Which line at US Passport Control for CR-1 visa?

[falafaleater 0]

Hi all,

Just wondering which line my wife, who is getting a CR-1 visa, should get in at passport control in the US, the "foreign passport" line or the "Lawful Permanent Resident and Citizens line"?

Thanks,

Falafal

[mrs. wife! 3]

Lawful Permanent Resident and Citizens line

[pushbrk 13,169]

Hi all,

Just wondering which line my wife, who is getting a CR-1 visa, should get in at passport control in the US, the "foreign passport" line or the "Lawful Permanent Resident and Citizens line"?

Thanks,

Falafal

A CR1 visa holder is not an LPR until AFTER they clear the POE the first time.

[mrs. wife! 3]

A CR1 visa holder is not an LPR until AFTER they clear the POE the first time.

That's new for me. I have a few friends who entered in a K3 and CR1 and got the LPR/USC line and were all fine.

edit: I know they were not LPR though, just talking about which line they used.

Edited January 30, 2010 by mrs. wife!

[VanessaTony 3,567]

Lawful Permanent Resident and Citizens line

Ditto to this.

You have a visa so it's processed there. The K1 which is a non-immigrant uses the citizen line as well.

[mrs. wife! 3]

Ditto to this.

You have a visa so it's processed there. The K1 which is a non-immigrant uses the citizen line as well.

That's what I thought!

[pushbrk 13,169]

That's what I thought!

You can get away with going through the wrong line but may well be treated better going through the right one.

[Frenchwife 1]

If with the US citizen (spouse) I am sure you can go the citizen line

I was with my son, US citizen

I had been told previously at previous entrances under Visa Waiver I could go through the citizen line when with him.

Showing my visa to be processed I was sent to the visitor line

went down up till the end of the citizen queues and the beginning of the visitors and saw a citizen line a little hidden with only a person in the queue

went there

was quick

at secondary inspection it was also quite quick

about 5 people before me

done in 20 minutes

I was happy because I had only 2 hours to connect

[christeen 966]

If you are traveling with the US citizen, I know that if they are your spouse (so for K3 and CR/IR visas) you can go through the citizen/LPR line, if they are traveling by themselves, then you will most likely be directed to the visitor line... This is what I encountered over the last 7 years of traveling with my foreign husband through several different airports... The only one that ever gave us an issue was Miami airport...

[falafaleater 0]

Um guys, you are contradicting each other, this is not helpful. What is the correct answer from someone who really knows?

[lucyrich 20]

Um guys, you are contradicting each other, this is not helpful. What is the correct answer from someone who really knows?

The correct answer is to ask the staff on site. There's usually an officer directing people into proper lines.

When I (USC) returned to the US alone via the Miami airport a couple of months before getting the visa approved, after the officer cleared me through immigration, I took the opportunity to ask directly. I said, "my spouse is going to be coming through this airport with a CR-1 visa soon. Which line should we use if we go through together?" He said "I don't know. You should probably ask the officer directing traffic. It depends on how busy we are. You might be allowed through the US Citizen's line, but they may want you to go through the visitor's line."

He worked there, and he couldn't even give me a straight definitive answer other than to ask at the time.

The good news is that, after hearing of this question come up repeatedly, I've never heard of a report of anyone having any serious issues regardless of which line they went through. Pick a line, go through it, and be polite. The worst that will happen is they'll tell you that you ought to go back and wait in the other line. Based on what I've read here, that's not very likely.

[christeen 966]

Agreed, it all depends on the traffic cop, but as I have experienced, in 7 years of traveling with my foreign spouse I was told at 8 different POE's (Atlanta, Charlotte, Orlando, Newark, JFK, Chicago, Detroit and Houston) that if he is traveling with me, the USC, then he can enter via the citizens line, Miami was the only one that directed us to the visitors line... But apparantly it is subjective to the person directing traffic on any given day at any given airport... Just show your US passport to the person directing people and say I have my wife/Fiance and they are entering on a CR1, K-1, K3 visa and see where they direct you... Nobody here can give you a definite as it depends on the guy/gal at the airport... I can only speak from my experiences over the past years.

Any line they go through your SO will be sent to additional processing room to process the visa, you will not get admonished regardless of the line you choose.

[lucyrich 20]

Agreed, it all depends on the traffic cop, but as I have experienced, in 7 years of traveling with my foreign spouse I was told at 8 different POE's (Atlanta, Charlotte, Orlando, Newark, JFK, Chicago, Detroit and Houston) that if he is traveling with me, the USC, then he can enter via the citizens line, Miami was the only one that directed us to the visitors line..

But the question was regarding a CR-1 visa holder, no? The CR-1 visa can only be used as a visa one time. After someone enters on it the first time, they become a lawful permanent resident, and then they'd enter on their LPR status. All entries after the first one are clearly entries as a permanent resident, and the person stands in whichever line is set up for green card holders (in most POE's that's the citizen/resident line, but read the signs to be sure that applies).

So I don't understand the "in 7 years of traveling with my foreign spouse" part.

[christeen 966]

I was married for 7 years and my husband worked on a cruise ship so we never filed for IR1, he traveled on VWP or entering on C1D, we just recently filed for his IR1 and he just received his green card. But prior to him getting issued the IR, when we traveled together, I showed them his Italy passport and said he is my husband can he go through the citizen/LPR line... But he was not a GC or IR1 visa holder at the time... We traveled to and from Europe about 2-3 times a year together, me as USC, him as Italian citizen NON GC holder.

Edited February 2, 2010 by christeen

[pushbrk 13,169]

I was married for 7 years and my husband worked on a cruise ship so we never filed for IR1, he traveled on VWP or entering on C1D, we just recently filed for his IR1 and he just received his green card. But prior to him getting issued the IR, when we traveled together, I showed them his Italy passport and said he is my husband can he go through the citizen/LPR line... But he was not a GC or IR1 visa holder at the time... We traveled to and from Europe about 2-3 times a year together, me as USC, him as Italian citizen NON GC holder.

This experience is not directly applicable to the question at hand. As I said earlier, you can get away with going through the wrong line but you'll likely be treated better if you go through the right one. Generally, the foreigner lines are closer to where secondary inspection is done and the officers are prepared to deal with immigrating visa holders. There's going to be a delay. I would prefer not to cause delay for the folks behind me in line. Use your own judgment.