redgiant

The last couple of times at immigration we have been told that there is a problem with our visas (L1a and L2) as our UK passport expiry date is before the expiry date of the visas. I keep on telling the immigration officer that I won't renew the passports until 10 months before expiry as the unused period of 9 months gets added onto the new passport.


Is there anything else I can do as it's annoying having to go over the same story each time you get back into the country?


Also a related but separate question - Is there any expedited way of getting through immigration (I don't mind paying) or am I doomed to wait in line?

Noorah101

As far as I know, no way to expedite.

Rene

ian-mstm

So long as you understand that this is the choice you're making, I'm not sure why you're miffed with US immigration... they aren't responsible for your choices.


Yes - renew your passport and don't be so obsessed with the concept of getting those 9 months on the new passport.


No.

Ian

S Folinsky

<sigh> many CBP inspectors do not know the law. Perhaps have your lawyer make a memorandum for you to carry. Not that they will necessarily read it, but it might solve the problem.

Also, it is sometimes possible to go to local "deferred inspections" to correct the errors if done quickly.

tht

I did the exact opposite before I went to have my L1a issued. I got a brand new passport to avoid that kind of issue.

And I actually had to opposite issue to you, the previous passport I renewed had the 9 months added on, this was right when ESTA stated to be used. And the website would not accept a passport that was valid for more than 10 years. I ended up having to email, to have them update the ESTA system to accept my passport.

You can't do Global Entry with a visa/UK passport, so the sooner you can get a green card, the sooner you won't have to wait so long. To minimize my wait I would pick which airline/airport/terminal etc minismied the wait, but I am in the NYC metro area so I had a lot of options. My quickest entry ever was actualy on a visa waiver entry... About 6 minutes from aircraft door to out of customs at EWR terminal C. I found flying a US carrier had more Americans and less people in the visitor line than flying Virgin or BA etc. I also found that times when flights with visitors who don't speak english as a first language take longer.

redgiant

Thanks for all the responses!



I wasn't able to expense new passports as it had over 2.5 years left on it.


Good tip. However I have status with VA due to all the business trips I do so I only have a choice between JFK and EWR - and it's EWR for me every time as it's on the whole much quicker to go through and quicker to get to/from.


Thanks, if it keeps on happening then I will get them to knock something up. I think we got the same guy twice at the desk at EWR so this probably explains it thinking about it further. It's causes embarrassment and frustration when he goes "we have a problem here" and then after explaining the situation to him for 5 mins. he lets us go through. It's not rocket science but I can understand that the brain numbs after seeing hordes of people all day and doing the same routine with each one.


We had a US citizen famous rapper in our queue and she had problems as well with this guy so it doesn't go away even if you are a citizen!

Why should we spend £100 each on new passports because immigration don't know that visa and passport expiry dates are different and can expire on before/after each other. And as another poster has mentioned this could cause other problems as there will be over 10 years left on the new passports.

tht

I think I had 4 years left on mine (and I still charged it to my employer), but rather than renew it I got a new/second UK passport to allow me to keep traveling while my visa was issued.

EWR is generally faster than JFK in my experience, but VS goes to terminal B, which is generally slower than terminal C.

The choice to spend GBP 100 is yours, that's about what a car service from EWR to my condo costs or what I paid for Global Entry when I got my GC.

Does it suck that you have to spend money to fix something that's not a real issue, yes. But the officer you see won't give it a second thought, if its a hassle for you spend the money and move on. The added benefit is that you get a new passport with lots of empty pages, I always went for 48 pages, but still managed to fill them up much quicker than 10 years.