I have Global Entry and have been asked questions like this coming back from Canada, London, Amsterdam, and Geneva.

Half the question-asking may seem stupid, but they arne't always looking for the answers -- they're looking to see if you're nervous. They catch a lot of smugglers that way.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just came back from France with DH and toddler. We were asked a LOT of probing questions by an officer while waiting in line to check in at CDG, very few upon return (global entry). Customs officer asked if we were traveling for work or vacation and whether we had bought anything. That was it.

We also just got back from France with a slightly older kid. We are a black family with atypical surnames (1st-gen American); husband and kid have Arabic surnames. We weren't asked any questions at CDG--maybe because we checked in online before coming to the airport?

We checked in online and were asked lots of questions. So I don't think that's it. Maybe just luck.

The simple fact of the matter that due to both increased terrorism and greater immigration concerns (particularly in Europe) we are going to enter a period of much stricter travel regulations and these types of questions and screening are going to become standard for everyone.

At the end of the day it's mostly answering a few questions and life goes on.

Anonymous wrote:Before getting my global entry pass, I used to get asked about the purpose of my international travel all the time. One enlightened TSA guy asked me why I was darker than my passport photo (I had just been to Cancun.) I had to explain that brown people, and other people, do tan at the beach. Definitely worth the 100$ global entry fee to not have to have stupid conversations with TSA agents anymore.

I'm white and got a question recently about why my hair was lighter than my picture (expensive highlights was the answer). So questions about appearance can be for all sorts of reasons.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just came back from France with DH and toddler. We were asked a LOT of probing questions by an officer while waiting in line to check in at CDG, very few upon return (global entry). Customs officer asked if we were traveling for work or vacation and whether we had bought anything. That was it.

We also just got back from France with a slightly older kid. We are a black family with atypical surnames (1st-gen American); husband and kid have Arabic surnames. We weren't asked any questions at CDG--maybe because we checked in online before coming to the airport?

Whoops, that should be "first names."

Anonymous wrote:Just came back from France with DH and toddler. We were asked a LOT of probing questions by an officer while waiting in line to check in at CDG, very few upon return (global entry). Customs officer asked if we were traveling for work or vacation and whether we had bought anything. That was it.

We also just got back from France with a slightly older kid. We are a black family with atypical surnames (1st-gen American); husband and kid have Arabic surnames. We weren't asked any questions at CDG--maybe because we checked in online before coming to the airport?

DH and I are not American and systematically get asked questions:
1. upon our return to DC, by immigration officials.
2. at transfers/layovers in foreign airports, by border control officials.
3. never in our home country, except as a way to make pleasant conversation at the ticket counter.

I don't recall questions by ticket counter personnel. We have never been asked to prove our children are ours, even when I traveled alone with them. But the US and foreign officials do call the children by their first names to see whether they respond.

My parents, on the other hand, were detained for FOUR hours on their last visit to the States. The children and I waited for them at Dulles and no one was willing to say what was happening until a kind lady took pity on us and told us they were being held for further questioning. The kicker? They actually never got extra questions, but just waited for four hours and got their passports handed back to them without so much as a sorry or goodbye.

Before getting my global entry pass, I used to get asked about the purpose of my international travel all the time. One enlightened TSA guy asked me why I was darker than my passport photo (I had just been to Cancun.) I had to explain that brown people, and other people, do tan at the beach. Definitely worth the 100$ global entry fee to not have to have stupid conversations with TSA agents anymore.

Yes, in Europe this is common. In fact, one time, after talking to a ticketing agent, another lady came over and popped up this little portable podium and told me to give her all my documents. After I handed them over, she interrogated me in detail about all aspects of my trip. Went on for about 10 minutes. I had flown in from Kuwait and was flying back to Kuwait so that may have been a factor.

YEs. Had it happen last week in Spain, and a few weeks ago in Brussels. It's routine.

My guess is they might be doing it more to avoid the laptop ban. The deal made was that European airports had to up their game on security to not be faced with a laptop ban, as happened in some Middle Eastern airports (ban now lifted as they upgraded their security).