Departing the UK and arriving in the US

Hello everyone,

In my last post I talked about receiving the visa package and the passport back from the embassy, so let's take a look at what happened next!

We booked my flight, and I spent my final 2 weeks in the UK getting my affairs in order and packing.

I was able to check in for my flight with United 24 hours beforehand, which I attempted to do. While checking in I hit a bit of a brick wall. So, when you check in online with airlines, the U.S. requires advanced passenger information. The options are usually fairly limited, and I'm assuming United's system is probably not all too dissimilar from other airline check in systems. The options were for US Citizens, US Permanent Residents, US Visa holders or visitors. First of all, I wasn't yet a U.S. permanent resident, since I hadn't yet landed in the US and been admitted with the stamp in my passport. Second, I won't just be visiting, and of course third, I am not a citizen. So what do you chose? I decided to go for permanent resident at first, however, it asks for a green card number, which of course at this point I didn't have. The only other option I was willing to chose was visa holder. A screen pops up and the example visa it gives is actually an immigrant visa. Great, I thought! So I entered the information from the visa in my passport, which matched what it was asking for. I proceed to check in, and it tells me I can't as I need to present my documents and proof of onward travel at the airport. At this point I gave up. I did not need proof of onward travel. I had a visa in my passport that allows for the indefinite right to remain.

The following morning, after an emotional farewell to my family, I got to the airport and proceeded to the self service check in. I knew exactly what would happen, but it was a step I had to take. Same thing happens. Cannot check me in as I am a British citizen and they need proof that I will leave the U.S. with an onward flight. I called an agent over and was taken to a desk to see another agent who would manually check me in.

She goes through the motions. She can clearly see the visa in my passport that I have presented to her. She follows exactly the procedure she should (she was actually very knowledgeable, for which I am grateful), and the same thing happened! It would not allow her to check me in because I have a British passport with no proof of residency (no green card) or proof of a return flight. At this point I was panicking slightly. How can their system be so stupid?! Anyway, this lady was what I would respectfully call "old school" and she obviously knew her stuff. She told me she was going to exit out of this current system and open up an old program that they used to use that was DOS based, not Windows based. She said that she knows that their old system never used to ask that sort of information and that it would check me in. She logs in, enters all my details, and voila! It worked! 

At this point I have some observations about how ridiculous this setup is. So it would seem that anyone who has a visa to enter the US but is entering for the first time, and therefore does not have any proof of address, residency or otherwise, could be denied check in. I had a valid passport and visa. I would be entering with the right to remain, but it was my first entry, therefore I had no green card or otherwise at this stage. So what am I meant to do?! I surely cannot be the only person in the history of the world to enter the U.S. with any sort of visa that either gives them the right to stay, or is at least valid for some period that extends beyond the flight booking horizon. What if I'd been a student who was coming to study for two years? I would have had a valid visa, but you cannot of course book flights that far out. So then what? How do you prove that you won't outstay your visa?

Needless to say it caused me more stress than I wanted on what was already a stressful enough day. As if leaving your family behind to move to another continent isn't enough to cause you to have panic attacks, being told you can't check in is about the limit.



So, be warned. If you are entering the U.S. as a new immigrant you could face some difficulty checking in.

I'm curious to know what will happen once the DOS system isn't available anymore. Or what would happen if that agent hadn't have ever used it, or remembered how to use it, or couldn't log in for some reason. Then what?



I sent an email to United about this and they apologised and said would forward it on to the appropriate department. How much good that will do I have no idea, but I did get 500 miles as way of apology from United, which is better than nothing.

After checking in and proceeding through security, I boarded my flight and was off to my new life! While on the flight they usually ask if up need to fill out a white entry form for visa holders. Although you will have a visa, arriving as an immigrant nullifies this. The only form you need to fill out is the customs form. Fill it out as though you were a U.S. resident already. 

Upon arrival at Washington Dulles airport in Virginia (which incidentally is one of the most inefficient places I've ever had to fly through, which sadly I've had to do many times when visiting Jon), I headed to the immigration hall to find out what I had to do.



The lines of course were huge, as always. The information person told me that even though I was entering on an immigrant visa, because I had not yet technically entered and got my stamp, I had to stand in the non-US line. Joy.

After nearly two hours I finally got to the front of the line and I handed over my sealed envelope and passport to the officer. I have to say, she was very nice, which in brutal honesty made a refreshing change! She asked a couple of questions about who Jon was, but only very generic questions that anybody could have asked. She did the usual thing of scanning my fingerprints (which every visitor has to do entering the U.S. anyway. They probably have my prints a hundred times over by now!) and the usual photo. She opened the envelope, flicked through it, and didn't really say much about it. She told me I now had to go see a second officer who would process the documents and take more fingerprints. She stamped my passport through October 2016 (as I was entering under the CR1 category), and wished me luck and sent me on my way.
I headed down to the end desk that she had directed me to, and only had to wait I literally a minute for the officer to be done with the guy in front of me. I was called up and have handed over my documents again. He again asked a few basic questions, but nothing taxing. I had to provide one physical ink print that would apparently be on my green card, and sign a form. That was it, I was good to go!

Exiting the immigration area I picked up my luggage and went to stand in the customs line. The one thing you must know is that you must go through a separate line for customs is you're an arriving immigrant, at least at Dulles. I didn't know this, and stood in the regular line, only to be told once I got to the front that I needed to go to another room. Luckily this day the line was very short, which for Dulles is amazing, but normally it is half an hour long (I've done it many times!), and so this would have annoyed me greatly if I'd waited a long time only to be told that. The secondary room has luggage scanners. Put your suitcases on, hand over your form, and if all is ok, collect your things on the other side of the scammer belt. Then that's it! You are finally free to go!

Jon and his family were waiting for me on the other side, and it was amazing to think I was finally standing there as a legal permanent resident!

Dan.