It occurs to me little lion is in position to get the best info on his Christmas trip. Just ask/ observe.

I only once travelled as UK boyfriend with USC gf , future ex wife - in 2003- to Tampa. We didnt think about and went in seperate lines and she waited ages on the other side for me. No drama. But I suppose it is different times now.

In my experience the immediate post-9/11 years were far more febrile than subsequently. I’ve not been to the US whilst Trump has been President but the Obama years were notably more civil than Bush Jr. Travelling in separate queues or both going through the visitor’s line would be the best course of action.

so why did they call you in as the "expert"? Back to TIO with you!!!

Thanks again all. It's Easter, rather than Christmas (not that that makes a difference to the question). Yes, the LL could ask at the airport but was wanting to reassure the GF ahead of time as to how things would go. Sounds like the best/safest course of action is:

LL goes in citizens line

GF goes in tourist line

GF, when asked, says she's going on vacation and for how long - and this may be the end of the matter

GF, if asked "who with" truthfully states with boyfriend's (who I met at uni in the UK) familly,

GF doesn't answer any questions she hasn't been asked.

That's a little harsh isn't it? Surely nobody deserves to be sentenced to TIO

that is exactly the advice I gave my Son when he brought his girlfriend over but did he listen, No! Apparently she was too nervous to stay in the line herself, so he stayed with her. Resulted in her being pulled aside and put in a room with other 'suspicious' immigrants. Her phone was confiscated and searched. He couldn't get any information from the border guards. She was held for few hrs before they let her go with a terse warning not to over stay her visit. In the end they decided to move to Edinburgh rather than go through that trauma again. They are no longer together.
Another thing to consider is going through a smaller airport.

I expect it will all be fine. Can't do a smaller airport since there isn't one around here with international flights. Not listening to his mum is certainly something the Little Lion is good at, but the older he gets the better able he is to accept that I might actually not be quite as stupid as he first thought

I hope she doesn't get pulled aside, but she should be told just in case it does happen that there's no need to freak out - just stay cool and answer the questions. She's just a uni student on holiday so I'm hoping it's all pretty straightforward.

Are you serious? I gave a simple and pertinent answer and then made a comment about the paranoia and panic that people whip up, in my opinion, unnecessarily.

Not so many choose to, I reckon. And febrile - new word in my experience!

It is not panic/paranoia, to be aware of potential pitfalls. Even if there is no means of reducing the odds of hitting a pit, knowing there are pits might help deal with one.

I aim to inform and entertain