Deported... almost

As I returned from my trip to Fiji, I went through Customs expecting some scrutinizing for my souvenirs containing wood.  I stepped up to the official and handed them my passport plus declaration card.  They promptly asked me to come through and step to the side because someone needed to talk to me.  When I asked if this was about my souvenirs, they said no.  Hmm...

After a bit of a wait, a lady started asking me about my visa (a 977 short term business visa).  It's good for 90 days at a time for up to a year, as I understood it.  I made the trip to Fiji because my 90 days were up and went home twice for the same reason.  No big deal, right?

They sat me down in the Customs area and I watched in envy as everyone else filtered through the lines, off to freedom.  I looked back longingly as I was escorted into a little room with a camera in the upper corner, large window in the back plus a small table with a chair that was bolted to the floor.  I had this vision in my head of The Bourne Identity when he plays mute through his interview at customs until he whooped up on the agents and escaped.  I couldn't find a YouTube video of it, so this approximate reenactment will have to do.  PS - I am the one in the American flag shorts.

While I had already busted out in my head, a guy came into my interview room putting on blue rubber gloves.  Suddenly my big cajones shrunk and drew inward and I tightened my... other muscles... and took a big gulp.  I think he saw the fear in my eyes as he stepped toward me and picked up my bag off the floor.  "I'm going to look through your bag now."

"Oh."

I silently sighed in relief and watched as he pulled out and carefully expected all of my clothes from the trip.  Penetration averted.  After he was satisfied that I wasn't smuggling anything, he left (I totally could've taken him out if I wanted to) and a woman came in.  For the next hour and a half she asked me questions into a tape recorder and took notes.  Why are you here?  What kind of work you do?  Do you get paid in US or Australian dollars?  What other countries have you been to?  How much money do you have in your wallet?  When do you plan to leave again?  And on and on and on.

The interrogator would come in and talk to me for half an hour and then leave for ten minutes to speak with her manager, then come back in and repeat the process.  I'm not sure if they were trying to make me sweat or change my story, but I just went back to reading my book every time they left.  They even asked for my local coworkers' phone numbers

About two hours later we got down to the heart of the matter.  One of the stipulations of the visa is that it cannot be used for "ongoing work".  They felt that I was breaking this rule.  The 977 was only supposed to be for conferences, meetings, training, etc and even then for six weeks at a time.  Why is it valid for 90 days if it was only designed for six weeks?  Well, they couldn't answer that one.  I didn't want to make them mad enough to ship me out, so I let it go.

My plans were to go home from December 16th-27th, come back until the end of the project and leave on February 5th.  The lady told me straight up, "We are going to let you in this time, but if you come back into Australia on this visa you will not get in."

By that time three hours had gone by and as they released me from interrogation there were no other passengers left in the airport.  The baggage belts were motionless and there were only a few employees milling around.  They had to go find someone to turn on the X-ray machine for my bags, because apparently doing a hand search wasn't enough.  Then they had to find someone else to unlock the exit doors - I was lucky there were any taxis in the queue.

"Home" at last.

More on the outcome in my next post.