Just thought of this: those who’ve had problems, were you in any way “suspicious”? You know, red-eyed from a late-night flight or anything like that?
All my international crossings (Canadian border excluded) have been through HUGE internation airports (Dallas, Houston). One goes through a HUGE line to pass through INS, and the agents genuinely look too overworked to give a serious hassle unless they really suspect something. In fact, the first time we passed through Houston with my then-Fiancee, we were delayed 0.5 hour, in that her “A-number” couldn’t be found. The agent was courteous and polite, and we weren’t whisked into a private room. It may helped that I was an American travelling with her.
Okay, it’s a pain, but if you really want to make sure your acquaintenaces don’t get hassled, and they’re not travelling at a busy time at a big airport, fly with them, if possible.
Yeah, make sure you dont look suspicious. Make sure to not look non-caucasian or anything.
Whats the point of apologizing for these little Napoleons? I can understand a cop on the beat being overly suspicious, but an airport INS guy? Good lord. If any of these stories posted here are HALF true I feel no excuse could justify this. These guys described are sadistic little bastards who probably kick their dogs.
WHOA! Don’t get me wrong! I’m certainly not trying to defend them. As I’ve said, I have an imported wife, and I’d hate to see any of this happen to us.
But really, there’s something that sets bullies off, whether it’s being suspicious-looking or whatnot. So, the question remains (slightly changed), was there anything “different” looking that may have set the jerks off?
Well, there is a matter of pure chance. Anyone can be stopped just by chance but I guess other factors may come into play but this is totally personal and each individual may have their own preferences. I guess comimg from certain countries (like drug producing countries) would be one. Maybe being young, as young people would tend to break the law more easily (and yet two of the stories I have realated were suffered by old ladies). Who knows. Each INS officer has his/her own preferences and prejudices. In my case it could be that I am from Europe and arriving in the US from Asia. Could that mean I was traficking drugs? I think there is no way to determine anything. Just hope the person is in a good mood. I once had a bad experience with a very fat woman officer. She was in the foulest of moods. Now I try to avoid the fattest officers but who knows if that is a mistake. It could be they are better natured after all. So, based on one experience my advice is that if you arrive in Dulles you avoid fat female INS officers. One of them was in a very foul mood that day. I do not know if that is her standard mood or if she was just bitchy that day… but you may be improving your chances if you avoid her… on the other hand, maybe she got laid last night and she’s in a good mood today. You never know. The only sure way to avoid this hassle is to stay outside or inside the country.
The re-entry permit is a simple form, 1-2 photos and $80. However, it does not 100% guarantee you re-entry. I thought it did. However, a re-entry permit will help you get back in the country if you’ve been abroad for over 1 calendar year.
My bitch is that I’m an American working abroad. I don’t have business trips back to the US, so I don’t necessarily go back every year. There is nothing in US law to accomodate my wife’s foreign national status. Should I desire to return to the US on even a few months notice, it would be extremely difficult to get my wife of 8 years into the US and keep her there.
But, as I mentioned earlier in this thread, if I hadn’t been white and accompanying my wife and daughter, my wife might have had problems.
If I might address the OP for a moment. I am not a lawyer, nor an expert in immigration law or procedures. I have, however, been involved in trying to get a fiancee visa (called a K1) for my Filipino fiancee (since January), and have studied as thoroughly as I can the procedures related. What jumped out at me was that the woman in the OP was the man’s fiancee. If a foreign national is the fiancee of an American citizen, she can be denied entry on a visitor’s visa. The reasoning behind this is to prevent people from trying to circumvent the fiancee visa requirement by coming to the US on a visitors visa for the purpose of getting married. I’m not saying this was the reason for the incident in the OP, indeed, it sounds like something else entirely was going on, I’m just posturing it as one possible factor.
So far things have gone well for me and the future Mrs. Six. We’re just waiting for final notification from the Embassy in Manila of the date of her physical and interview, which can take from 1-3 months (we’re at 5 weeks and counting).
It wouldn’t be that difficult if you were planning to relocate permanently to the US. Your wife would just have to apply at a US embassy or consulate in China for an immigrant visa. I’m not familiar with the processing times in China specifically, but in general the US embassies/consulates tend to issue these fairly quickly to US citizen-spouses, especially when there’s no real question about the legitimacy of the marriage. If you’ve been married for eight years then a few months should be more than enough time for your wife to get her immigrant visa.