xyguy

This is a question about UK border control. Sorry if this is considered off-topic, but I figure there are people on this forum with experience.

I'm a British citizen. My partner is American. We are not married. We live in the US. We're visiting my parents in the UK soon (but only for a couple of weeks and with no intention of getting married in the UK so they won't need a visa as far as I can tell).

I have two questions:

1. What will happen at the Heathrow border? Do we split up and go to EU and non-EU immigration control separately? Or do we go through together?
2. If we get separated at immigration, does my partner need to avoid mentioning me? (I know the standard -- possibly bad! -- advice when entering the US as a non-citizen is to avoid mentioning boyfriends/girlfriends.) Should she carry proof of plans to return to the US, US residence, etc.?

Let's assume a GC is not an option for the purposes of this question.

Bump ;-)

I currently live in the US and hold an E-2 visa.

I am thinking about changing employers. The most probable visa I would end up on if I were to do that is a H-1B. One way to make myself more attractive to potential future employers is to offer to transfer a H-1B visa in. To do that, I would of course need to currently hold an H-1B.

When I took my current job, I was offered an H-1B or an E-2. I accepted the E-2 as my employer recommended it, and a lawyer pointed out a couple of its advantages to me (if I had a spouse, they would be eligible to work, and the E-2 visa can be renewed essentially indefinitely). If I had realised the H-1B could be transferred then I would have asked for the H-1B, since the flexibility is much more important to me.

Obviously though, I don't want to go to my employer and say "I'm thinking about changing jobs. Can you change my visa to make that easier?"

So my question is: