I want to share what happened to me and my best friend last month when we tried to begin our backpacking trip in the U.S. Maybe it helps someone avoid the same nightmare.
We are 19 and 18 years old, from Europe, and we arrived in Honolulu from New Zealand, with the plan to explore the islands first, and then fly to the mainland after to explore California. We had booked only the first 2 nights in an Airbnb, just to be flexible with our plans - like we did in New Zealand, and like many backpackers do. We had the onward ticket to the next destination in Asia but didn't book domestic flights in the U.S. for the same reason.
At passport control they took us aside for “additional questions.” At first we didn’t think it was such a big thing, but then it became very intense. They were asking us why we didn’t book more nights or domestic flights, what our plans were, how we can afford to travel, and especially about work. We do sometimes small freelance jobs online (like translating or design stuff, for customers back in Germany and sometimes also Asia, not the U.S.), and we mentioned that - which was maybe the biggest mistake. It was also in the e-mails that they accessed.
After a while they told us we are not allowed to enter the U.S., that we are “inadmissible.” They said we were trying to work illegally, which we didn’t. We had onwards tickets and just wanted to travel.
But they didn’t care. They took our phones, our passports, and put us in handcuffs - that moment was surreal. Like, you’re a tourist and now you’re treated like criminal. They wanted to send us back to Auckland on the next flight, but we asked to rebook our onwards tickets for the day after, so we could continue with our travels. They agreed but said that we will be detained for the night. We agreed, having no idea what to expect, thinking that we would maybe wait in the same room that they interviewed us. But no.
They drove us to the detention center in Honolulu. I think it was called FDC prison, close to the airport. It was a real jail. Metal doors, locked cells, cold air. And they made us do a full strip search. It was really cold. We had to undress completely, including bra and underwear, and even had to squat and spread… I don’t want to describe it in too much detail, but it was humiliating and scary. We were alone with a female officer, but still… you don’t expect that as a tourist.
After that they gave us green prison clothes and put us in a cell overnight with two other women - who were actually bragging to us about their cartel connections and implying that they were serious criminals. It felt like a movie, but not a nice one. Of course we didn't not sleep even for a minute. I'm not picky, but the food was another horror story.
The next day they stripped us down again, we changed back into our clothes, and they took us straight to our plane - two officers returned our passports and escorted us to our seats as the door was about to close. Just like that. They also told us that if we want to come to the U.S. again, we cannot use a visa free system anymore.
So yeah… please be very careful if you plan to backpack in the U.S. Book all your accommodation in advance (even if you plan to change later). There are many fully refundable options - and we thought about it, but decided that it wouldn't be necessary. And don’t mention any remote work or freelancing and make sure to log out of any e-mails that could be used as evidence of it. And know that if something goes wrong, it’s not just “denied entry” - it’s jail, strip search, and total loss of control.
We are still totally shaken from it and feel like we did something wrong, even if we didn’t mean to. Just wanted to share, because I would have never imagined this could happen. My feeling is that backpacking culture isn’t understood or accepted at U.S. borders right now. Be careful!
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