U.s. Port Of Entry Tips- Should She Bring Documents?

[Svenn]

I've never been clear on how foreign tourists should prepare for immigration at the actual airport arrival (assuming they have visas) in the US. Are they supposed to bring all the stuff they submitted to the Embassy before (bank records, land ownership, etc) for the immigration officer to look at? If I'm at the airport to pick her up, can we notify immigration that we're available to translate/vouch for her if she's interrogated?

If, and that's a big 'if', my girlfriend gets a visa at embassy in Bangkok by some stroke of luck, I want to make sure it was all worth it when she goes through the second step at the point of entry. She really can't properly describe herself with her English abilities if she ends up getting taken aside by immigration. People say it's easy if you have a visa, but hearing many stories of well-off Japanese tourists being denied at LAX, I'm hesitant.

[gotlost]

I've never been clear on how foreign tourists should prepare for immigration at the actual airport arrival (assuming they have visas) in the US. Are they supposed to bring all the stuff they submitted to the Embassy before (bank records, land ownership, etc) for the immigration officer to look at? If I'm at the airport to pick her up, can we notify immigration that we're available to translate/vouch for her if she's interrogated?

If, and that's a big 'if', my girlfriend gets a visa at embassy in Bangkok by some stroke of luck, I want to make sure it was all worth it when she goes through the second step at the point of entry. She really can't properly describe herself with her English abilities if she ends up getting taken aside by immigration. People say it's easy if you have a visa, but hearing many stories of well-off Japanese tourists being denied at LAX, I'm hesitant.

You do not have to show the information that she gave the embassy for her visa. 1. her passport with visa. 2. onward ticket, if e-ticket print out copy. 3. Prof of insurance a good travel insurance where you purchased ticket will do. 4. address where she is staying same as on landing card. 5. You can go threw with her in the same line to help but not hinder. that line is foreign nationals.

[RPETER65]

I've never been clear on how foreign tourists should prepare for immigration at the actual airport arrival (assuming they have visas) in the US. Are they supposed to bring all the stuff they submitted to the Embassy before (bank records, land ownership, etc) for the immigration officer to look at? If I'm at the airport to pick her up, can we notify immigration that we're available to translate/vouch for her if she's interrogated?

If, and that's a big 'if', my girlfriend gets a visa at embassy in Bangkok by some stroke of luck, I want to make sure it was all worth it when she goes through the second step at the point of entry. She really can't properly describe herself with her English abilities if she ends up getting taken aside by immigration. People say it's easy if you have a visa, but hearing many stories of well-off Japanese tourists being denied at LAX, I'm hesitant.

You do not have to show the information that she gave the embassy for her visa. 1. her passport with visa. 2. onward ticket, if e-ticket print out copy. 3. Prof of insurance a good travel insurance where you purchased ticket will do. 4. address where she is staying same as on landing card. 5. You can go threw with her in the same line to help but not hinder. that line is foreign nationals.

I have accompanied a Thai with a tourist visa through immigration at the Seattle airport, the only thing they ask for was her passport, which had a ten year visa stamped inside, I don' t think they even looked at her return ticket , was given a six month stay.

[Svenn]

You do not have to show the information that she gave the embassy for her visa. 1. her passport with visa. 2. onward ticket, if e-ticket print out copy. 3. Prof of insurance a good travel insurance where you purchased ticket will do. 4. address where she is staying same as on landing card. 5. You can go threw with her in the same line to help but not hinder. that line is foreign nationals.

This doesn't make any sense to me, shouldn't the immigration officer have as much info as possible before making the critical decision of whether she can enter or not?? Or do they seriously not want to consider anything beyond what you detailed above?

I'll just be picking her up at the airport, so I will already be in the US. Does anyone know if I can help in that instance?

I have accompanied a Thai with a tourist visa through immigration at the Seattle airport, the only thing they ask for was her passport, which had a ten year visa stamped inside, I don' t think they even looked at her return ticket , was given a six month stay.

Good to know, I'll be using Seattle too

Edited November 2, 2009 by Svenn

[DirectorIntegrityLegal]

You do not have to show the information that she gave the embassy for her visa. 1. her passport with visa. 2. onward ticket, if e-ticket print out copy. 3. Prof of insurance a good travel insurance where you purchased ticket will do. 4. address where she is staying same as on landing card. 5. You can go threw with her in the same line to help but not hinder. that line is foreign nationals.

This doesn't make any sense to me, shouldn't the immigration officer have as much info as possible before making the critical decision of whether she can enter or not?? Or do they seriously not want to consider anything beyond what you detailed above?

I'll just be picking her up at the airport, so I will already be in the US. Does anyone know if I can help in that instance?

I have accompanied a Thai with a tourist visa through immigration at the Seattle airport, the only thing they ask for was her passport, which had a ten year visa stamped inside, I don' t think they even looked at her return ticket , was given a six month stay.

Good to know, I'll be using Seattle too

In theory, the Customs and Border Protection Officer is making the same type of determination as the Consular officer made. In practice, the procedure is generally much less invasive as the CBP officer is simply reevaluating the case and they are generally hesitant to override a validly issued visa. That being said, they can (and sometimes will) cancel a tourist visa if they feel the entrant is an undisclosed immigrant. It may be wise for her to bring copies of the documentation presented to the Embassy which shows "strong ties" to Thailand and "weak ties," to the US. This may be overkill, but better safe than sorry. You could also write a letter for her to take with her explaining the situation. This documentation should only be presented if there is an issue with the visa. Initially, she should simply present her passport with the visa in it. If she has a tourist visa, then I doubt she will have problems unless she has a bad track record with US Immigration.

As to you assisting her, assume that you will be unable to help. Technically, as she is not stamped into the US, she does not have the same rights as she would once admitted. Therefore, your assistance would be entirely at their discretion and I would bet that if a problem arose, they would not allow you to get involved.

I hope this was helpful.

All the Best!

Ben Hart

US Immigration Attorney

Integrity Legal

[Svenn]

^Thanks for the info Ben. It occurred to me that maybe the Japanese people I've heard often denied entry DON'T have visas because they're under the waiver program, so maybe it's easier for the border officer to deny them than if they had a visa from an embassy, like the Thais.

[SaigonDaze]

My wife was told to bring her chest x-rays to verify she didn't have tuberculosis. They didn't even look at them.

[straightdave]

take as much as you can

take it from me

so many guys on the desk are complete dicks i hasten to add NOT all though

since our little wake up call so many underqualified wallmart security guys now don a unifrom and unfortunatly have far too much power

they ask crazy out there questions and have not a clue how to identy a real threat

my buddy was stopped because he did not fill out the new esta ( another pointless idea)

made to wait 2 hours

asked why he carried cash ( errr,,, to pay bills) and other mindboggling dumb questions

which do not add a jot to the security of the usa

be prepared

and, go with her, tell 'em she dont speak english too good

You do not have to show the information that she gave the embassy for her visa. 1. her passport with visa. 2. onward ticket, if e-ticket print out copy. 3. Prof of insurance a good travel insurance where you purchased ticket will do. 4. address where she is staying same as on landing card. 5. You can go threw with her in the same line to help but not hinder. that line is foreign nationals.

This doesn't make any sense to me, shouldn't the immigration officer have as much info as possible before making the critical decision of whether she can enter or not?? Or do they seriously not want to consider anything beyond what you detailed above?

I'll just be picking her up at the airport, so I will already be in the US. Does anyone know if I can help in that instance?

I have accompanied a Thai with a tourist visa through immigration at the Seattle airport, the only thing they ask for was her passport, which had a ten year visa stamped inside, I don' t think they even looked at her return ticket , was given a six month stay.

Good to know, I'll be using Seattle too

[andyc2006]

I have accompanied a Thai with a tourist visa through immigration at the Seattle airport, the only thing they ask for was her passport, which had a ten year visa stamped inside, I don' t think they even looked at her return ticket , was given a six month stay.

I went through immigration with my Thai wife, and her visa was a tourist visa. Similar experience -- he (imm. officer) looked over her passport and asked when she was leaving the US. Her answer was +3 weeks (from arrival). He stamped her passport for 6 months and said "welcome to the United States."

Immigration makes the final call on whether to admit a person with a visa, but it's rare that they exercise that authority.

[gorshar]

My wife has entered the US twice on her 10-year multi non-imm. AT JFK in 2006 and at LAX earlier this year. Now, in both cases she was accompanied by me (US citizen) and our child (dual, entering on a US passport), which probably made a difference, but at neither entry did we receive anything more than a "How you doing, how long are you staying, where will you go?" Stamped and passed through in minutes.

[hhfarang]

If, and that's a big 'if', my girlfriend gets a visa at embassy in Bangkok by some stroke of luck, I want to make sure it was all worth it when she goes through the second step at the point of entry. She really can't properly describe herself with her English abilities if she ends up getting taken aside by immigration. People say it's easy if you have a visa, but hearing many stories of well-off Japanese tourists being denied at LAX, I'm hesitant.

I wish you (her) luck with that. In my experience (years ago) a Thai woman needs to own a successful business, be a rich property owner or at least a degree'd career professional with a really good full time job to get a U.S. visa. My wife was only a school teacher without any notable assets and she could not get a tourist visa. I ended up getting her a fiance visa to get her there a couple of months before we got married. The people at the embassy told me that was the only kind of visa they could issue to her and explained the above requirements to me for a tourist visa. That was in 1996; I hope for your sakes things have gotten easier since then.

[MattFS218]

You definitely need to PRINT out a return ticket. My gf had to go thru secondary, and was mad at me for a day because I didn't print out her e-ticket itinerary...silly me sometimes forgets how old school immigrations and customs is (who needs a paper receipt in this e-world where everyone is trying to save trees).

Also, after staying 6 months on a tourist visa and again trying to enter a year later she was also sent to secondary. She was traveling alone...so the duration of your stay has a huge impact on how closely you are scrutinized. For her, getting in at customs was much more difficult than the visa interview.

[MattFS218]

Also it seems that if you are sent to secondary screening at immigration, you are almost always guaranteed to get searched at customs....sucks if you have a connecting flight you need to catch

[Curt1591]

I'll just be picking her up at the airport, so I will already be in the US. Does anyone know if I can help in that instance?

The odds are next to none that you will be allowed through the back door. You should make sure she has all your contact info, especially your cell, just in case there are problems.

I wouldn't worry too much. The big hurdle is in Bangkok!

You might also contact the Thai consulate, and get their take on the matter.

[andyc2006]

I'll just be picking her up at the airport, so I will already be in the US. Does anyone know if I can help in that instance?

The odds are next to none that you will be allowed through the back door. You should make sure she has all your contact info, especially your cell, just in case there are problems.

I agree to make sure she has all the relevant contact info, but remember that technically, you can't use a cell phone until after you clear immigration. They may not allow her to make a call, if the situation arises.

I wouldn't worry too much. The big hurdle is in Bangkok!

Yup. Odds are against anything stopping her at the port of entry, but if it does happen, about the only way to help out is to travel with her.

[Svenn]

Well, she got a 10-year multiple entry visa but my big concern now is what she should tell the immigration officer should she get questioned at the airport... should she say she's just a tourist by herself and going shopping, or tell the whole story that her husband lives here and she's there to visit him? The advice I've heard from Japanese friends is that you should just keep repeating the former (that you've just come for shopping) since any other story will get you in trouble... and all officers eventually accept it.

Does anyone have any experiences or knowledge of any rejections at the port of entry?

Edited December 29, 2009 by Svenn

[Pakboong]

The truth is easiest to remember.