Police control of classified information

[Roland Perry]

In article <970B40749D654142AFD8E7C6BA99D5AC@london.neos.tv>, Tom 
Thomson <cmt@btinternet.com> writes
>I had a multiple entry visa for quite a long time, and continued to use
>after the Visa Waiver program was introduced until one day I flew into LA
>and an immigration official let me in but stamped cancelled over the Visa,
>saying "we don't issue unlimited visas to Limeys any more". That was a long
>time after the program started, and I had used it several times when flying
>into Boston, Seattle, SF, and Newark - without any bother although some
>colleagues had had their visas withdrawn on the grounds that they should be
>using the waiver program. I formed the impression that whether it was
>cancelled depended mainly on whether an immigration official disliked the
>look of you and/or the look of your passport (or of the non-US entry/exit
>stamps in it). That was a while back, I understand it's very different now -
>no chance at all of continuing to use an old-style visa.

My experience was that they let you in "one last time" on the visa, but 
cancelled it (for future entries) at the same time.

That long ago, they did tend to roll out new immigration initiatives a 
few airports at a time [1] so it's not a big surprise if the reception 
differed depending on where you arrived.

[1] Anyone else remember that the original excuse for fingerprinting 
arriving aliens was a pilot programme so you could use a kiosk to 
confirm your eventual exit from the country? Anyone ever seen such a 
kiosk?
-- 
Roland Perry