Today I had a behind-the-scenes tour of the Washington Dulles airport as part of our consular training.  Since my job for two years will be to issue visas, the tour showed us what happens once the individual arrives in the U.S. with the visa.  In Customs, there are 2 major sections, the Primary and Secondary.  The Primary is where the passenger deplanes and gets his passport stamped.  From there, he picks up his luggage and then goes through customs.  If the customs officer thinks the passenger might be hiding something (like fruit or diamonds), then he goes to Secondary where his luggage is rummaged through.

I didn’t really get to see anything interesting when I was in Primary.  But during the Secondary part, I saw a customs official find two “drug paraphernalia” pipes that a guy had hidden under his Dr. Scholl’s cushions in his shoes.  And a guy have to pay duty because he brought in a bunch of shoes.  That was the extent of the excitement.  However, when we go to Bogota, I’ll have to spend a couple of days in Miami’s airport doing something similar.  So maybe I’ll have some better stories.

I recently finished my training on non-immigrant visas (NIVs), of which the most common are tourist visas.  It was a tough section to learn because there are 22 visas, everything from A-1s (diplomatic visas) to U visas (victims of criminal activity) and so, so many in between.  And a week ago, I completed the section on immigrant visas (green cards/legal permanent residents).  An interesting fact is if you’re from the Philippines applying for a particular type of family visa, it won’t be processed unless you submitted it before November 1, 1984!!!  This is due to quotas.  Can you imagine waiting over 20 years to get your green card?!  I think that shows how much people value living in the U.S.
Starting next week, I’ll finish up my consular training with a section in American Citizen Services.  Examples of these are if a relative dies overseas, or you need a lawyer, or you get thrown in jail in Tijuana.  (25% of all Americans arrested overseas are arrested in Tijuana!)  Another fun fact.  Embassy Kathmandu is the only U.S. embassy that has a morgue on the grounds.  That’s because the Nepalese generally cremate and don’t have a need for morgues.  Supposedly the only other morgue in Kathmandu is operated by a Dutch who also runs a Mexican restaurant, which I’d suggest you stay away from if you’re ever in the area.