US Customs & Border Protection - Las Vegas

We landed yesterday on a Volaris flight at the very new International Terminal in Las Vegas. Not that it will do any good, I felt compelled to voice an opinion on this operation:

"Upon arrival, US Citizens, residents, etc were ONLY provided with one processing lane while visitors were provided with three initially and then expanded to seven or eight. It appeared that the passenger split was approximately 50/50 from our flight and it took an excessive amount of time to process our group with only one agent. Admittedly, towards the end they did allow some people from our group to go to a second agent when he wasn't processing flight crews and other special groups. Considering the fact that this is a brand new facility, the operation did not come across as being very efficient.

To my way of thinking, it appeared that CBP was making a statement that while the US encourages money being spent by foreign visitors, we wish to discourage our citizens and/or residents from traveling to foreign countries and spending money elsewhere!

I will say that both the Immigration agent and the Customs agent were pleasant and in so way offensive with their questions!"

Since I have been on record of not finding fault through our previous experiences with CBP, I felt that they were way wrong in the way returning US Citizens or Residents were being processed! I will say that they were sure processing visitors in a rapid fashion so they could start spending money.

It is the Vegas way, no line for visitors so they can spend more time gambling. Same in the hotels or restaurants on the strip. Everything is geared towards "bringing in money" Their word not mine.

It's a Goverment department, what did you expect..EFICIENCY

Unlike many others, I didn't enter into the experience with a negative attitude! As far as efficiency goes, the "other side" for visitors was the height of efficiency! One of the other classics that came up is that Volaris has a very difficult time obtaining the US Forms in ENGLISH! They can get all they want in Spanish.

my experience flying Volaris, is that their customer base is Mexican, very few Americasn of the flights I have taken, especially within Mexico.

Hey, stop whining...just be glad you're not a Canadian citizen landing at Pearson International in Toronto. There are NO special lines for Canadian citizens...NONE, NEVER, EVER. You just wait in line with everybody else and, of course, the line next to you always moves faster.

Ferret:

I was about ready to reclaim my Chinese Citizenship opportunity just to get through the line. HA!

gvprod:

I would agree that there were plenty of Mexicans but on our particular flight, many of them were either returning US Citizens or permanent residents. My rough estimate was that about half of the flight was allocated to the Citizen/Resident line to be handled by one agent and she was really hassling the returning Mexicans! The fact that Volaris only had CBP Form 6059 in Spanish wasn't for a lack of trying to obtain the English version. Pretty damned embarrassing when a US Gringo has to ask for help in filling out the form for their Country of Citizenship!

MexicoPete wrote:Come on now, even we Americans know that Pearson isn't in Toronto. 90% of it is abutting or in Mississauga. Don’t believe me? Check with Hazel (Spelling). And you all know that Pearson International is in GMA (Not GTA). Torona, sometimes called Toronto by the older folks, is a suburb and to the West of Mississauga.

I'm asking this question, isn't Toronto one city and Mississauga another city?

And Pearson Airport sucks big time. Poor design

You are outrageously funny Pete. The airport has been in the same location since before Mississauga was even born. Definitely Hazel was born because she's positively ancient.
Which of the THREE terminals are you referring to John? The new terminal one is totally devoid of character...the old (and still) terminal 2 is just plain boring. Terminal three is very nice by comparison.
In general, airports lack ambience...but I do like the international pod of the Dallas airport that American Airlines flies into...and I hate Houston airport.
Anybody else got favourites?

Well will wonders never cease? I actually received a response from CBP:

"Good morning,

Thank you for taking the time to inform us of your experience at Las Vegas, Nevada. We do monitor processing times and wait times at our ports of entry and use feedback like yours in reporting to our Port Directors where the staffing and/or management need improvement. CBP is currently hiring and training additional officers to improve the staffing at the Ports of Entry.

Allow me to suggest that if, for any reason in the future, you are again dissatisfied with your border processing, you should ask to speak to a supervisor or Passenger Service Representative at the time of your inspection. A supervisor is always available to address the concerns of travelers.

Please also review the following information about Global Entry, a Trusted Traveler Program that was designed to facilitate an expedited CBP processing. At airports, program participants proceed to Global Entry kiosks, present their machine-readable U.S. passport or permanent resident card, place their fingertips on the scanner for fingerprint verification, and make a customs declaration. The kiosk issues the traveler a transaction receipt and directs the traveler to baggage claim and the exit.

Travelers must be pre-approved for the Global Entry program. All applicants undergo a rigorous background check and interview before enrollment.

While Global Entry’s goal is to speed travelers through the process, members may be selected for further examination when entering the United States. Any violation of the program’s terms and conditions will result in appropriate enforcement action and revocation of the traveler’s membership privileges.

Global Entry is a U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) program that allows expedited clearance for pre-approved, low-risk travelers upon arrival in the United States. Though intended for frequent international travelers, there is no minimum number of trips necessary to qualify for the program. Participants may enter the United States by using automated kiosks located at select airports. Please visit http://www.globalentry.gov/ for more information.

Thank you for contacting the CBP INFO Center,"

Andrea
Complaints Officer

Granted it is a canned response but someone had to choose the closest response letter to fit the complaint. The fallacy (as I see it) behind the suggested resolution is that the onsite supervisor then has a greater opportunity to make your life miserable when going through Immigration and/or Customs. Simply put, people in a position of power don't like anyone suggesting that they are not doing things correctly! Seems that they are pushing Global Entry and its $100 fee. Not a bad idea but implementation is restricted to only certain larger airports.

ferret wrote:You are outrageously funny Pete. The airport has been in the same location since before Mississauga was even born. Definitely Hazel was born because she's positively ancient.
Which of the THREE terminals are you referring to John? The new terminal one is totally devoid of character...the old (and still) terminal 2 is just plain boring. Terminal three is very nice by comparison.
In general, airports lack ambience...but I do like the international pod of the Dallas airport that American Airlines flies into...and I hate Houston airport.
Anybody else got favourites?

We pretty much hate all airports, but they are a necessary evil. Most airports are too large when you're handicapped, so that's why I fly handicapped, in general without problems.

Okay...I agree with John on this. We encountered this twice in the past months...terrible long lines at Phoenix Sky Harbour and at OHare. One line for US citizens...four lanes for others...We waited over an hour to get through...almost missed our flight out of Phoenix. I just do not get it period.
I can understand if the flight is early and they are not ready for some reason but it just did not seem right.

John is there anything special you need to do to fly handicapped other than show up in a wheelchair? Thanks in advance.