BajaNomad - The Magnetic Strip on Your Passport

The Magnetic Strip on Your Passport

elizabeth - 4-17-2009 at 06:28 PM

I flew from Loreto to Los Angeles yesterday. At US immigration I was asked a significantly unusual number of questions...things like, "how was the weather", "did you go fishing", "did you have a good time", "do you go there a lot", "what do you do there"...etc., etc. etc.

It got me to wondering just what information the agent had when he swiped that magnetic strip. Was there something that made him want to question me to observe my demeanor, or did I just luck out and get chatty charlie?

Does anyone know what shows up on the screen? Does it show a travel history? If so, for how long?

Just curious, not paranoid!!!

woody with a view - 4-17-2009 at 06:37 PM

probably what you wrote when you applied for the passport. also where you have booked flights to and from and dates linked to usage of passport number.

Diver - 4-17-2009 at 06:52 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by woody in ob
probably what you wrote when you applied for the passport. also where you have booked flights to and from and dates linked to usage of passport number.

And all about that little secret you;ve been keeping since you were 15.

Bob H - 4-17-2009 at 06:57 PM

My wife is an international flight attendant for American Airlines - every time we go out of the country on vacation together (and she's not in uniform)... they always ask her why she has been to so many countires so many times. So, they see your travel history for sure.

She flies almost every single week overseas - England, Germany, Italy, China, Japan and India are her main destinations, plus all over our private travels. They really get this puzzled look on their face, almost every time.

Bob H

Paula - 4-17-2009 at 06:59 PM

Do you belong to any radical political parties?

bajalou - 4-17-2009 at 07:42 PM

The strip has you personal info on it which accesses the data stored in the Immigration computer system.

toneart - 4-17-2009 at 07:53 PM

I have a passport that was issued 2 years ago, just before the magnetic stripes were put in. There hasn't been any unusual delay or discussion when crossing the border.

I think I am still in their computer data base; probably entered upon crossing and updated each subsequent time.

Don Alley - 4-17-2009 at 08:48 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Paula
Do you belong to any radical political parties?

And who was she hanging out with while in Mexico?

bajalou - 4-17-2009 at 08:56 PM

The older ones have a bar code that can be swiped in a reader - this brings up the info. Think the newest were supposed to have a chip that transmits the data so they don't have to swipe it.

elizabeth - 4-17-2009 at 09:04 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Diver

Quote:

Originally posted by woody in ob
probably what you wrote when you applied for the passport. also where you have booked flights to and from and dates linked to usage of passport number.

And all about that little secret you;ve been keeping since you were 15.

How do you know about that????

elizabeth - 4-17-2009 at 09:06 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Don Alley

Quote:

Originally posted by Paula
Do you belong to any radical political parties?

And who was she hanging out with while in Mexico?

Maybe...about the political stuff....

And, you know I hang out with some pretty suspect people in Loreto!

Bajahowodd - 4-17-2009 at 11:23 PM

Be it bar code or magnetic strip, it will access the history that has been entered in the data base. It probably doesn't matter that much whether you have six trips to Baja, or six trips to various world destinations. Right now, the marching orders are to ferret out terrorists or smugglers. In reality, it's probably more about first impressions- how you look, how you are dressed, and what your age and ethnicity appear to be.

Bob H - 4-18-2009 at 07:06 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Bajahowodd
Be it bar code or magnetic strip, it will access the history that has been entered in the data base. It probably doesn't matter that much whether you have six trips to Baja, or six trips to various world destinations. Right now, the marching orders are to ferret out terrorists or smugglers. In reality, it's probably more about first impressions- how you look, how you are dressed, and what your age and ethnicity appear to be.

Yes, it matters what your profile is! :coolup:

Bob H

toneart - 4-18-2009 at 09:04 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by bajalou
The older ones have a bar code that can be swiped in a reader - this brings up the info. Think the newest were supposed to have a chip that transmits the data so they don't have to swipe it.

Oh Jeez! Now they will know what bars I've been hanging out in. :lol:

Homeland Security

MrBillM - 4-18-2009 at 09:34 AM

I've heard that, in extreme cases, swiping the magnetic strip immediately sends an alert and a Black Helicopter is dispatched to the scene.

Could be true.

Mulegena - 4-18-2009 at 06:18 PM

Quote:

Oh Jeez! Now they will know what bars I've been hanging out in. :lol:

A brief Hijack:

The folksinger Rosalie Sorrels tells this story as an intro to a blues song she wrote about her life. To parapharase: "A young man approached me after a concert and informed me rather earnestly, 'That song you wrote is not a blues song. The blues are written in 12-bars.' I thought for a moment, then looked into his face and replied, 'My dear young man, I have been in more bars in the space of your lifetime than you can begin to imagine!'"

Ok, back to Topic. :dudette:

[Edited on 4-19-2009 by Mulegena]

BajaBruno - 4-18-2009 at 08:51 PM

This is not for the mag strip passport, but the e-chip passport.

This from State Dept.: http://travel.state.gov/passport/eppt/eppt_2788.html#Thirtte...

What is an Electronic Passport?

An Electronic Passport is the same as a traditional passport with the addition of a small integrated circuit (or “chip”) embedded in the back cover. The chip stores:

The same data visually displayed on the data page of the passport;
A biometric identifier in the form of a digital image of the passport photograph, which will facilitate the use of face recognition technology at ports-of-entry;

The unique chip identification number; and

A digital signature to protect the stored data from alteration.

They're COMING

MrBillM - 4-18-2009 at 08:57 PM

And it won't even do any good to watch the sky for the Black Helicopters.

They have Stealth Technology and Night Vision.

AND, they can monitor your thoughts.

Bajahowodd - 4-18-2009 at 11:12 PM

Orwell was prescient. How sad for us.

Mike99km - 4-19-2009 at 08:33 AM

You all can expect more RFID chips in your life from now on. A few years ago Walmart made all the suppliers add chips to all products . This dropped the price of the chips and everybody is using them. They are that little square thing on the side of box or a flat circuit spider label. They can be read from several feet away with the proper equipment. It's just a tool for updating the data base.
The Data base's that are in you name are huge, Markets know way to much as do your banks. The cps and passport are some of the smaller data bases about you.
I surf with a guy that spent time in a Mexican jail for drugs, he can't enter the USA without getting pulled aside.
If big brother ever get all the info on you that have been collected they will know more about you, than you do.

Oh Jeez again!

toneart - 4-19-2009 at 09:03 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Mulegena

Oh Jeez! Now they will know what bars I've been hanging out in. :lol:

[Edited on 4-19-2009 by Mulegena]

Now we will cross the border with either The Twelve Bar Blues, or a toxic magnetic hangover.

Scotty, beam me up and over the whole ordeal. It ain't easy being a recalcitrant Patriot. :no: