The 'Which line to stand in?' answer
Oct 5th 2006, 3:09 pm
#1
Forum Regular
Thread Starter
Joined: Mar 2004
Location: Charlotte, NC, US
Posts: 209
The 'Which line to stand in?' answer
Hey, been a while since I posted...
Again, thank you to everyone that helped my now wife and I through the whole immigration process.
We've added a new son to our family ... he was born 7/14/06, in upstate New York. We're getting close to filing the necessary paperwork to get him British citizenship. If anyone reading this has done this, I'd appreciate your experiences
Recently, armed with my cream-coloured green card, my family of four took a trip to visit my parents in England - first time in 1.5 years.
Now this may be REALLY obvious to just about anybody, but it quite surprised us! Yeah yeah, we're really innocent travelers ;p Anyway, when we reached immigration in the UK, I kissed goodbye to my wife, our 4yr old and our 2 month old as they were all only American citizens and were destined for the 'Non British Citizen' line. I headed towards the Brit's line, and within a couple of seconds, one of the employees there told us that we could all go together in the UK line. Bonus! We just saved ourselves what looked like to be over an hours' worth of waiting.
On the way back to the US, we figured we'd try again. I went into the US Cit's line, handed over all four passports and my 'green' card and had no problems.
Also, both directions we didn't get asked what our intentions for staying were... or how long. That's a first for us both.
Did we just get lucky, or are they not so strict about it? What if it had been just two friends traveling together?
Anyways, for those people still going through the whole process of trying to be with your loved one - hang in there. It's hell being apart, but when it's all over, you've got the rest of your lives together to make up for it =)
Best wishes,
Smaug
Again, thank you to everyone that helped my now wife and I through the whole immigration process.
We've added a new son to our family ... he was born 7/14/06, in upstate New York. We're getting close to filing the necessary paperwork to get him British citizenship. If anyone reading this has done this, I'd appreciate your experiences
Recently, armed with my cream-coloured green card, my family of four took a trip to visit my parents in England - first time in 1.5 years.
Now this may be REALLY obvious to just about anybody, but it quite surprised us! Yeah yeah, we're really innocent travelers ;p Anyway, when we reached immigration in the UK, I kissed goodbye to my wife, our 4yr old and our 2 month old as they were all only American citizens and were destined for the 'Non British Citizen' line. I headed towards the Brit's line, and within a couple of seconds, one of the employees there told us that we could all go together in the UK line. Bonus! We just saved ourselves what looked like to be over an hours' worth of waiting.
On the way back to the US, we figured we'd try again. I went into the US Cit's line, handed over all four passports and my 'green' card and had no problems.
Also, both directions we didn't get asked what our intentions for staying were... or how long. That's a first for us both.
Did we just get lucky, or are they not so strict about it? What if it had been just two friends traveling together?
Anyways, for those people still going through the whole process of trying to be with your loved one - hang in there. It's hell being apart, but when it's all over, you've got the rest of your lives together to make up for it =)
Best wishes,
Smaug
Oct 5th 2006, 3:14 pm
#2
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Feb 2004
Location: Philadelphia, PA
Posts: 1,516
Re: The 'Which line to stand in?' answer
Originally Posted by Smaug
Hey, been a while since I posted...
Again, thank you to everyone that helped my now wife and I through the whole immigration process.
We've added a new son to our family ... he was born 7/14/06, in upstate New York. We're getting close to filing the necessary paperwork to get him British citizenship. If anyone reading this has done this, I'd appreciate your experiences
Recently, armed with my cream-coloured green card, my family of four took a trip to visit my parents in England - first time in 1.5 years.
Now this may be REALLY obvious to just about anybody, but it quite surprised us! Yeah yeah, we're really innocent travelers ;p Anyway, when we reached immigration in the UK, I kissed goodbye to my wife, our 4yr old and our 2 month old as they were all only American citizens and were destined for the 'Non British Citizen' line. I headed towards the Brit's line, and within a couple of seconds, one of the employees there told us that we could all go together in the UK line. Bonus! We just saved ourselves what looked like to be over an hours' worth of waiting.
On the way back to the US, we figured we'd try again. I went into the US Cit's line, handed over all four passports and my 'green' card and had no problems.
Also, both directions we didn't get asked what our intentions for staying were... or how long. That's a first for us both.
Did we just get lucky, or are they not so strict about it? What if it had been just two friends traveling together?
Anyways, for those people still going through the whole process of trying to be with your loved one - hang in there. It's hell being apart, but when it's all over, you've got the rest of your lives together to make up for it =)
Best wishes,
Smaug
Again, thank you to everyone that helped my now wife and I through the whole immigration process.
We've added a new son to our family ... he was born 7/14/06, in upstate New York. We're getting close to filing the necessary paperwork to get him British citizenship. If anyone reading this has done this, I'd appreciate your experiences
Recently, armed with my cream-coloured green card, my family of four took a trip to visit my parents in England - first time in 1.5 years.
Now this may be REALLY obvious to just about anybody, but it quite surprised us! Yeah yeah, we're really innocent travelers ;p Anyway, when we reached immigration in the UK, I kissed goodbye to my wife, our 4yr old and our 2 month old as they were all only American citizens and were destined for the 'Non British Citizen' line. I headed towards the Brit's line, and within a couple of seconds, one of the employees there told us that we could all go together in the UK line. Bonus! We just saved ourselves what looked like to be over an hours' worth of waiting.
On the way back to the US, we figured we'd try again. I went into the US Cit's line, handed over all four passports and my 'green' card and had no problems.
Also, both directions we didn't get asked what our intentions for staying were... or how long. That's a first for us both.
Did we just get lucky, or are they not so strict about it? What if it had been just two friends traveling together?
Anyways, for those people still going through the whole process of trying to be with your loved one - hang in there. It's hell being apart, but when it's all over, you've got the rest of your lives together to make up for it =)
Best wishes,
Smaug
Friends would have to go in different lines (if one was USC and one wasnt) because the officers deal with them seperately. Families are usually dealt with all together though...
Oct 5th 2006, 3:38 pm
#3
Account Closed
Joined: Sep 2002
Posts: 16,266
Re: The 'Which line to stand in?' answer
Originally Posted by Smaug
Hey, been a while since I posted...
Again, thank you to everyone that helped my now wife and I through the whole immigration process.
We've added a new son to our family ... he was born 7/14/06, in upstate New York. We're getting close to filing the necessary paperwork to get him British citizenship. If anyone reading this has done this, I'd appreciate your experiences
Recently, armed with my cream-coloured green card, my family of four took a trip to visit my parents in England - first time in 1.5 years.
Now this may be REALLY obvious to just about anybody, but it quite surprised us! Yeah yeah, we're really innocent travelers ;p Anyway, when we reached immigration in the UK, I kissed goodbye to my wife, our 4yr old and our 2 month old as they were all only American citizens and were destined for the 'Non British Citizen' line. I headed towards the Brit's line, and within a couple of seconds, one of the employees there told us that we could all go together in the UK line. Bonus! We just saved ourselves what looked like to be over an hours' worth of waiting.
On the way back to the US, we figured we'd try again. I went into the US Cit's line, handed over all four passports and my 'green' card and had no problems.
Also, both directions we didn't get asked what our intentions for staying were... or how long. That's a first for us both.
Did we just get lucky, or are they not so strict about it? What if it had been just two friends traveling together?
Anyways, for those people still going through the whole process of trying to be with your loved one - hang in there. It's hell being apart, but when it's all over, you've got the rest of your lives together to make up for it =)
Best wishes,
Smaug
Again, thank you to everyone that helped my now wife and I through the whole immigration process.
We've added a new son to our family ... he was born 7/14/06, in upstate New York. We're getting close to filing the necessary paperwork to get him British citizenship. If anyone reading this has done this, I'd appreciate your experiences
Recently, armed with my cream-coloured green card, my family of four took a trip to visit my parents in England - first time in 1.5 years.
Now this may be REALLY obvious to just about anybody, but it quite surprised us! Yeah yeah, we're really innocent travelers ;p Anyway, when we reached immigration in the UK, I kissed goodbye to my wife, our 4yr old and our 2 month old as they were all only American citizens and were destined for the 'Non British Citizen' line. I headed towards the Brit's line, and within a couple of seconds, one of the employees there told us that we could all go together in the UK line. Bonus! We just saved ourselves what looked like to be over an hours' worth of waiting.
On the way back to the US, we figured we'd try again. I went into the US Cit's line, handed over all four passports and my 'green' card and had no problems.
Also, both directions we didn't get asked what our intentions for staying were... or how long. That's a first for us both.
Did we just get lucky, or are they not so strict about it? What if it had been just two friends traveling together?
Anyways, for those people still going through the whole process of trying to be with your loved one - hang in there. It's hell being apart, but when it's all over, you've got the rest of your lives together to make up for it =)
Best wishes,
Smaug
Congratulations on the new addition.
At LAX, AmCits and LPR's go through the same line. I think it is more an issue of traffic control and not capabilities of the individual inspection stations.
Oct 5th 2006, 3:57 pm
#4
BE Enthusiast
Joined: Jan 2004
Location: SFO
Posts: 871
Re: The 'Which line to stand in?' answer
Originally Posted by Folinskyinla
At LAX, AmCits and LPR's go through the same line.
Oct 5th 2006, 4:52 pm
#5
BE Site Lead
Joined: Aug 2004
Location: MA, USA
Posts: 92,170
Re: The 'Which line to stand in?' answer
Congrats on the sprog
As for which line, a lot depends on the airport, Logon, you have to go through as johnny foreigner unless your lucky and neither line is particularly busy.
As for which line, a lot depends on the airport, Logon, you have to go through as johnny foreigner unless your lucky and neither line is particularly busy.
Oct 6th 2006, 3:36 am
#6
Retired
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 34,649
Re: The 'Which line to stand in?' answer
Originally Posted by Smaug
We've added a new son to our family ... he was born 7/14/06, in upstate New York. We're getting close to filing the necessary paperwork to get him British citizenship. If anyone reading this has done this, I'd appreciate your experiences
It's strongly recommended to get a British-style birth certificate for him, even if the Embassy tell you "not to bother". It could save him a lot of hassle later in life.
Oct 6th 2006, 9:31 am
#7
Guest
Posts: n/a
Re: The 'Which line to stand in?' answer
On Thu, 05 Oct 2006 15:09:36 +0000, Smaug <member22854@british_expats.com>
wrote:
>I headed towards the Brit's
>line, and within a couple of seconds, one of the employees there told us
>that we could all go together in the UK line
It isn't a right, it is entirely at the discretion of the immigration officer
on the desk. Most will allow a family to go through together if the queue
isn't too long.
Conversely there was nothing stopping you going into the non-EU citizens line
with your family either.
I take my wife through the EU desks in the UK and she takes me through the US
citizens line in the States. In fact once at San Francisco I got removed from
the non-US line by the scruff of the neck and put in the US line by an
immigration officer, with the words "You're in the wrong god dammed line". She
was smaller than me too. :-)
--
Lansbury
www.uk-air.net
FAQs for the alt.travel.uk.air newsgroup
wrote:
>I headed towards the Brit's
>line, and within a couple of seconds, one of the employees there told us
>that we could all go together in the UK line
It isn't a right, it is entirely at the discretion of the immigration officer
on the desk. Most will allow a family to go through together if the queue
isn't too long.
Conversely there was nothing stopping you going into the non-EU citizens line
with your family either.
I take my wife through the EU desks in the UK and she takes me through the US
citizens line in the States. In fact once at San Francisco I got removed from
the non-US line by the scruff of the neck and put in the US line by an
immigration officer, with the words "You're in the wrong god dammed line". She
was smaller than me too. :-)
--
Lansbury
www.uk-air.net
FAQs for the alt.travel.uk.air newsgroup
Oct 6th 2006, 2:37 pm
#8
Homebody
Joined: Jan 2005
Location: HOME
Posts: 23,181
Re: The 'Which line to stand in?' answer
Originally Posted by hcj1440
Same for SFO... USCs/LPRs in one line, "Visitors" in the other line.
Same for Chicago and Washington Dulles.
Oct 11th 2006, 12:23 pm
#9
Forum Regular
Thread Starter
Joined: Mar 2004
Location: Charlotte, NC, US
Posts: 209
Re: The 'Which line to stand in?' answer
Originally Posted by JAJ
If you were born or naturalised in the UK, then your son is *already* a British citizen. You're just filing for proof of citizenship, not citizenship itself.
It's strongly recommended to get a British-style birth certificate for him, even if the Embassy tell you "not to bother". It could save him a lot of hassle later in life.
It's strongly recommended to get a British-style birth certificate for him, even if the Embassy tell you "not to bother". It could save him a lot of hassle later in life.
and Jaj,
How do we go about specifying that we prefer the British-style certificate?
Thankee!
Smaug
Oct 11th 2006, 4:33 pm
#10
BE Site Lead
Joined: Aug 2004
Location: MA, USA
Posts: 92,170
Re: The 'Which line to stand in?' answer
Originally Posted by Smaug
How do we go about specifying that we prefer the British-style certificate?
Oct 12th 2006, 12:17 am
#11
Mrs Shep USCIS Graduate
Joined: Oct 2002
Location: ExPat Kiwi in Indiana USA
Posts: 1,865
Re: The 'Which line to stand in?' answer
Congrats on the new addition to your family. So glad to know you are all doing so well.
Bet it wass a wonderful feeling to finally make it home to see the rellies huh?
Regards
Shepslady
Bet it wass a wonderful feeling to finally make it home to see the rellies huh?
Regards
Shepslady
Oct 12th 2006, 3:01 am
#12
Retired
Joined: Apr 2004
Posts: 34,649
Re: The 'Which line to stand in?' answer
Originally Posted by Smaug
How do we go about specifying that we prefer the British-style certificate?
http://www.britainusa.com/sections/a...=41016&a=25315
You get the British-style birth certificate *in addition to* (rather than instead of) a British passport.
The cost of consular birth registration is an additional USD226 but it's well worth it. Without it your child could face a lot of hassle and delay in renewing a British passport later in life.
