Extremely unlikely you will be refused entry. You may get a few extrat questions. Hell, I am a Brit - with a Green Card and I get bombarded with questions. Go with the flow. You will be OK.

You have a green card and so are not subject to the rules of a vwp citizen who does not have a green card. Indeed, as a green card holder you don't even have to present a passport to the CBP. As 747 has explained, he will not be fine, and worse, he risks a ban from the USA which will make it harder for him to get a green card should he and his gf later marry and desire to live in the USA as a couple.
Isn't it the case that to comply with the rules he has to return to the UK and not just buy and cancel the ticket?

Thanks to all. I will buy a one way ticket from Mexico to London for some point in Feb.

I have actually just started a business based in the UK. At the moment I am only doing the marketing and building the website and I don't expect to start trading until Feb. I would be going back to the UK in early 2012 to do all the paperwork (registering it for tax and opening a business account). I guess that creates another credible tie to the UK. I will only bring that out if things get really bad though.

Thanks again!

Isn't this down to the interviewing officer to determine?

I have a suspicion that the reason I was stopped before is that I had many stamps in my passport from the US. Whenever I had come through in the past in transit, my passport was stamped with the WT stamp- making it seem as if I had actually stayed in the US under the vwp. I think when I was stopped in Houston they checked my travel history and realised that I had only been in transit on those occasions. To cover their mistake they then made up some excuse that I had, "spent more time in the US than in my country of residence during the year".

^ ... and if need be, just purchase a fully refundable ticket - if your finances allow it - for onward travel to the UK.
Have been thru this "wringer" many times.
A lot depends on your point of entry - as has been discussed in these threads many a time.
There are good POE's and not so good ones.
I happen to usually live in a West Coast city named fittingly de-Portland for that sole reason and so reflecting the image of our local CBP officers.
They never fail to "wring" me, however my last entry 2 weeks ago at SFO went without any troubles whatsoever and as smooth as I've had in a long time.
Hit and miss

Also, when you're in secondary it's usually exactly as the following quote:
In my own many secondaries i.e. I've been yelled at terribly when not closing the door behind me properly enough (after a 16 hr red-eye flight), but also been addressed with the utmost respect and kindness.


FWIW .. here's a thread I started about this subject some time ago.

Wish you Good Luck!

Careful here.

Point number 1 is that ideal outcome here is not to be 'inteviewed' at all given the nature of your backstory.

If you are sent to secondary the existance of a ticket back to the Uk within the 90 days may help (I doubt that it could harm) but they have no way of knowing whether you intend to use it.

Why do you think that the CPB official "made a mistake"? Theer seems to be no mistake here - the first officer saw circumstances that he felt warranted a second look. That judjment is absolute at that point - there is no such thing as a mistake here. In secondary the further look bore out and you were sent on your merry way.

I'd advise against trying to 'second guess' the system here - your ties to your home country are weak and the country you are spending most of your time in (Mexico) you are doing so outside of official residency rules.

Come on now - and be honest here - putting yourself in a US CPB agent's shoes, would you let you in?

The mistake was that my passport should not have been stamped WT for a simple transit. It made it look like I had spent way more time in the US than I actually had. It wasn't until they reviewed my travel history that they found that this was not the case.

Why not? What class should it have been stamped?

Would I let me in? That is a good question. I like to think that I am open minded enough to appreciate that some people like living in countries other than the one they were born in. The way that the interviewing officer said "Guatemala" it was almost like it was some awful disease, when really it is one of the most beautiful places I have been to and I know of plenty of Americans who have chosen to make it their 'unofficial' home...establishing successful businesses but still using the tourism visa to live there (the residency application process there is terrible).

I also appreciate that some people can be in long-term relationships without feeling the need to get married. My interviewing officer recommended that I seriously consider marriage. I can also appreciate that not everyone entering the US is doing so because they want to live in the land of the free. It is a great place to visit, but not somewhere I want to live at the moment.

I think that CBP officers are trained to assume guilt and let the burden of proof fall on the visitor. That is fine enough...the US has the right to protect its borders. However, it would be nice if there was more common sense applied at borders.

Apologies, I am in the wrong here. I am sure that lots of WT stamps does look suspicious...even if there were for a simple transit.

Another immigration lawyer consultation may be in order.

I would also advise providing no more detail on your trip on this forum. While I believe you intend to depart the USA, the CBP is not filled with people as trusting as moi. As a known CBP officer was active on FT this morning (and I can almost hear him salivating), it is not unreasonable to assume that any additional detail you provide may increase your chance of an unpleasant encounter.

Thanks for the warning. Like I said, I thoroughly appreciate the right by the US to protect its borders. However, I just wish that the application of the law wasn't so subjective.

Some of the information in this post is incorrect. An individual entering the country via a land border under the Visa Waiver Program is not required to have a return airline ticket nor does the program require a residence permit in that "contiguous territory".

A Visa Waiver Refusal is not an Expedited Removal. Legally, they are very different dispositions. While a Visa Waiver Refusal will result in permanent ineligibly for the Visa Waver Program it will NOT have a five year entry ban. You can return to your country and apply for a visa, have it granted and be back in the US in a month. I have personally seen this happen many times.

FB

You are incorrect. Even when transiting the through the United States, you are still being admitted to the United States and as such your passport will be stamped with an admittance stamp.

FB

So as a friendly representative of the US government, what advice would you offer?