For US citizens, it is a simple answer: if you are traveling together and using one immigration form, you all step up together.

Backwards US officials actually asked my next door neighbours...
 

..to go through separately even tho they are legally married...Cleetus just couldn't comprehend a married gay couple. Never a problem for them here or in the EU.:td::td:

Wow, so this question apparently isn't as stupid as I had originally thought! So the consensus is that it depends on the country and/or the mood of the officer. Thanks.

I've seen it both ways, too. I always clear immigration with my family, and sometime they have called me along with my business colleagues.

It's not Cleetus. It's the official policy of the United States government: Same-sex couples are legal strangers at the federal level.

Going to London the 2005, me and my friend were berated by an agent for not going originally going through the same line together. I thought if you were not a family, you go through separate lines but I found out the hard way. Didn't think we'd get through.

I think it all depends on the fascist behind the counter.

Last time I went to LAX I went up with my girlfriend to the counter and got the number 2 treatment. Told I had to go back to the line with a strong ticking off. Went up to the next counter to become available, got asked if I was travelling alone and answered no, "my girlfriend is at the next counter". Then got the third degree as to why we had not come up to the counter together! :mad: You just can't win. My advice is just go up as a group, if they let you it will be quicker, if they are not happy just split up and go to the next counter. They have no idea what they are doing so how are the rest of us supposed to know what the procedure is?

I've never even been aware of this.. i travel a lot with my girlfriend, and we've done both, gone up together and been apart, no problems with either.

Usually when I get into these no-win situations I just say in a polite but slightly puzzled tone - "Because the other (or previous) officer told me to do X."

They usually accept that.

That's exactly what I did, and no more questions were asked.

Aye.

Boyfriend and I (when travelling together, of course) go through Customs in any country other than the US or Canada together.

Boyfriend is Canadian citizen and I am US citizen. At US and Canadian checkpoints we pretend we don't know each other. I once made the mistake (back when I was a customs newbie) when traveling into Canada of saying that I was traveling with my boyfriend and we were having a visit there... cue 'please step this way miss' and 45 minutes spent with an irate Immigration official who FINALLY let me through, after viewing my departing boarding pass fifty trillion times and asking me a cornucopia of questions.

It's just easier to say you're by yourself.

I honestly think there's some level of intentional "spook them out" tactic going on with this. As was my experience in London, a woman was crying two counters over because the agent scared her and she then broke down and fessed up to being "smuggled" in as a wife.

I think have a whole plethora of questions they can throw at you and their goal is to try and throw you off. They know most regular people will simply be a little put-off by it but someone trying to break the rules will panic.

Be careful. You can get yourself into a lot of trouble by lying. From Canada's Immigration and Refugee Protection Act:

16. (1) A person who makes an application [to enter Canada] must answer truthfully all questions put to them for the purpose of the examination and must produce a visa and all relevant evidence and documents that the officer reasonably requires.