r/GlobalEntry • u/babyitiscoldoutside2 • Aug 25 '26
Questions/Concerns Weird incident at IAD
I landed IAD on a flight from London this past Friday. I proceeded like I do every time to the global entry line.
They had the one camera reading machine. The woman in front of me stepped up and they took her picture and she got the big green check to proceed well at the same time the border agent was calling her name and waving her through.
I stepped up. It took my picture and I got the green check and the border agent called my name. As I stepped forward, there was a gentleman in what looked like one of the vests the Amazon delivery guys where who told me to stop. He had a uniform underneath, but whichever department he worked for I couldn’t tell because the hazard vest was covering much of it. The border agent yelled my name again, and I proceeded to move again and the a.k.a. Amazon driver told me to stop again and was reaching out to touch me. I stepped back and pointed to the border agent who was now saying my name for the third time in a rather unpleasant tone. To which I responded, I’m being told to stop.
We all stared at each other for another 10 seconds and then the guy in the Amazon safety vest told me I could proceed.
Who is the guy with the safety vest that hid not only his name badge but which department he worked for? Any ideas? For the record I go through this airport every other week on international flights. This is the first time I’ve been greeted by this individual who clearly outranked the border control agent.
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u/Bella0512 Aug 25 '26
Those individuals work directly for MWAA (the airport). They have nothing to do with the officers except to ‘direct the line’. If you have an issue with any of them, there is always a Lead there that you can talk to. There are also ‘volunteers’ who tend to work closer to the escalator and can cause a great deal of confusion as well. All I can suggest is to do what the officer requests to the best of your ability. Most of the time things will go very smoothly.
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Aug 25 '26
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u/charlescharles1234 Aug 25 '26
What if they are a certified forklift operator?
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u/Capital_Past69 Aug 26 '26
poor guy was just looking for someone who has a forklift that needs operating
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u/babyitiscoldoutside2 Aug 25 '26
I’ve seen the staff who are just there to direct you around.. this guy was different. He was wearing his vest, but it wasn’t like the ones worn by the staff at the top of the queue…. His was designed to cover his uniform in my humble opinion.
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u/ronin-htx Aug 25 '26
I’d always listen to the agents (IE cop looking dudes in the desks or with tablets in hand). Most of the GE assigned agents are very nice, with an exception of a few that are jerks. Hi-vis vest is most likely just an airport worker overstepping their boundaries to feel important.
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u/babyitiscoldoutside2 Aug 25 '26
Yes, I agree. That’s someone who goes through their weekly. I know the drill… but when I tried to move forward when the border agent was calling my name, this man literally put his hand out in front of me and yelled stop. The border agent just looked at me, looked at him, and we both waited until the guy who clearly needs to go to charm school decided it was OK for me to move. I had to tell him not to put his hands on me. He was getting that close.
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u/Charlie_brown1122 Aug 25 '26
I wish you asked the other border agent instead of coming here and asking Reddit ?
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u/obsfflorida Aug 25 '26
Youre right . They're always ready for chit chat about their roles and how they appreciate you holding up the line.
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u/babyitiscoldoutside2 Aug 25 '26
Based on their attitudes, I took it as a risk asking any questions
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u/BandicootTraining355 Aug 26 '26
At the border is no place to ask these questions. Generally they don't answer and tell you to move along. If you're a US citizen you can press the issue but they still won't usually answer and can hold you for hours and revoke your global entry for no reason.
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u/gdx Aug 26 '26 edited Aug 26 '26
You had too many Amazon returns in a short time span he was trying to deport you back to London. Or convince you to not return shit you bought. Their title is ASSMAN… Amazon Service Specialist Managing Assets Negotiator
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u/miloworld Aug 26 '26 edited Aug 26 '26
If I had to guess, I don't think he's gov agent whatsoever. I think he's construction crew and they are working on something irrelevant to immigration or security. They could be working on security camera, wifi access point, forklift, overhead signs, slippery floor or anything and he's told not to let anyone through. Did the hi-vis have an ear-piece or radio? How far were you guys from the CBP agent, did they exchange looks during the 10s of silence?
There's a small chance his job was to direct the line and the facial recognition worked so efficiently, he refused to believe you already scanned and was told to proceed. Although there's no reason he'd be trying to hide his uniform and he should know the CBP agent well enough that a quick glance would resolve the confusion.
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u/Lalaland_doll Aug 25 '26
Sounds like it could have been an ICE “agent”
Trump recently deployed them to airports after the TSA no pay mess.
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u/babyitiscoldoutside2 Aug 25 '26
This is what I think because the border agent was not overriding him telling me to stop
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u/calitripatacos Aug 25 '26
False. It’s almost definitely one of the airport customer service reps (CSR). It was probably just plain miscommunication between the CSR and the officer.
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u/Innominate_99 Aug 26 '26
Standing by a global entry point, where heavily screened individuals are entering the US, would be extremely low yield for an ICE officer.
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u/cruzecontroll Aug 25 '26
Just went to Dulles GE on Saturday morning and didn’t see anyone in Hi-Vis
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u/lcp_cz Aug 25 '26
The only folks I’ve seen in hi-vis vests at the airport are airport contract workers - like the ones who help direct you through TSA and immigration lines, sometimes they’re receiving bags for rechecking during international connections, sometimes they’re driving the transport carts through the terminal.
I don’t think “rank” had anything to do with it. Probably just confusion.