Jeraly
Difficulty:  | Review Topic: Port of Entry Review
On landing, I handed Daisy (my cat) to Jeremy while I went through immigration. I decided to go through the non-resident line as it was shorter (but incidently slower). Jeremy declared Daisy on his customs form as he was carrying her through so I didn't have to. I had enough to worry about without having to think about Daisy as well.
I line up, feeling a little better (I was sooo nervous) as I was doing something at last. I was petrified that the Immigration Officer would see the contract with the wedding planner we had included in our initial I-129f package, saying we were getting married in February 2008. I had packed the letter from them saying we were going to postpone the wedding, but still... As I neared the front, I realised that most of the Immigration Officers were smiling - a rare sight indeed from what I was used to. There was one who looked a bit grumpy but I just hoped I didn't get him.
Well - what do you know? I get called to the front by the IO I didn't want - typical. I put on a brave face and tried to not look like I was cacking myself. I told him that I was going to be his awkward customer for the day (he didn't get it - I wasn't sure if it was a sense of humour malfunction or... who knows?). He said he knew what "it" was when he saw me in the line - he asked for my MBE (Mysterious Brown Envelope for those not "in the know") and my passport and opened the MBE in a less than elegant manner. He apologised saying he didn't have a letter opener. He checked through it, all the while I was getting more nervous that he was going to see the contract. He asked me where I had met Jeremy, I told him online on a game and he asked where exactly so I gave him the name of the site. He covered up Jeremy's name on the paperwork in the MBE and asked what his name was. I told him and he carried on flicking through the paperwork. Eventually he explains that he is looking for the medical results. I helpfully inform him that they might be at the very back as they were done most recently. He said that they work in mysterious ways and so although this is logical, it's not necessarily the case (oh boy did I want to comment on that!!). He confirmed that I had no gribbly diseases and stamped my passport, checked the dates were all correct for the 90 days etc. and sent me on my merry way.
The whole process was carried out at the regular counter and took about 15 minutes. The weirdest thing was that he seemed to expect to see Jeremy's name on the actual visa... I hadn't heard of this so thought it was a bit odd. All in all though the guy was really friendly (despite first impressions) and dealt with me quickly and professionally. I didn't get a "Welcome to America" but then I was so glad to just be through it that I didn't care!!
I met up with Jeremy who had been hanging around with the cat and the cases and we made our way to the exit. I was expecting a vet check at the very least for Daisy, but on our way out the two guys by the door said we could just go as it was a cat and a pet - it would have been different if the cat was to be used for breeding or if it was a dog - they would have needed a check from a vet then, but as it was, in their terms "cats walk".
And that was it! I finally made it to the USA 
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Port of Entry Member Review #14263
Entry Date: 2008-06-30