June 25, 2025, 9:19 am | Read time: 3 minutes
Since Donald Trump took office in January, travelers to the U.S. have occasionally reported stricter border controls–sometimes involving detentions or denied entry. In response, the German Foreign Office advised that a visa or ESTA does not guarantee entry. As a result, demand for U.S. travel has declined. TRAVELBOOK Editor-in-Chief Nuno Alves recently visited the U.S. himself and shares the questions he and his family were asked.
My family and I had planned to travel to the U.S. long before Donald Trump took office. We had a good reason: My daughter had completed her high school year at a school near Dallas, and her younger sister, my wife, and I wanted to take the opportunity to pick her up. After hearing reports about entry difficulties, we naturally wondered what this would mean for us. But it was clear: There was no reason why we should be denied a visit to the U.S. Really. And everything went smoothly with the ESTA travel authorization. Yet the longer you think about it, the more you wonder: Did I ever like a Trump-critical post? Or my daughter? My wife? Is there something on my laptop that could be problematic? Paranoia! What questions would we be asked upon entering the U.S.?
2.5 Hours of Waiting–and People Who Couldn’t Enter Directly
At the end of May, after a direct flight from Berlin to New York, we finally stood in line for border control–an unbelievable 2.5 hours. The officers seemed to take their job very seriously. From the waiting crowd, we watched from afar as travelers sometimes had to endure the process for several minutes. Fingerprints, photos–and questions we couldn’t hear. Then comes the go-ahead, and people are officially allowed to enter the U.S. But in some cases, it ends differently–the border officer asks the person to come along. What happens to them? Unclear. Presumably, they are taken to other officers for further questioning. As long as we stood in line, we didn’t see them again.
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These Questions Were Asked by the Border Officer Upon Entering the U.S.
After a really long wait, it was finally our turn. The officer looked stern, took fingerprints, snapped a photo–and asked 14 questions:
- “What are you doing here in the U.S.?”
“We’re picking up my daughter, who completed a high school year here.” - “Where?”
“Celina, near Dallas.” - “What visa does your daughter have?”
“Hmm, the visa needed for attending high school.”
“That should be the J-1.” - (Points to my wife) “Is that your wife?”
“Yes.” - “Are you married?”
“Yes.” - “Where will you be staying?”
“With my daughter’s host family.” - “Are you traveling further today?”
“Yes, we have a connecting flight to Dallas today.” - “Will you stay there the whole time?”
“No, we’ll also travel to San Antonio and Austin for a few days.” - “Where will you stay there?”
“In hotels.” - “What do you do for a living?”
“I’m a journalist.” - “Where do you work?”
“At Axel Springer.” - “So not a freelance journalist?”
“No.” - “Did you bring anything from Germany?”
“Yes, a few small gifts for the host family.” - “Like what, for example?”
“A bottle of Cachaça (Brazilian rum, editor’s note).“
“Ok.”
And that was it. Fourteen questions. He asked my wife and younger daughter a few less–but I had already answered some. With a continued stern look, he wished us a good onward journey–and we were officially allowed to enter. No laptop search or anything like that.
The border officer surely knew the answer to some of the questions. After all, I had already provided information about my employer, occupation, etc., in the ESTA application. He was obviously just checking to see if I would give contradictory answers. I didn’t.
But we did wonder: What had the travelers done wrong who didn’t return after the brief questioning?