Which line when entering US as family, US citizen with Foreign Spouse?

[M+K IL 102]

10 minutes ago, Misscloud said:

not to hijack OP post, what about if husband have global entry and we are coming back to the US by air?

Can't help here but I'd recommend getting Global Entry too!

 

You can get interview on arrival, or visit an office that has a shorter wait time for appointments (my wife did hers on a domestic trip to Orlando)

[Verrou 1,899]

6 minutes ago, M+K IL said:

Can't help here but I'd recommend getting Global Entry too!

 

You can get interview on arrival, or visit an office that has a shorter wait time for appointments (my wife did hers on a domestic trip to Orlando)

lol the day i got my GC husband nagged me to apply for NEXUS $50/5 years on the same day which i did. with nexus he can use global entry if there's kiosk to use and also got TSA pre check. wait time 12-14 months. and cant apply for Global entry while NEXUS is pending. global entry wait time about 6-8 months too SMH

Edited June 8, 2023 by Misscloud

[M+K IL 102]

2 minutes ago, Misscloud said:

lol the day i got my GC husband nagged me to apply for NEXUS $50/5 years. with nexus he can use global entry if there's kiosk to use and also got TSA pre check. wait time 12-14 months. and cant apply for Global entry while NEXUS is pending. global entry wait time about 6-8 months too SMH

Oof yeah. Nexus is more useful and cheaper - if you plan to travel often by land to Canada or Mexico especially - but that wait time...

[GEOntificator 272]

23 hours ago, garebear397 said:

What has been other's experience when entering the US with your spouse when one is a US citizen and other is foreign visitor -- which line during border control have you all gone in and what has been your experience? Both in US Residents line? Both in Vistors line? Separate? 

 

I have seen mixed messaing about this (only US citizens/residents in US line, but also keep families together, etc.), and even have received mix messaging at the airport. 

 

Our story, we live in Chile and were visiting my family in the US, we were the last in line at border control (had to clean up a baby and a toddler after long flight), and we asked someone that looked like he was directing people where to go -- which line we should go in (with US citizen and foreign spouse). He told us to all go in the US citizen line to keep family together. We do that, we arrive at the control and the agent procedes to chew us out, saying my wife isn't a citizen, she shouldn't be in this line etc., I explain that is what we were instructed to do. She then later is pretty rude, and instead of telling my wife that they will do additional screening just asks her "Do you want the baby or do you want to hand it to your husband", we had to ask why and then she told us. 

 

THEN just some lovely contridictory nature of the CBP, she gets to the secondary screening....this agent is very friendly and relaxed, and asks her if she had a green card in the past, she said she did and she officially abandoned it two years ago...and he asks her "why? You should have just kept the green card." Just telling us to commit fraud (keeping a green card while obviously residing in another country). Didn't ask her anything else and let her through. 

 

So yah know....the only consistent thing is the inconsistancy. 

 

 

 

 

I will give you my experience entering US on 2 occasions. I am LPR

 

1) With my wife (USC). We went to the US citizens' line. We walked up to the CPB together. No problem there

2) With my wife (USC) and my parents (B2 visitors). Went to the US citizens' line. All 4 of us walked up to the CPB at the same time. No issues there whatsoever.

 

Other countries work the same way. Every time we go to my home country I take her with me to the citizens' line.

[Lemonslice 4,570]

5 hours ago, kvito28 said:

I will give you my experience entering US on 2 occasions. I am LPR

 

1) With my wife (USC). We went to the US citizens' line. We walked up to the CPB together. No problem there

2) With my wife (USC) and my parents (B2 visitors). Went to the US citizens' line. All 4 of us walked up to the CPB at the same time. No issues there whatsoever.

 

Other countries work the same way. Every time we go to my home country I take her with me to the citizens' line.

This will depend on the country, and then the port of entry.  No universal rule, and certainly not valid in one of my countries of citizenship.  

Edited June 8, 2023 by Lemonslice

[GEOntificator 272]

22 minutes ago, Lemonslice said:

This will depend on the country, and then the port of entry.  No universal rule, and certainly not valid in one of my countries of citizenship.  

I guess not ALL other but most. Switzerland, Germany, Denmark and Netherlands had no problem with it.

[Lemonslice 4,570]

1 minute ago, kvito28 said:

I guess not ALL other but most. Switzerland, Germany, Denmark and Netherlands had no problem with it.

How did your American spouse use the automated kiosks in Germany?   Early May, those where not recognizing non EU/Schengen passports where we were. 

Edited June 8, 2023 by Lemonslice

[GEOntificator 272]

@LemonsliceShe did not. We did a regular line because I could not go through automated kiosks.

Edited June 8, 2023 by kvito28

[Lemonslice 4,570]

3 minutes ago, kvito28 said:

@LemonsliceShe did not. We did a regular line because I could not go through automated kiosks.

Good to hear, thank you - kiosks in EU are so fast and convenient, can't wait for my man to get is EU passport too!

 

[Volli 27]

12 hours ago, Lemonslice said:

How did your American spouse use the automated kiosks in Germany?   Early May, those where not recognizing non EU/Schengen passports where we were. 

I've helped my wife (US citizen) to get her German Easy Pass RTP. It took about 20 minutes at the Frankfurt Airport police station and she could use it right away. It was even easier than applying for the Global Entry. Now she can use the kiosk by just scanning her passport when she enters Germany rather than waiting in the crowded tourist queue.

 

More information here:

 

https://www.easypass.de/EasyPass/EN/EasyPASS-RTP/rtp_node.html

 

 

Edited June 9, 2023 by Volli

[TBoneTX 43,362]

A hijack post and replies to it have been split and moved to the CR-1 Process forum.

A post in the current thread has been edited to remove a reference to the split hijack post.

[TBoneTX 43,362]

Several off-topic posts have been removed.

The OP indicates satisfaction with the answers, so this thread is now closed to further comment.