My passport has a protective thin transparent case. There's a place to put cards and money on the inner side of the last page. A tiny space. I keep a $100 bill there. Passport isn't attractive to thieves so that's my rationale for keeping money there. I also keep cash in my wallet and backpack.

Recently I had an unusual interaction with a border agent. I've entered foreign countries in 4 continents more than a dozen times and never had a rude border agent except this one. This border agent was quite rude. Few moments after getting my passport, they raised their voice and told me to do something in their native language even though they knew I don't speak it. They later spoke in English and told me to take the money out. I did. They used a magnifier of some sort(?) to look at that page.

1. Was it my fault that I put that money there?

2. Did I block off something important?

3. Maybe they thought that bill was a bribe??

4. What were they looking at with that device? What's on that page?

My passport has a protective thin transparent case. There's a place to put cards and money on the inner side of the last page. A tiny space. I keep a US$100 bill there. A passport isn't attractive to thieves so that's my rationale for keeping money there. I also keep cash in my wallet and backpack.

Recently I had an unusual interaction with a border agent. I've entered foreign countries in four continents more than a dozen times and never had a rude border agent except this one. This border agent was quite rude. A few moments after getting my passport, they raised their voice and told me to do something in their native language even though they knew I don't speak it. They later spoke in English and told me to take the money out. I did. They used a magnifier of some sort(?) to look at that page.

1. Was it my fault that I put that money there?

2. Did I block off something important?

3. Maybe they thought that bill was a bribe??

4. What were they looking at with that device? What's on that page?