Landing Gear

It's not a "citizen lane." It is for "returning residents" which means United States citizens and those with lawful permanent resident ("green card) status. One of my colleagues who practices immigration law says that anyone who doesn't fit this category will likely "tick off" an Immigration inspector if he or she goes through.

B747-437B

Worse still, they run the risk of a lifetime section 212(a) bar for misrepresenting their immigration status by using the wrong line.

Steve M

I think the advice you are giving is misleading. As others have pointed out, if one arrives with a B1/B2 visa and reveals to the immigration inspector their intent to marry a US citizen while on their visit, it's almost certain that they will be refused entry and sent back home. This is true even though it may be perfectly legal to get married while in the country on a B1/B2 visa.

Perhaps the most basic thing to understand about US immigration law is that each alien applying for entry is assumed to intend to immigrate, and the alien has the burden of proof to establish otherwise. In this case, someone with a B1/B2 visa that says they intend to marry a US citizen during their visit (especially one that is currently living in China) is almost certainly going to be presumed an intended immigrant and denied admission. If the OP (a US citizen living in China) wants to marry his Chinese girlfriend but the girlfriend intends to stay in China after the marriage, why would they come all the way to US to get married? It makes no sense on the face of it. I think it's fair to say that it would appear more likely than not to an outsider that the intent is to adjust status after the marriage, and with this intent being formed before entry, a B1/B2 visa is not valid for this purpose.

So, although it may be technically correct that the only thing that matters is the intent to immigrate, if there's even a whiff of intent to marry, intent to immigrate will be assumed. Also note that the immigration inspector doesn't have to prove the intent to immigrate. The burden of proof rests entirely with the applicant to show that they DON'T intend to immigrate, and that will go right out the window if marriage plans come to light.

Well, lots of things. This point is very often misunderstood. Just because you have a valid US visa doesn't mean you're guaranteed admission to the US. That decision will be made by the immigration inspector at the port of entry, each and every time you enter the US.

And to answer your question of "what is the immigration officer going to uncover that the consular officer didn't?", the basic answer to this question is that they could uncover an intent that's inconsistent with the visa being used for entry. That is, an intent other than what was stated when the visa was applied for.

Here's a very basic example that I think most people will understand. Someone has a valid B1/B2 visa that allows them entry to the US for tourism or business purposes (such as meeting with clients, but not employment). But, upon arrival in the US, the B1/B2 visa holder tells the immigration inspector that they got offered a temporary salaried position by a US company that will last just less than their B1/B2 visa is valid for. Such a person would be denied entry. Although they have a valid B1/B2 visa, they do NOT have a work visa, and cannot enter the us to take up employment even though they have a valid visa for other purposes and even though they plan to leave before their visa expires.

Here's a more subtle example. Someone has a valid B1/B2 visa and intends to visit family. During the immigration inspection, it comes to light that they are the last remaining member of their family from their old country, they just quit their job and sold their house, and they have what looks like all their worldly possessions with them, but say they plan to visit only for 90 days and then go back home. They would almost certainly be denied entry, even though their visa is valid for the stated purpose of a family visit of 90 days. This is because the totality of the situation makes it appear as if there's an intent to immigrate. Keep in mind that this is not a criminal case like we're used to when dealing with law enforcement, where the gov't has the burden of proof. It's not even like in a civil case where it's based on the preponderance of the evidence (e.g. who has the 51% argument?). The burden of proof of intent NOT to immigrate is entirely with the person applying for entry.

In practice, of course the reality is that the vast majority of people applying for entry to the US at a port of entry, especially when coming off of a flight, are admitted without a problem. To even get on the flight, they had to have had a valid visa, or hold a passport from a Visa Waiver Program country. So usually, there's no problem. But if anything at all stands out, the immigration inspector is going to start asking more questions, and the person applying for admission must establish to the officer's satisfaction that they don't intend to immigrate (unless they have an immigrant visa of course). And, unlike the case with domestic law enforcement (at least officially), she's definitely going to get profiled based on her gender, age, and national origin. Also, keep in mind that she must disclose her address while staying in the US on the I-94 form, which presumably will be the boyfriend's address, so it won't take much for the topic to come up during inspection.

gleff

A good immigration lawyer is worth their weight in gold.

A bad one, a nightmare. And unfortunately I've come across some really bad ones through work.

Thankfully I've found an excellent one, and the H1Bs, O1s, EB1 and EB2s come a whole lot more easily.

PTravel

I'm going to guess, from your screen name, that your girlfriend is Chinese. My wife is Chinese and, until she got her citizenship and U.S. passport, I used to take her through the citizens line with me. I'd give both our passports to the Immigration officer. He'd usually direct a few questions to me and then a few to her (and get quite annoyed if I tried to answer for her). Other than that, no problem. Just make sure her visa is in order and you may want to take copies of the documents you submitted for her to get it with you. I had quite a hassle with INS when my then-fiancee came to the U.S. This was about 13 years ago, but it would have been really ugly were it not for the fact that I'm a lawyer.

dgwright99

First off, I should mention that I am an immigrant, and that I have never had a bad experience with an immigration officer, and the only bad experiences I have witnessed on my dozens of entries to the USA have involved entrants "with attitude".

Before I had my green card, I was usually asked at least a couple of questions relating to some minor detail on my visa or immigration application. A couple of times I've been asked specialist questions related to my occupation (eg "what is an xyz").

It seems clear to me that such questions are not intended to establish my eligability to enter, but rather to establish that I am who the documents say that I am. Which seems like a perfectly reasonable thing for border agents to be doing - so long as they do it efficiently and politely. Honestly, I'd rather have that than biometrics....

maxmm18

ok so what should i do with my foreign girlfriend? Should I let her go alone throught the non-resident line or should I take her with me to the US nationals line?

I'm US citizen but my parents are not and they would always go through US national line with my American Passport on top of their German passports. I'm thinking of doing this with my girlfriend.... any suggestions?

GUWonder

Ordinarily, a girlfriend is not normally going to be included as a family member for whom the customs form-declaring named individual is responsible; therefore some CBP personnel could and do make a fuss about it. However, when given there is co-mingling of checked luggage and in a co-habitating, civil partnership kind of structure, a joint customs declaration form may leave the two persons no better choice but to go together in one of the lanes.

The likelihood of a US citizen in such situations having a problem when going thru the visitors line is far less than if going thru the US citizens and permanent residents line. Either lane ordinarily routes to CBP agents who can -- if they wish -- handle visitors as well as US persons.

MrClean

I'm not a lawyer and got through the process fine without one. At least when my wife and I went through it it was just paperwork, lines, and interviews. I never really understood how a lawyer might be any advantage in the process we went through. In the end I was happy I didnt pay one. It was pre-911 ... not sure how much its changed since then. Like you we didnt have any problems going through the citizens line back then either.

PTravel

When my then-fiancee-now-wife came for the first time, she was detained by INS because she didn't have with her a form that she was required to surrender at the U.S. Consulate in Guangzhou. I got into quite a hassle with the INS supervisor who insisted that I go home and get a copy (a three+ hour round trip). He didn't even want to let me see her until I told him that I was her lawyer as well as her fiancee, pulled out my California State Bar card and demanded to see my client. I eventually told him that, rather than go home, I'd make the shorter trip to downtown where I'd find a friendly judge to sign a mandamus, after which I would file a lawsuit against INS and the supervisor personally. At that point, he "released her to my custody," with instructions to bring a copy of the requested form to the INS office within 3 weeks.

If I hadn't played the "a$$hole lawyer" card, she would have been kept there an additional 3-4 hours for no reason other than this particular supervisor's preference for acting like a jerk. Some welcome to the U.S.

I'd add that I was able to get a fiancee visa through in only 3 months (I was told that, at the time, it was a record -- this was 1994). That was, primarily, because I was constantly on the phone with INS, here, and the U.S. Consulate in Guangzhou, pushing everything so the process. Again, the lawyer card was what let me do it.

Landing Gear

^

PTravel

I should add that, after he told us we could leave, I turned to him and said, "Not quite yet. You smile at her and say, 'Welcome to the United States,' like you mean it!"

He did.

Landing Gear

Bravo!

star_world

It was probably the quickest way to get rid of you.

I love how there isn't a hint of admission that you were in the wrong there.

stevenshev

I *love* the a-hole lawyer card. It comes in quite handy sometimes.