I have always had trouble with border control - I have a passport from one country, but was born in another. I have as one, immigration official put it, "a different name", which in these times of overblown showcases of security, is always an excuse for hassles. But this has also led to weird and interesting conversations with immigration officials (the chatty ones at least) like a discussion on cocaine smuggling and fake passports (at the three borders in Brazil).
But I have also discovered that, when the rules work, and you play by the rules, there is some sort of reward. The Schengen visa for example, if you travel more than three rimes in a year, it is much easier ro get a year long one. And, I was really surprised at the US immigration this afternoon. Instead of my normal grilling, I got the normal check of biometric credentials (fingerprints and face) and that was it. More surprising is that I can stay a full 6 months in the US, which is normally not granted to non visa-exempt persons.
That said, I am still expecting "extra" security checks on my way out, the apparently random ones that I have never missed in my 6 previous visits to the US.
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