The U.S. doesn't have traditional outbound passport control - checks are made electronically when you book a plane ticket and the airlines are given a go/no-go to issue a boarding pass.

I must have entered/exited US about a dozen times in the last few years and I always had my passport checked by someone in uniform just before Security, when leaving.

Are these people not from Immigration/Border control?

Nope, they're from the TSA. Their job is to keep the transportation system safe and secure.

This is travel document checking by a TSA agent. They don't technically require you to show a passport, but most other acceptable forms of ID are very US-specific.

https://www.tsa.gov/travel/security-screening/identification

>When you enter the country you get a stamp with your entry date.

>Doesn't this get checked when you leave, at passport control?

Imagine that there is this huge underground market dedicated to solving this problem for you attached mysteriously to the entire US bar industry.

edit - this is honestly the only thing that makes sense. I haven't ever done so, but brits working their US holidays and massively over staying visas by years is not uncommon and I can only think of one example of someone who ended up in actual shit.

I'm not saying that something like this does not exists (and I know for certain that some people overstay their visas), but it just seems silly to me that people coming from countries with similar quality of life and opportunities as the US would risk getting caught doing something illegal, in a country that is notoriously strict on immigration matters.

Brits abroad are not commonly stereotyped for their rationality. The USA is basically viewed as a giant theme park.