Questions at U.S. Airport

[Steve from Las Vegas]

What question will they ask at U.S. Customs when i arrive in San Fran? Liuying

[cjr818]

What question will they ask at U.S. Customs when i arrive in San Fran? Liuying

 

 

If you travel together, they won't ask much, however if you travel alone, they may ask about your destination and flip through your visa packet.

 

Good luck and congratulations.

[Randy W]

The POE is NOT any kind of an interview or a test. They are supposed to allow you entry unless something is amiss.

 

They will also enter your information into the immigration computers, and take your packet from GUZ. This will be used to create your file, which you will next see at the AOS interview.

[lostinblue]

http://candleforlove.com/forums/index.php?...c=32765&hl=

Read this one

Someone else posted they were asked" what is the reason for entering the united states." The correct answer for them was to be married within 90 days.

Edited December 14, 2008 by lostinblue (see edit history)

[LeeFisher3]

What question will they ask at U.S. Customs when i arrive in San Fran? Liuying

Since she is 6 months or so along you could request that the airline provide wheelchair service for her if you think it would make her life easier. The wait at the POE can take some time and many POE's don't have chairs in the waiting area.

[E & S]

We entered through Detroit.. the first officer was very friendly but very young.. not sure what to do with a K1.. so he sent me to an older officer, still very friendly. They basically asked me when we would get married.. and asked me if i understood what would happen if we wouldn't get married within 90 days.. he also opened the whole brown envelope from GUZ and browsed through them.. they needed to find the extended stamp from GUZ on top of the I-129F.. mine was stamped at the bottom of the form and he couldn't find it at the beginning.. so it took a little bit longer there as he had to discuss it with other officers to see if they could issue me a new extension.. but then they found the GUZ stamp and the problem was fixed.

[yuehan123]

Well, firstly, POE is comprised of two parts. The first part is Immigration. You will be asked questions there. You will not have your checked luggage yet. They will ask the marriage/immigration questions at this window.

 

We were briefly delayed when the IO opened the sealed envelope, looked for, and then, asked me: "Where is your original I-129?" are you kidding me..... Questions included- + How long were you in China?

 

to my SO

+ Do you speak English?

+ What is the address where you will live?

+ When is your wedding? or some such.

 

 

The 2nd part is Customs. You'll pick up your bags first.

 

Customs, on the other hand, could probably give a hoot less about your marriage. They will likely ask you-

 

 

+ What did you buy while there?

+ Do you have any food?

+ Do you have any vegetables or seeds?

 

You may be chosen for a baggage x-ray and/or you may be selected for a complete baggage search.

[freedream]

I also am wondering that question.

 

Should i go to china and travel back with my husband? seems a lot of money we don't need to spend if he can get through it himself. ??

 

Would you all recommend that I go and come back with him or can he just come alone okay?

 

[Randy W]

I also am wondering that question.

 

Should i go to china and travel back with my husband? seems a lot of money we don't need to spend if he can get through it himself. ??

 

Would you all recommend that I go and come back with him or can he just come alone okay?

 

 

 

You may want to at least meet him at the POE.

 

Getting off the plane and through immigration and customs to where you can meet him, he's pretty much able to follow everyone else, but it's a little more difficult to find a connecting flight (even one that's advertised as a 'direct' flight).

 

In our case, Jiaying was able to get help everywhere she needed, and got home a day (of vacation) earlier than she would have if I had gone to meet her.

[Carl]

Ying said that didn't ask her anything. Just took her packet, stamped her passport and said, "Welcome to the United States...NEXT!!!!"

[Jaseball]

Like every part of this experience I think what happens depend on the person, their mood that day, how their life is going, and if they are a prick.

 

When I finally got back here with my fiancee we spent about 10 minutes with the POE guy. He was a young Asian guy who asked questions like:

 

1) What is your occupation?

2) Do you speak English?

3) Are you married?

4) Who else are you traveling with?

5) Where will you be living?

 

I was by her side and asked him if there were early work stamps we could get, when to get the SS number, and other stuff, mainly to keep him aware I knew the process.

 

Pretty sure this guy would have loved to delay or cause us trouble, but in the end he didn't have crap to delay us and we got the stamp, he attached the I-94 and we went to clear customs, which just allowed us to go past.

[Guest Rob & Jin]

jin travelled alone, said the poe at lax was a longer and more unfriendly interview than GUZ.

 

our guess travelling alone can make it more unpleasant

[jaybird]

So they will end up keeping the sealed packet Shuyan got from GZ that states do not open! So that ask just a few questions and she is off? Can I meet her inside where the POE office is? SFO is the POE a direct flight Shanghai to SFO its only 10 1/2 hours!!! Shuyan arrives @ 8:18 am.

[rogerinca]

So they will end up keeping the sealed packet Shuyan got from GZ that states do not open! So that ask just a few questions and she is off? Can I meet her inside where the POE office is? SFO is the POE a direct flight Shanghai to SFO its only 10 1/2 hours!!! Shuyan arrives @ 8:18 am.

 

 

The US Cutoms Officer will open that sealed package, which she will present at the POE.

 

He/she will review the contents and extract some info from it; then they will keep it for forwarding to the appropriate office for later use at AOS time.

 

You cannot enter the 'secure' area of the airport where the POE booths are located; therefore she will be on her own until such time as she clears the final Customs portal and enters the passenger waiting area where all wait for arriving passengers.

 

I doubt she will have any issues at the SFO POE. They process many individuals from China at that entry point and I have not heard of any problems from other members over the past two years or so, with respect to SFO.

 

My wife, daughter, and I entered all together at LAX in June and it was a very pleasant experience. All the US Customs staff were very courteous and helpful. It took about 30-40 minutes from start to finish, to clear the final portal after getting our bags and then walk out to the street in front of the terminal. The longest wait was for the bags to be off loaded from the China Southern flight out of GZ.

 

Best wishes !!

[Toplaw]

Anyone and everyone would be smart to be careful and prepared when entering the U.S. for the first time on any kind of visa. Sure the odds of a real problem are small, but we all know how things can go horribly wrong in this process.

 

A visa does not guarantee admission to the U.S. DHS has the discretion to deny entry to anyone. Therefore, questions that are asked, however bothersome, should be taken seriously. An attitude that "you have no right to treat me like this, or ask questions of me, because I have a visa" could lead to isolation for deeper questioning or delaying tactics or harassment in another room. It could also lead to a denial of entry.

 

This is just practical advice, not legal advice. You made it this far. Just smile and be polite and everything will be fine. You don't want someone on a power trip to ruin everything.