“Are you an American or not?” the customs official practically screamed at me. I didn’t understand the issue. He had my birth certificate in his hands. He also had my passport because I like to be ultra-prepared for any eventuality. He’d even asked me “Are you an American citizen?” and I’d responded, “Yes sir, I am.” I mean I’d even filled out my customs declaration forms down to the smallest items I’d purchased while traveling abroad so that even the $2 keychain I’d bought my wife was on there.