It was the autumn of 2009, and I was going to study in the United States. For the first time, I, who have never been abroad, embarked on Air China Flight CA983 from Beijing to Los Angeles by myself. In other words, I was filled with anxiety and joy at the time, and a very complicated emotion accompanied me to Los Angeles LAX Airport. Since I got visa earlier, and the time to go abroad was delayed because of the preparation of English, my I-20 form was expired, and I didn't realize it beforehand. When I was at the Los Angeles Customs Interrogation Office, the customs officer could not let me through, but took me to an interrogation room next to it. I can’t take the baggage for transfer after passing the customs inspection like others. At that time, I was very tired and panicked after sitting for more than 10 hours.
The efficiency of the office staff in the second interrogation room was quite low, and my inner anxiety became worse and worse because I was worried about the transfer time. At that time, no one told me that the reason for my rejection was the expiration of my I-20. My spoken English was very poor and I wanted to make a call, but the signal from the customs office at the airport was blocked and I couldn't make the call. I was restricted from getting out of the interrogation room. In this way, after waiting for more than an hour and finally calling me, I couldn't understand what the interrogator asked me. They had to hire a female translator from Air China. She told me that I cannot enter the United States, and I must now leave for the normal flight back to Beijing. I was taken to a small room in the second interrogation office. Two police officers checked the contents of my bag and touched me to see if there were any dangerous objects. After I came out, they asked me to hand over my credit card, and they helped me buy a plane ticket to return to Beijing. I was really at a loss at the time. I had been on the plane for more than 10 hours, and my head was so dumb. I gave my credit card to the female translator of Air China. I regretted doing this afterwards, but I really didn't know what to do at the time. I thought about all the methods and none of them worked. I called the American school and they got off work at night. Later, the trustee phoned the parents in China. They immediately contacted the intermediary, and the intermediary notified the school to update the I-20 system information in time. But it was too late at the time, and I was already on the return flight.
From the time the plane landed at Los Angeles Airport to the same flight back to Beijing, I stayed at the airport for more than 7 hours. In these more than 7 hours, my whole body was about to collapse. This is the first US trip I have experienced, and it was so miserable. After I bought the return ticket, I was taken out of the second interrogation office by two policemen and out of the terminal. They took me into a van escorting the prisoners to another terminal. The reason I say this is because there are two rows of seats opposite each other in the back of the car, and the interior is full of iron. I subconsciously get scared. After the car drove to another terminal, they took me to a larger office. Later I learned that it was the immigration office. They wanted to record my confession and accused me of being an illegal immigrant. I didn't understand these until later. At that time, I felt terrified and didn't know anything. They found a Chinese translator for me, and a police officer with a very bad attitude was in charge of my case. He asked me to translate many questions, but my brain was not clear, and I answered many questions that were not facts. Then he printed out all these questions and confirmed my crime of illegal immigration. I didn't realize it at the time. The female translator also told me that because of my good attitude, their police didn’t handcuff me, so you can think about how serious the matter was... Then they sent me to the departure terminal again. , I waited there alone for a few more hours to get on the plane back to Beijing. I was deliberately taken into the plane by the captain of Air China and arranged for me to sit in the first row. It can be said to be a seat for the repatriated... After arriving at the Capital Airport, I was also arranged for a special passage, and then taken to the interrogation room to accept China. Interrogation by the customs here. Seeing my father's very disappointed eyes when he picked me up, I felt very guilty and helpless.
As a foreigner who is not good at English, it is the first time to come to the United States. Everything is so strange. I don't know what kind of country the United States is, or how to communicate with people. The airport terminal is my first contact, and it is also a place I resent. The United States is a country that pays attention to human rights, and it is itself a country of immigrants. They should respect the interests of everyone who comes from abroad, especially those who come for the first time. I admit that there are many foreigners who come to the United States purely for immigration purposes, whether through legal or illegal means. But I am an ordinary student, can't you tell? Wouldn't you wait to make a decision after calling my school the next day for confirmation? I can only talk about the issue of the Los Angeles Airport Immigration Bureau, they did not consider it for others. They don't know how much their rash decisions will affect my financial interests, they don't know how much their rash decisions will affect my body and mind, how frustrated I will be and the psychological shadow that will never be erased.
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