POE- Los Angeles - No English Fiance

[andrea85 2]

Hi All,

My Fiance is flying in from Venezuela on Friday to LAX is his first time flying internationally and I am a little nervous he doesn't speak any English , and my worry is when he has to go thru immigration. Has anybody had a similar experience that they can share with me ? I hear that the LAX International airport is very busy so I am preparing for a long wait.

any tips or suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

[blest.but.strest 50]

Hi All,

any tips or suggestions will be greatly appreciated.

You don't need to worry about him not speaking English, speaking Spanish only is very common at LAX, the majority of CBP officers there speak Spanish as well.

Wait time depends, but he will be going to secondary inspection so it won't be super fast.

My tip to you, tell him to be completely honest with CBP and he shouldn't have any problems.

[M&A2 5]

Great advice.

[naire37 53]

First of all, congrats! This is the last mile, soon you'll be together!

My husband spoke little to no English flying in (and he had to make a connection in Europe). Here is what we've done:

1) go over the whole procedure together with him: airport maps, fingerprints, which line he should go in, where you'll be waiting for him etc. The fewer obstacles the better.

2) Have him memorize or at least be able to recognize some of the most basic questions: "Who are you visiting? What is your visa? What is the name of your fiance? Do you know you have to get married in 90 days? What are you plans for marriage?"

3) Don't sweat it. Customs officers deal with hundreds of people speaking very little to no English every day. And Spanish if indeed a very common language - if needed, he'll have no trouble finding an interpreter.

Best of luck!

[andrea85 2]

You don't need to worry about him not speaking English, speaking Spanish only is very common at LAX, the majority of CBP officers there speak Spanish as well.

Wait time depends, but he will be going to secondary inspection so it won't be super fast.

My tip to you, tell him to be completely honest with CBP and he shouldn't have any problems.

Hi ,

thank you so much for your response can you tell me what the secondary inspection is ?

[andrea85 2]

First of all, congrats! This is the last mile, soon you'll be together!

My husband spoke little to no English flying in (and he had to make a connection in Europe). Here is what we've done:

1) go over the whole procedure together with him: airport maps, fingerprints, which line he should go in, where you'll be waiting for him etc. The fewer obstacles the better.

2) Have him memorize or at least be able to recognize some of the most basic questions: "Who are you visiting? What is your visa? What is the name of your fiance? Do you know you have to get married in 90 days? What are you plans for marriage?"

3) Don't sweat it. Customs officers deal with hundreds of people speaking very little to no English every day. And Spanish if indeed a very common language - if needed, he'll have no trouble finding an interpreter.

Best of luck!

Hi Naire 37

thank you for your response I am a little nervous I just want to make sure everything goes smoothly the whole immigration part can be a little intimidating do you know what line he should go to ?

[Unidentified 2,930]

Hi ,

thank you so much for your response can you tell me what the secondary inspection is ?

They don't always bring K1 people to secondary, it depends on how busy the CBP officers are and if they feel they have time to process it themselves or not.

Going to secondary is not much different than the first one. They will ask him a bunch of questions (nothing to worry about, most likely it will be very similar to the questions asked by the first officer) and then he will be on his way. Be prepared it can take a while though to go through. When I was in secondary it took me about an hour extra because they were checking bags of some of the passengers who were waiting in front of me.

[andrea85 2]

They don't always bring K1 people to secondary, it depends on how busy the CBP officers are and if they feel they have time to process it themselves or not.

Going to secondary is not much different than the first one. They will ask him a bunch of questions (nothing to worry about, most likely it will be very similar to the questions asked by the first officer) and then he will be on his way. Be prepared it can take a while though to go through. When I was in secondary it took me about an hour extra because they were checking bags of some of the passengers who were waiting in front of me.

Thank you so much what are the questions they usually ask ? just so we can prepare I am guessing they might be similar to the ones at the embassy ?

[Unidentified 2,930]

Thank you so much what are the questions they usually ask ? just so we can prepare I am guessing they might be similar to the ones at the embassy ?

I'm the wrong person to ask that because my entry was super smooth. I didn't have to go through secondary and only questions I got was for how long I would be in the US and I told him I arrived on a K1 and then he started processing it. Only question after that was if it was normal for women in Sweden to go through military service because he saw my military records and he was curious.

I believe that sometimes they will ask about the name of your fiance, ask about wedding plans etc. I guess kind of like during the embassy interview.

[andrea85 2]

I'm the wrong person to ask that because my entry was super smooth. I didn't have to go through secondary and only questions I got was for how long I would be in the US and I told him I arrived on a K1 and then he started processing it. Only question after that was if it was normal for women in Sweden to go through military service because he saw my military records and he was curious.

I believe that sometimes they will ask about the name of your fiance, ask about wedding plans etc. I guess kind of like during the embassy interview.

that's what I thought and I have been reading about it also depends on the officer.. thank you so much for your help

[kris&me 572]

Questions like name of financee

address he will be going to

not difficult

they spoke to my husband in Spanish and he replied saying i know English well

so, they continued in English

surprised he doesn't know English as we got an RFE requesting he prove he had studied English and could read and write it

not anything against you / just wonder why the rules aren't the same for all of us

hope you and financee are very happy

[catlover31 8]

My now husband and I went through POE in Chicago, I was travelling with him. We didn't go through any secondary inspection. The guy looked through my husband's paperwork, asked where we will be travelling in the US and asked how we knew our cosponsor. I don't really know why he asked that question since our cosponsor was my dad and we had the same last name. Then he reminded us that we had 90 days to get married. The airport was quite empty even though it was the middle of the day in July and the whole process took no more than 15 minutes. We came out before our bags did. It was super easy.

[Michael and Ganna 103]

We travel together most of the time.....Secondary inspection just asked basic questions with a little more detail. They would ask family based questions like.

What is my job?

What is my sons name?

How much luggage did you bring? describe it.

Where is your daughter?

Where are you going?

What is the reason for your travel?

Welcome to the USA

Thats about it.....it is very simple and don't worry ...just answer the questions honestly

[Stefany/Dwight 1]

Hello, I just returned from Colombia our K1 Visa was approved on monday and when I entered at I spoke with the officer and ask when I bring my fiance in a few weeks which line do I need to be in he said that we both go through the "visitor line" and told me not to let them separate us. He said depending on how busy it will be that day will determine how long it will take and that most likely we will be directed to a secondary. My only concern is trying to schedule a delay for the connecting flight

[baron555 934]

Hi All,

My Fiance is flying in from Venezuela on Friday to LAX is his first time flying internationally

Have him hook up with English/Spanish speaking folks on the plane and ask if he can tag along with them in the customs line.

and I am a little nervous he doesn't speak any English , and my worry is when he has to go thru immigration. Has anybody had a similar experience that they can share with me ? I hear that the LAX International airport is very busy so I am preparing for a long wait.

I"m thinking with the close proximity to Mexico that many folks at LAX will also speak Spanish.