Hearing stories about US Customs. . .

[BaconGirl05]

So my SO will be coming to visit me in the US soon and I'm very excited! However, I've been hearing/reading stories of others getting turned away because they have a partner in the US. I know there is another thread about this, but my situation is a bit different. Me and my family will sponsoring my partner for him to get here. He is working at the moment and has money, but not enough to really support himself fully over here, or at least what they consider "enough money." My family basically wants to help so they could meet him. They keep telling him they're more than happy to help. (it's complicated, so I won't go into that too much).

What should my SO say when he goes through customs? I'm sure he'd show evidence of being sponsored, but I'm afraid that if says he's visiting his girlfriend, then he may get turned away. . He's gonna have proof that he has ties back to his country and has something to come back to. Do you think that would be sufficient enough? I could be overreacting, I guess I'm just anxious about him coming here and then hearing stories about others' experiences. .

[rachel0106]

Number one thing is to be honest each and every time. Thousands of people must go abroad to visit partners all the time, and it's important to show that you obey and respect the law. Just to be safe, make sure he already has a return ticket, maybe a signed letter to show proof of financial support, and also some evidence from home to show the ties there, for example a rent agreement, letter from employer, or recent bills with his name and address on.

However the immigration staff may ask nothing at all - earlier this year I was visiting the US for over 5 weeks after being there for 2 and a half weeks only a couple of months prior - I was sure I'd get questioned, but I wasn't asked anything at all. I'm going over again in the last week of October for another 5 weeks and hoping it won't be an issue, since I'm currently unemployed (but do have plenty of money for the trip).

Really curious to know as well if anyone else has experience or stories about US customs!

[snow]

The US custom officers are not evil monster who want to separate you from your loved ones, they are people who's job it is to find out within a very, very short period of time if you or your baggage are going to be a threat to the country and that's not easy on them.
So what you should do is always be honest and give them the information they are looking for - and nothing more, don't overshare.
I visited Hartford / Boston 3 times, 11 days, 75 days, 89 days and the last trip was to stay permanently. I always went with "I'm visiting friends" and answered their questions, but one time they noticed that I have only been out of the country for 5 weeks so I was lead to another room for more questioning. He asked me if I'm visiting my boyfriend and I said that yes, I am going to visit my boyfriend and he just nodded and lead me back to the window.
Only once they asked me if I had a return ticket, only once they asked me who payed for my flight and not one single time have they asked me about any other papers showing proof of anything else.

[rachel0106]

That's very helpful & very true - it must be an incredibly stressful job. And I agree, honesty is so important - even trying to edit your story to seem less conspicuous is a very bad idea.

I did get questioned briefly once at check-in by staff because they said I looked nervous (I hadn't travelled in a while and find going on a plane a scary necessity, being so far up in the air and such), but I explained and she was fine with it. The same occasion they had changed the walk-through scanners at Gatwick and I asked staff if it was an x-ray machine (I'd had a few head x-rays that year & was apprehensive of dangers to my health) - immediately three members of security rushed over to interrogate me, and as a teenager it was terrifying! So just be confident, since you're an honest person and have nothing sinister to hide

[lucybelle]

Immigration- people who question you, take your fingerprints and stamp your passport.

Customs- people who check your bags for items unfit to enter the country. "Goods to declare" vs "Nothing to declare"

[BaconGirl05]

Thanks everyone! This is really helpful. Do you know if they will want proof of a return ticket?
My SO won't have a return ticket because he's going to be here for 6 months, then we're going to go back to Australia together. I went there for 6 months and customs there never questioned it. When they asked me why I was there, I told them I was visiting a friend. Like I said, I'm just anxious about him coming here. It's the first time he's visiting my home and I'm excited. Since it's so expensive to fly international back and forth, we save up for long visits. I haven't seen him for awhile, so I'm excited to be with him again.

[lucybelle]

Definitely needs a return ticket. Buy a refundable ticket and either refund it after entry or change the date.

[BaconGirl05]

So maybe book the return ticket 6 months later? (around the time we were going to go back together) I guess if I do that, he can always change it to a later date just in case I couldn't go until after his date of return. (I hope that makes sense)