the officer I saw the "no cellphone" sign.

So yes, you should be allowed to record any conversation with government officer to protect your privacy better

Mikeb852• 13 years ago

I think you need better immigration officers, not more cell phones. It's never taken me more than the wait in line plus a few minutes to go through immigration in Canada, Europe, and the Caribbean...

kahirsch3• 13 years ago

You're not allowed to use their phones, either.

Here's a case[1] of a carload of US citizens being detained incommunicado for six hours at Niagara Falls for six hours, in a cold room. No explanation.

[1] http://www.onthemedia.org/story/my-detainment-story-or-how-i...

unreal37• 13 years ago

Site down, cache: http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:Zxm7ZoQ...

stox• 13 years ago

Can someone point me at the law that enables them to do this?

enraged_camel4• 13 years ago

See my response to a similar point: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6545514

kahirsch3• 13 years ago

Can you cite any relevant law? Case law or regulation?

tuke• 13 years ago

The egocentrism of the title is remarkable.

Surely Brad means:

"Why is one forbidden from using a mobile phone in US Immigration areas?"

(Unless, of course, you specifically are forbidden to use a specific device -- an iPhone.)

TheBiv• 13 years ago

"Egocentricism"

Aggressive term. He may be being egotistical, or he may be mentioning his specific device to give clarity on what was actually prohibited in his experience. No need to call him egotistical and it surely wasn't remarkable.

guiambros2• 13 years ago

I know, I know, they already forced you to turn off your phone during landing, and now it sucks that you'll need to wait till you get to the baggage claim to go back to your Candy Crush addiction. How ridiculous is that?

Now seriously, isn't it obvious? It's a high-security area. There's all sorts of people trying to cross the border: business travelers, families, citizens returning home, tourists, illegal immigrants, terrorists, drug dealers. They don't want people distracted, speaking loudly on their phones, or sending instructions to others in line to exploit security weaknesses.

If you're really bothered by the wait (and have an extra $85 to spare), you should seriously consider requesting a Global Entry. While you still won't be able to use your phone, it'll reduce your time in line to 45 seconds.

I bet you can't even finish a level that fast.

(UPDATE: cost for 5 years is $85, not $100)

msandford2• 13 years ago

Okay, it's a high security area. What law allows them to prohibit the use of a cell phone? The way the US tends to work is that everything is allowed, except the things which are specifically disallowed by virtue of a law being written.

Think of it as whitelisting vs blacklisting. In the US we don't whitelist the things that are OK, we blacklist the things which are not OK. How did cell phone use in a border area get on the blacklist? If it's on the blacklist, but there's no law which put it there, then there's a problem.

enraged_camel4• 13 years ago

>Okay, it's a high security area. What law allows them to prohibit the use of a cell phone?

The thing you have to understand about the border control area at airports is that it's kind of a "no man's land." Despite technically being on US soil, you aren't considered inside the borders of the US. You go inside only when the immigration officer gives you the green light. Until then, they can basically do anything they want to you, and there isn't anything you can do about it.

enraged_camel4• 13 years ago

>or sending instructions to others in line to exploit security weaknesses.

Hahaha, what? You can't be serious.

guiambros2• 13 years ago

No joke; after you go dozens of times per year through immigration, you learn quite a bit about how things work (and when it doesn't work).

I lost count of how many times I had to (respectfully) correct border patrol officials when stamping I-94 forms, or filling the number of travel companions in the customs form, etc.

Thankfully I'm one of the good guys.

kahirsch3• 13 years ago

So, if you are a US citizen that's being held for hours, it's okay for them to not let you communicate? Even to inform the people waiting for you why you're late?

bbgm• 13 years ago

In the days before smart phones, the lady in front of me in an immigration line in London had her cell taken away from her till she cleared immigration, cause she insisted on using her cell (she had been told not to do so and there was signage everywhere).

I might be wrong, but pretty much every immigration line I've stood in prohibits cell phone usage.

plugger• 13 years ago

I was about to say the same. When you're in immigration areas in many country this rule exists. The "no photography" rule also applies iirc.

onethree• 13 years ago

i'm pretty sure in both Australia and New Zealand immigration they have signs saying no photography/audio recording devices/cell phones. Honestly i've never had a problem with this, the only thing worse than waiting in line for immigration would be waiting in line for immigration behind someone having an overly loud conversation on their phone

Why Am I Forbidden From Using My iPhone In US Immigration Areas?

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