SlyOnce
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Posts: 262
Registered: 12-26-2013
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Why is San Ysidro SENTRI car lane so long lately?
I usually hit the border at 6 AM for my morning commute from Playas. Usually the wait is about 10 to 15 minutes. This week its been 25 to 35 every
day. Any ideas as to what's going on?
Hit it at 5:45 this morning and waited 35 min.
Going to try 5:30 tomorrow, its terrible, all backed up along the Via Rapida.
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baconjr
Nomad
Posts: 128
Registered: 7-14-2012
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Mood: Es la vida de perro!
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Walked thru Ready lane at Otay on a Saturday evening and it was a 30 minute wait to walk from the scary dancers to the agent. They had 1 freaking
inspector working the Ready lane. The regular entrance had 3. Sometimes the SENTRI inspectors cop an attitude. They have gone thru my wives car,
x-rayed it and made her get the dogs up and show medical records for the dogs because the dogs didn't get excited crossing. My old beagle will sleep
thru an atomic blast. I think that when an inspector is having a bad day everybody gets a bad day. It would be nice to have a customer survey box that
we could fill out and tell of the frustration of dealing with these people.
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mtgoat666
Select Nomad
Posts: 19320
Registered: 9-16-2006
Location: San Diego
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Mood: Hot n spicy
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| Quote: | Originally posted by baconjr
Walked thru Ready lane at Otay on a Saturday evening and it was a 30 minute wait to walk from the scary dancers to the agent. They had 1 freaking
inspector working the Ready lane. The regular entrance had 3. Sometimes the SENTRI inspectors cop an attitude. They have gone thru my wives car,
x-rayed it and made her get the dogs up and show medical records for the dogs because the dogs didn't get excited crossing. My old beagle will sleep
thru an atomic blast. I think that when an inspector is having a bad day everybody gets a bad day. It would be nice to have a customer survey box that
we could fill out and tell of the frustration of dealing with these people. |
i find that when I enter mexico they border people are generally friendly, certainly never nasty,... the USA border people are exact opposite - they
all hate their jobs and take it out on border crossers, FREQUENTLY being nasty to border crossers.
i think the border people are the very worst face of the USA, the first thing a citizen returning home or a new visitor to USA encounters is a surly
a$$$hole!
after crossing many international borders, i have only encountered nasty inspectors at one: USA.
in their little pea brains, i think 911, patriot act, and xenophobia provide them justification to be prickkss
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Udo
Elite Nomad
Posts: 6364
Registered: 4-26-2008
Location: Black Hills, SD/Ensenada/San Felipe
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Mood: TEQUILA!
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This is one topic of discussion my wife and I have had for years.
The Tecate CBP agents have always been friendly, and smile...even the ones that have dark glasses on.
The slight attitude ones (and I mean slight), have been the secondary inspectors.
Udo
Youth is wasted on the young!
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bajaguy
Elite Nomad
Posts: 9247
Registered: 9-16-2003
Location: Carson City, NV/Ensenada - Baja Country Club
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Mood: must be 5 O'clock somewhere in Baja
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I was told by a CBP gal at Otay that CBP people rotate through duty posts/assignments every 30 minutes so they don't get "stuck" at a booth or in
secondary.
Never had a attitude problem at Otay SENTRI even when I was directed to secondary for a "random SENTRI inspection".........it was all "please,
thank-you, may I, can I, yes sir and no sir"....on their part.
Before I was directed to secondary, the CBP gal at the booth asked if a secondary inspection would delay me or make me late for anything.
Quite polite and professional at the booth and in secondary
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DavidE
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3814
Registered: 12-1-2003
Location: Baja California México
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Mood: 'At home we demand facts and get them. In Mexico one subsists on rumor and never demands anything.' Charles Flandrau,
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The fastest way to a promotion in The Department of justice is to make a huge bust. Being promoted from "Agent" to "Special Agent" is a big step
forward.
PRIME DIRECTIVE of U.S. Customs...
Never Show The Same Face Twice.
Means be unpredictable
Ever had a Customs Agent ask you with a straight face...
How many kilos of cocaine are you bringing in today?
How many Krugerrand's have you hidden in your luggage?
Think it's funny? One wince or chuckle and you will find yourself in Secondary with a yellow tag on your windshield.
A Lot To See And A Lot To Do
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bajaguy
Elite Nomad
Posts: 9247
Registered: 9-16-2003
Location: Carson City, NV/Ensenada - Baja Country Club
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Mood: must be 5 O'clock somewhere in Baja
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David, David, David..........you are blowing smoke out of the top of your hat..........While making a "big bust" may help to boost a person up the
career ladder, that is not the only criteria. Additionally, the 1811 federal employment series does not have "agents"....federal officers under the
1811 are "Special Agents", Inspectors (US Postal Service), Deputy Marshals (USMS).......
And please show the reference for the "Prime Directive" of the US Customs service.............
In 48 years of crossing the border, I have never been asked how many kilos of anything I was bringing in or how many Krugerrands I have hidden...but i
have been asked to declare anything i was bringing back into the US.......from Mexico, Canada, Germany and Viet-Nam
| Quote: | Originally posted by DavidE
The fastest way to a promotion in The Department of justice is to make a huge bust. Being promoted from "Agent" to "Special Agent" is a big step
forward.
PRIME DIRECTIVE of U.S. Customs...
Never Show The Same Face Twice.
Means be unpredictable
Ever had a Customs Agent ask you with a straight face...
How many kilos of cocaine are you bringing in today?
How many Krugerrand's have you hidden in your luggage?
Think it's funny? One wince or chuckle and you will find yourself in Secondary with a yellow tag on your windshield. |
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wessongroup
Platinum Nomad
Posts: 21152
Registered: 8-9-2009
Location: Mission Viejo
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Mood: Suicide Hot line ... please hold
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Just depends on how one responds to the question 
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willardguy
Elite Nomad
Posts: 6451
Registered: 9-19-2009
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| Quote: | Originally posted by DavidE
The fastest way to a promotion in The Department of justice is to make a huge bust. Being promoted from "Agent" to "Special Agent" is a big step
forward.
PRIME DIRECTIVE of U.S. Customs...
Never Show The Same Face Twice.
Means be unpredictable
Ever had a Customs Agent ask you with a straight face...
How many kilos of cocaine are you bringing in today?
How many Krugerrand's have you hidden in your luggage?
Think it's funny? One wince or chuckle and you will find yourself in Secondary with a yellow tag on your windshield. |
I'll bet you meant to say "department of homeland security", right pickleE?
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DavidE
Ultra Nomad
Posts: 3814
Registered: 12-1-2003
Location: Baja California México
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Mood: 'At home we demand facts and get them. In Mexico one subsists on rumor and never demands anything.' Charles Flandrau,
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Look at their badge.
The DIRECTOR of the Tecate POE used that phrase so I adopted PRIME DIRECTIVE. Never show the same face twice. When I spent almost three years in
Tecate and sometimes crossed two or three times a day I asked a lot of questions. You bet your bum they sent me to secondary. I forgot how many times.
There was NEVER any "familiarity" given or taken in my crossings. Yeah I wired a three phase 480 transformer and 20 truck private truck garage on the
East side of the City. Metal Halide lights, a fluorescent lit truck pit, the whole enchilada. It was a learning experience.
So I guess several hundreds of crossings exposed me to a larger cross sample than what can be normally expected. I shopped, did the internet cafe bit,
and even my laundry crossing the border. Mexican Aduana was a hell of a lot more blase about it than US Customs. That's how I learned about the Tec II
CBP computer database system, which has probably by now been replaced. It HAS been 12-1/2 years and yeah I watched everything come apart after 09/11.
Bicycling trails and setting off sensors, like I say it was an intense learning experience. I spent hours in the office of Aduana visiting and asking
questions.
I'll bet anything I couldn't get NEAR the Port Director these days.
A Lot To See And A Lot To Do
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tjsue
Senior Nomad
Posts: 520
Registered: 4-12-2013
Location: San Diego
Member Is Offline
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I've been told by some CBP officers that they get rotated every hour, but it may depend on their supervisor. I've never had any of them be rude to
me, and I went through secondary for three months every time I crossed, even on foot. I went through secondary so often, that most of the agents got
to know me, and started asking me why I went to secondary every time I crossed. They stopped inspecting my van and sending the dogs through it.
After I got into the lane that I was waved into, I unlocked all the doors and popped the hood latch, so when an officer came over, it made it easier
on them.
But that's ended now, I have another Sentri interview on Tuesday, and I hoping that I get approved this time.
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dasubergeek
Senior Nomad
Posts: 694
Registered: 8-17-2013
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I've never had a truly rude one in SENTRI. I've had one guy be a bit curt. There's one guy at the SY regular lane who is just an absolute
curmudgeon... shouting about an excess of olive oil (wtf?) before he put the stupid cone on my car and shipped me off to secondary, where the very
nice young kid scratched his head and couldn't figure out what was going on.
The only time I've seen a rude SENTRI was crossing on foot, where the SENTRI inspector processes Ready Lane people when there's no one in the SENTRI
lane. I scanned and he called my name right away (SENTRI has priority), and the woman who was next in the Ready Lane pushed past me... he was
extremely cross, made her go back and wait, and then shipped her to secondary while I was putting my stuff through the scanner.
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SlyOnce
Nomad
Posts: 262
Registered: 12-26-2013
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Today (Friday) I hit the SY SENTRI Car line at 5:35 AM. It was very short < 10 minutes wait. I got to work at 6:15 - way too early! I counted 5
booths open, and several had 2 windows. The far right has only 1 window.
I can't see any reason for extra traffic this week. Maybe because the holiday season is finally over or they are just issuing more SENTRI cards.
Regular traffic lanes seemed normal or light.
I cross about 6 times a week, sometimes twice in a day if I go shopping on the US side.
I often see the same inspectors, I get many comments about living in Playas (One guy said "you must be living like a king down there!") - if he only
knew!
To expedite crossings -
remove hat and sunglasses
turn off music
put down phone
open all windows prior to hitting the booth
I always say "good morning" in English!
Show them your SENTRI card with the picture up, and without your finger or thumb covering the photo.
You can be sent to Secondary for any reason, but -
Once in a while you get sent to Secondary for a "compliance check". It is random. I was told its generated on their computer system back in Atlanta,
it has nothing to do with you or your presentation.
An agent handing my most recent "compliance" said it happens more often around 8 AM.
Please have US registration, insurance, and drivers license ready when you hit secondary for a compliance check.
Some agents are friendly and chatty, some are rude buttcracks. One once said to me
"Welcome back to your homeland fellow citizen!"
as if I had just arrived from Ecuador instead of driving 7 miles from my apt in Playas.
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