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Travel to/from USA-UK

Old Sep 24th 2010, 11:27 pm
  #1  
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Default Travel to/from USA-UK

This is a fairly unimportant issue, but I was wondering...

I'm a Brit married to a US Citizen. We're visiting England in December this year, and I was wondering about what will happen at the airport. IIRC, there are separate Customs queues in UK airports for Brits/Europeans and Non-Europeans (likewise, when landing back in the USA, there are queues for USA citizens and foreigners). Will the hubby and I have to queue separately, as he has a US passport and I only have my UK passport right now?

Just wondering!

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Old Sep 24th 2010, 11:33 pm
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Default Re: Travel to/from USA-UK

Yes separate lines. Dh didn't have his UK passport when we visited one time (expired and was too lazy to get it renewed for our holiday) and he line up in the non EU line and me and the kids flew through the returning EU and UK line.
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Old Sep 25th 2010, 1:22 am
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Default Re: Travel to/from USA-UK

Originally Posted by Mummy in the foothills
Yes separate lines.
+1. Yup... separate queues.

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Old Sep 25th 2010, 1:57 am
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Default Re: Travel to/from USA-UK

Separate lines, unless you are business class and can both go to the 'premier' line. Shouldn't really be a big problem as you will still wait together after entry at the luggage claim, and chances are even after he is through you'll both still be waiting for your bags.

Lines aren't really bad unless you are landing behind another plane from Asia or Africa or something. Most of the time I fly through the line with barely one or two questions.
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Old Sep 25th 2010, 4:39 am
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Default Re: Travel to/from USA-UK

Originally Posted by penguinsix
Shouldn't really be a big problem as you will still wait together after entry at the luggage claim, and chances are even after he is through you'll both still be waiting for your bags.
I have flown business class a few times , ( thanks to air miles ) and you do get to go through the same line, but you will still meet at the carousel.

Oh and forget about the priority sticker they put on your bag , they come out arbitrarily , like the rest of them .
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Old Sep 27th 2010, 5:19 am
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Default Re: Travel to/from USA-UK

Going to UK, there's nothing to stop you joining the same line as your husband in the non-EU line. I have done that. I haven't been doing it for the past year or so because I signed up for the 'Iris scan' thing and have been testing that out - never had any lines, but of course have to wait for everyone else to catch up anyway.

Coming back, if you have a green card you are a 'US Person' and can go through the same line as US Citizens.
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Old Sep 27th 2010, 1:27 pm
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Default Re: Travel to/from USA-UK

Hmmm....usually go through *EU* line with my US citizen spouse (and 2 dual citizen children) - we used to separate, but were told once to go through EU lane as a family and it's been fine.

She gets asked standard questions, her passport get stamped and we proceed to get our luggage...this is at LHR, if that helps.
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Old Sep 27th 2010, 1:59 pm
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Default Re: Travel to/from USA-UK

The one time we went back I went through the EU line so I could run ahead and grab the bags from the carousel. Worked out perfectly - I had just enough time to visit the bog and grab the luggage before the wife and son got through the non-EU line

Helped us beat the queues at the rental car office anyway.
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Old Sep 27th 2010, 2:50 pm
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Default Re: Travel to/from USA-UK

Originally Posted by PdP
Coming back, if you have a green card you are a 'US Person' and can go through the same line as US Citizens.
Umm... that will depend on where you enter the US. A PR is not a USC... and some PoEs are pretty strict about that distinction.

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Old Sep 27th 2010, 8:49 pm
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Default Re: Travel to/from USA-UK

All the airports I've come into seems to have had signs that said "US Citizens and Permanent Residents", the other lines were visitors.
The only difference is that on the the recent entries it seems they photograph and fingerprint the people without a US passport.
It made little difference on the last few trips coming back into the US, there were 10 times as many gates open for visitors as there was for the rest of us.
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Old Sep 27th 2010, 9:55 pm
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Default Re: Travel to/from USA-UK

Originally Posted by trippykitten
IIRC, there are separate Customs queues in UK airports for Brits/Europeans and Non-Europeans (likewise, when landing back in the USA, there are queues for USA citizens and foreigners).
Being a bit picky here, but customs is the same for everybody - it's immigration (aka passport control) where you get separated. My non-UK wife (at the time; she now has a British passport) has beaten me through immigration before. All depends on queues at the time.
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Old Sep 28th 2010, 1:37 pm
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Default Re: Travel to/from USA-UK

On entering the UK, you and your husband can join either queue i.e the EU or non-EU lines. Or at least you can at Heathrow - there is a sign at the beginning of the line stating this (but if, in doubt, ask one of the attendants - that's my wife and I did because it seemed so unlikely!). As for the US, my experience is that you can only queue together in the non-US line (but I don't know about the status of PLRs). Actually, it was quite an eye-opener for my wife when we went through the non-US line together at Logan airport (Boston) - she got to experience first-hand how unbelievably rude, aggressive and offensive the CBP officials who monitor the queues are.
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Old Sep 28th 2010, 3:48 pm
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Default Re: Travel to/from USA-UK

Originally Posted by Desperate Dan
As for the US, my experience is that you can only queue together in the non-US line (but I don't know about the status of PLRs).
One of the last times that we visited the US before moving here (and thus my DH was using the VWP), I was told by an immigration official that DH should always come through the citizen line with me. He said "because he's married to a US citizen, your US passport overrules everything else and he should stay with you." The time before that, going through a different airport, we had been told that he had to go through the non-cit line, so we were in separate lines when I was told this.

I think the lesson to take away from all these experiences is...no matter which line(s) you choose, someone will tell you that you should have done it differently.
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Old Sep 28th 2010, 3:56 pm
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Default Re: Travel to/from USA-UK

Originally Posted by Desperate Dan
On entering the UK, you and your husband can join either queue i.e the EU or non-EU lines. Or at least you can at Heathrow - there is a sign at the beginning of the line stating this (but if, in doubt, ask one of the attendants - that's my wife and I did because it seemed so unlikely!). As for the US, my experience is that you can only queue together in the non-US line (but I don't know about the status of PLRs). Actually, it was quite an eye-opener for my wife when we went through the non-US line together at Logan airport (Boston) - she got to experience first-hand how unbelievably rude, aggressive and offensive the CBP officials who monitor the queues are.
Unfortunately, I can only attest to your last sentence there.
It often seems to me that a substantial number of the CBP agents at US POE´s have been trained to discourage as many "alien" visitors as possible to come back to the US by being as nasty as possible.
I find this highly regrettable, as it certainly is perfectly feasible for immigration and customs officers in any country to be strict and correct without behaving in a downright insulting fashion.
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Old Sep 28th 2010, 4:11 pm
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Default Re: Travel to/from USA-UK

Originally Posted by Lissbovavd
Unfortunately, I can only attest to your last sentence there.
It often seems to me that a substantial number of the CBP agents at US POE´s have been trained to discourage as many "alien" visitors as possible to come back to the US by being as nasty as possible.
I find this highly regrettable, as it certainly is perfectly feasible for immigration and customs officers in any country to be strict and correct without behaving in a downright insulting fashion.
Some of the officers in Gatwick can be overly officious too.
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