<Of corse, and I know this annoys you, the USA is the only country I know of that subjects its visitors to being finger printed and mug shot upon arrival. Really mmakes everybody very welcome!>

My photo is taken every time I re-enter Australia.

I've had my fingerprints taken entering Singapore.

msgo and travel gourmet, quite true but what do those aspects have to do with the forms bing handed out on the aircraft and what happens when a GE person says it is not necessary. Yes, hilarity ensues!

I will take that as a no, the FAs don't inform the doc kit preparers that they screwed up.

Expect less and you will get less. Is toilet paper in the COC? Better question might be: should we start pakcking a roll of TP in our carry-ons?

Anyway, I am gratified that this thread got more replies than the one about water being confiscated in BsAs. And that Mel corrected my ref to UA.

The airlines should provide pens to fill out the forms. There is apparently room in the doc kit for a few boxes - in the space where the extra docs should be.

one small data point - the Global Entry IS $100 but it is NOT a lengthy interview - you do have to go to a local airport but at most it's 30 minutes or so. We love it. Even if you only travel internationally a couple of times a year it's especially helpful if you have a short connection or your incoming plane is late.

The Global Entry interview is a snap, but the entire application process does take a fair amount of time. If you don't live near one of the sign-up centers I suspect it would be a major hassle.

For anyone interested in GE, I'll recommend this very informative thread over on FT. (Though many of the most recent posts are about the new RFID Cards for Canada/Mexico, lots of other posts talk about timelines for approvals and interviews).

I did not find the few weeks from application to approval, or the 20 minute "interview" to be at all onerous.

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trave...orthwhile.html

XYZ, I’ll back you up. Yes, the form <b>should</b> be available in English for coming into the United States. But we’re dealing with a government agency and they simply have no incentive to care.

I’ve had couple of times where I took the Spanish version, due to a shortage of the English version, because I can read the language reasonably well, and can certainly do so on a form I’ve filled out many times before. But your point is correct. That all said, I would not read any symbolism into it, just laziness.

I never gave it any thought that the airline isn’t required to give out the forms; they do so as a courtesy. Makes sense, good to know.

I checked in for an AA flight from Costa Rica to DFW yesterday. The counter agents were dutifully giving out US forms at check-in (as they always do) and flight attendants made a pass through the plane with forms (as they always do) for anybody who didn't have one. I'll attest that AA's San Jose operation has this pretty much down pat, as do their operations I've used in most other Latin American countries.

AA apparently prints the immigration forms you need to enter Costa Rica. They have AA's logo on them. I've stood in the passport line and seen people holding Costa Rican forms with other airline logos. Now, the customs form ... that's printed locally. It's biligual, but the print is SO tiny, it gets more difficult to read with each passing year. The saving grace for me is that I've filled it out so many times, I don't even need to read it.

Ok, the doc kit preparers not being able to get enough forms from the govt could be an explanation.

Hey we usually get ONE box of BIC pens in the DOC kit but when you have over 200 passengers that don't carry a pen with them it becomes difficult.
How can you travel overseas and NOT have a pen on you? Just my opinion!Water bottle,pen,sweater and something to read should be the MINIMUM for you to take in your carryon on an overseas flight!

Good to hear about having pens in the kit! I do forget sometimes to bring a pen.

I always have a pen, but I can seldom reach it while sitting in those squishy airline seats.

What is it that makes your seat squishy, Mel?

Not what you're thinking.

Melnq8 -I didn't realize non Australians were photographed coming into Australia!! Now I won't get so huffy about US photos!!!

Its always the same form, so just grab an extra or two the next time you come across some.

I carry a laptop now, mostly to keep my pictures in, but I have also created a document that has all the information you need to fill out the form, update it as we buy things, then sum the columns using my pc (it was getting embarrassing when I tried summing in my head). Then I use the document to fill out the form, which is a lot easier than digging out our passports and receipts from wherever I have secreted them.

I carry pens in my purse and carryon bag, but for some reason they always try to hide, either tunneling to bottom of my backpack under the camera, change of clothes, etc. or sneaking inside a notebook or checkbook. They've even been known to poke a hole in a purse lining to make a place to hide. I figure if I carry several, then they can't all hide at the same time.

Unfortunately, I've also been known to hide them from myself by efficiently stowing my carryon in the overhead bin, then realizing that is where my pen is when the forms are distributed.

Inevitably someone will ask to borrow my pen to fill out their form. Not that I object to that, but I'll look over and, sure enough, they'll have my pen in their mouth. Lesson learned: I carry a couple of very cheap pens, one for which I won't mind saying, "That's okay. You can keep it" when they give it back to me. Moral of the story for everybody: Carry a pen with you when you travel.