What do you tell border patrol you do?

[antoneo]

Hi,

I'm new here, I've just got back from my first trip to the US.

It all went great, but I'd like to know what your experiences with border patrol have been when trying to explain what you do and how you live.

I was pulled up for questioning on the way in and had lots of trouble trying to explain to the guy how I have a business but can afford to leave for 2 months, plus I have no permanent address, was single so it looked like I had no plans to need to be anywhere... obviously this guy thought I was planning to work in the US or something. I think luckily it was my birthday on the flight so sort of explained the trip was my birthday present to myself so they let me in.

But what are other peoples experiences.. How do you explain to them how you live? And I'm guessing Tim's "I'm a drug dealer" answer wont work to well in this situation!

Cheers,
Ant

[sadu]

It all depends where you are travelling, but generally it's easier to say you are on holiday. This is normal - self-employed people go on holiday all the time and run their businesses remotely. Don't try to get fancy.

To be honest, of all the places I have been, the USA was the least inviting. I had a stopover in LA and still got grilled by armed security.

French border security are very relaxed, if you are travelling with an EU citizen.

English border security want to know exactly what you are up to.

Indian security can be bribed. We had to pay $100 to not have our bags searched (our bags were clean, but we were worried that they might plant something).

German security didn't ask me any questions, just staamped the passport.

[roe_g]

I'm guessing Tim's "I'm a drug dealer" answer wont work to well in this situation!
this was my exact thought when I saw the thread title.

[johnnywolf]

I've been traveling A LOT the last three years, and now that I'm living Thailand and going back to the U.S. every few months I get a lot of questions from immigration.

Here are my tips:

1. Realize they're just doing their job and don't take it personally.
2. Don't give them a reason to bust you - hide your porn on your laptop, don't buy fake dvds, don't bring in anything you shouldn't.
3. When they ask you what you were doing there always say - Vacation
4. If they ask you if you were traveling alone - Say no, I was with friends but they left early.
5. When they ask you what you do for work - Do not say anything out there like i'm an internet marker, or even an author. Say what you used to do when you had a old boring job, like "Sales" or "Engineer"

[TimWieneke]

Tell them something that they're sure to want to talk about.

"I'm a mortician."

[Sven]

Congrats Tim, you have made it to my ignore list with only 2 posts.

[TimWieneke]

Or I guess you could say you're a comedian from the Netherlands where the locals are rife with a sense of humor.

The reality is to just tell them the truth, but in the right way. One of the key lessons of 4HWW is that there's the right way to tell the truth and the wrong way. Tim could have said he was the white guy who pushed the asian guys off the platform, but instead he was an international martial arts champion. Both are true. One is a much more interesting story.

I tell them I'm a real estate investor. It's generally ok and pretty much the same thing in every corner of the world. People have been buying real estate internationally for years and are generally welcomed in that field if there's the thought that foreign dollars will be invested in a local country.

The real interesting one is going to be visiting Iran, where my gf is from.

[parasitius]

Congrats Tim, you have made it to my ignore list with only 2 posts.

I'm surprised this guy made it through the book without putting Tim Ferriss on his "ignore list".

[webgal]

Be civil, please. The moderators have enough to do with rampant spam. Surely you guys can stop flaming each other.

[scotland]

I love it what a problem to have....

[jadedragon]

be consistent at the border - they log your answers. I cross into the US all the time and they ask what I do, why not at work. It is weird to them that I can be crossing the border on Monday at 10 AM and not on business.

I always tell the truth and say I am a self employed real estate developer - and if pressed - that it gives me a lot of free time and is a very flexible job.

[Cameron B]

Hi,


"I'm a drug dealer"



Love it. lol. No, Border Patrol doesn't have the biggest sense of humor regarding these things. TSA even less so. Though the Border agent could get gung ho for his first "big" drug bust.

I'd just tell them business or vacation. Hard to say since I haven't dealt with this yet. You could tell them something more interesting but many of them are only human and you could find yourself detained simply for the sake of good conversation (had this experience with state police on a couple of occasions-didn't mind, no real place to be).

The less you say, the better off you're likely to be.

Or recommend Tim's book. Many border agents work close to 50hrs a week.

[Zach.Ho]

Or recommend Tim's book. Many border agents work close to 50hrs a week.

:D:D lovely
told them you are a entrepreneur with people hired to do routine job,isn't that good?

[Carmen]

Your best bet is just to say you are a tourist. If they ask about equipment such as laptops simply say you use your laptop to stay in touch with family. Opening conversations about work only causes complications. Nomading is a new way of life and not yet understood by the general public and certainly not at borders. Don't open the subject because you'll most likely buy yourself a headache if not worse.

[Griffin]

I was pulled up for questioning on the way in and had lots of trouble trying to explain to the guy how I have a business but can afford to leave for 2 months, plus I have no permanent address, was single so it looked like I had no plans to need to be anywhere... obviously this guy thought I was planning to work in the US or something. I think luckily it was my birthday on the flight so sort of explained the trip was my birthday present to myself so they let me in.

Wow, sorry to hear you had such an odd experience! You can always tell them you are living on a trust fund, are a student (elsewhere), tell them you own an online business, etc. I've had such odd experiences explaining affiliate marketing in the past during just casual conversation -- I couldn't imagine trying it with airport security!

My thought is always "what business is it of theirs?" since they have literally no say in whether you get a work visa or not. But such is life. People with no power want to be jerks when they can.