Fun fact: I was told to bring to the Embassy interview a photo of my family, because by default it's assumed that I'm planning to remain there illegally, and is my job to convince the employee of the opposite. The photo would prove that I have a reason to come back.
The countries that the USA doesn't require hoop jumping are basically 1st-world wealthier nations on par with the United States. (See map.[1]) The countries that are considered "poorer" such as Mexico, etc require Visas because of the assumption that the person wants to establish a better life in the USA. The USA doesn't have to worry about illegal immigration from citizens of Switzerland, Canada, Japan, etc.
In the middle of my journey, I crossed the border at Nogales for an afternoon's shopping - this was at the peak of 'swine flu' and people scared of the border drug wars, so there were few palefaces (few = my companion and I, no others). Entry into Mexico was literally a turnstile. Entry back into the US? I went to present my passport and was just waved through.
Ironically the only "border trouble" I had in the US was crossing Texas, at a border checkpoint 100 miles inland, where a shouty man screamed at me for daring to have my passport in the trunk of the car... made me pull off to the side and wait for him to finish screaming at other people.
I don't know how people transit in say LAX if they are from countries that the US doesn't like. I guess you can't.
For example, most of cheaper flights from Mexico to Russia (and rest of the world in general) are via USA. That means USA gets to decide who gets into Mexico and who doesn't.
You may still need a transit visa, but those should be easier to get.
This means passengers, even the ones on transit, must have legal right to enter the U.S..
Going through a U.S. airport just for transit is always a bad idea, as it takes a lot of time to cross the border.
Russia was a bit painful to get a visa due to bureaucracy. But for me so far Turkmenistan was the most difficult to get into. I still have the really hard ones to go, though.
I remember they used to provide the full list too, but now that seems to be behind a registration process, which I don't wish to go through.
[1] https://www.henleyglobal.com/international-visa-restrictions...
Re: police corruption in northern China, I suspect that you may have misinterpreted the situation. Documentation checks for foreigners nearing or leaving border regions are standard in China, I live there and have been through tens of them.
We also had issues crossing the border from Blagoveshensk to Hei Hei, but that was because the officer at the border (and this was all from body language, there were no translators or anything like that) was not convinced that the NZ passports were not fakes, probably they don't see much variety on that particular border crossing.
First couple of nights were in Moscow. Train ride to St. Petersburg, check into the hotel. Take a nap. Phone call -- "Um, your papers expired today." Dumbass that I was, didn't look at the visa the consulate had issued only covered the Moscow portion. This was a Sunday. Monday meant a trip to the St. Petersburg airport and talking with a border official. A nice gentleman in a tweed suit.
A couple of hundred euros handled the issue (we had 4 days left on our trip). Something I will remember. Putin was president at the time as well.
If you want to visit friends or relatives then they have to undergo a background and finance check. Not pleasant if they are elderly relatives you are visiting.
When you get to Russia, if you're staying outside of the main centres then you need to register in each town (usually at the police station or post office). Hostels and Hotels really don't like foreigners turning up out of the blue without being on the itinerary.
This is from New Zealand who has a fairly cordial relationship with Russia and (before the current boycott) they are one of the biggest consumers of NZ dairy products.
Anyway good effort by the writer. Some hard and dangerous countries out there. I wonder how the heck he paid for it.