I don't either especially since I am not even bitter about the experience. I am just confused.

The irony is that since then I've crossed the border 12+ times a year and the experience is always pleasant (now I enter as a Canadian citizen for either vacation or a short business trip). One would think they'd have preferred me when I paid taxes there (and by the virtue of being on visa, they knew a lot more about me).

As a US citizen, I, on the other hand, am extremely bitter and angry about these kinds of offenses. It makes me sick to my stomach and I really do believe every day is one day closer to me becoming an expat.

Some of your countrymen - and women - do just that. I have the privilege of knowing a few of those and they are doing quite well outside of their native habitats.

American go-getter attitude abroad seems to be a winning combination.

But an expat where? These immigration policies have an aspect of retaliation. Other countries often mirror draconian policies seen elsewhere. I am concerned that all this can only lead to one inevitable conclusion: extremely locked down borders with only the very rich allowed to migrate. The UK is actively working on this now, though so far they do allow EU and commonwealth members in more readily.

Even Singapore has been raising the bar for entry lately. We may see in our lifetimes a world where one can only easily migrate to third-world countries.

Your government at work trying to make that as unpleasant as possible: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FATCA.

That is - for want of a better word - an astounding piece of legislation. What's next, a deal with the hereafter? I figure that the only thing this will effectively accomplish is that a lot of American expats will go all the way and will ditch the American nationality and that a lot of people in the United States will be denied access to services. Brilliant move, the world-stage equivalent of the schoolyard bully mentality.

I agree with SoftwareMaven and jacquesm. Sounds like an awful experience, and you're cool about it.

I'm confused as well: which path in the system should be credited as most wrong? The intersection of you being Canadian, brown, and in a better profession than customs agents seems rife with opportunities for them to F you over.

Hell, I'm a white guy and despite this privilege I ass-kiss too much whenever I travel because they can decide to do the same to me. Not nearly as likely, but since we gave up our rights to opaque government security services, who knows. Not to be US-bashing, I do the same when I have gone international.