I must admit I'm terrified this will happen to me every time I visit the US, I lived in the Bay Area, working in the Valley for 20 years and visit for work and fun a few times a year .... but every time I go through immigration I';m on the edge of panic.
I've never overstayed a visa, the only trouble I ever got into was for not physically handing back my green card when I moved away, I stopped using it for travel when I was no longer a US resident (I almost got kicked out that time, then couldn't figure how to actually hand it back, the US consulate had no online information on how to to do it, and charge by the minute for phone calls from people who want to ask questions, I called up, spent my money and they didn't know either).
The whole US system is baroque and arbitrary, I live in NZ I know people who choose to fly to Europe west rather than east simply because they are scared of traveling through the US (AirNZ now provides a route through Vancouver), even though they would love to visit, there's an impression is that it's just to risky and could ruin your vacation
I have to agree - LAX and JFK are my own personal bete noirs.
AKL isn't that wonderful - the blatant duty-free product placement at both ends of the process is (as a kiwi) frankly embarrassing, it's terribly "exit through the gift shop" sort of experience that reflects badly on us all (and always leaves me in tears from being forced to walk through all the perfume - not unlike being stuck next to that little old lady who's lost her sense of smell on the bus)
I've never overstayed a visa, the only trouble I ever got into was for not physically handing back my green card when I moved away, I stopped using it for travel when I was no longer a US resident (I almost got kicked out that time, then couldn't figure how to actually hand it back, the US consulate had no online information on how to to do it, and charge by the minute for phone calls from people who want to ask questions, I called up, spent my money and they didn't know either).
The whole US system is baroque and arbitrary, I live in NZ I know people who choose to fly to Europe west rather than east simply because they are scared of traveling through the US (AirNZ now provides a route through Vancouver), even though they would love to visit, there's an impression is that it's just to risky and could ruin your vacation