Rude immigration officials and long delays in processing visas have turned the United States into the world's most unfriendly country for international travelers, according to a recent global survey.

The survey showed that the United States was ranked "the worst" in terms of visas and immigration procedures by twice the percentage of travelers as the next destination regarded as unfriendly -- the Middle East and the Asian subcontinent.

The survey, of 2,011 international travelers in 16 countries, was conducted by the polling firm RT Strategies for the Discover America Partnership, a business-backed group launched in September to promote travel to the United States and improve the country's image abroad.

More than half of the travelers surveyed said U.S. immigration officials were rude and two-thirds said they feared they would be detained on arriving in the United States for a simple mistake in their paper work or for saying the wrong thing to an immigration official.

"The entry process has created a climate of fear and frustration that is keeping foreign visitors away," said Geoff Freeman, executive director of the Discover America Partnership. "The survey shows there is more fear of our immigration officials than of terrorism or crime."

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"You gonna bark all day, little doggie, or are you gonna bite?" - Mr. Blonde from Reservoir Dogs

There's no excuse for rudeness, but who knows what kind of attitude a lot of these people bring over with them? Sure they are in a hurry, but it's important that customs agents take their time and get things right.

As far as a fear of being detained, I imagine you can blame that on the Bush administration as much or more than on the immigration officials.

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"You gonna bark all day, little doggie, or are you gonna bite?" - Mr. Blonde from Reservoir Dogs

If they don't like it, fu*k em.

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"If you aren't going all the way, why go at all?" Joe Namath