Traveling on Extension Letter?

[theanswerisdance 144]

For anyone who's travelled on it and bypassed the kiosks, have they allowed your USC spouse to bypass the kiosk with you and go straight to the officer? Or do they still have to go through the kiosk?

[stackeria 280]

47 minutes ago, theanswerisdance said:

For anyone who's travelled on it and bypassed the kiosks, have they allowed your USC spouse to bypass the kiosk with you and go straight to the officer? Or do they still have to go through the kiosk?

 

We used the extension letter twice. Once I was told to use the kiosk. The other time I was able to go straight to the line with my LPR wife. It really depends on the airport, terminal, staff, etc...

 

My advice:

1- Be prepared for either scenario

2- Pre-fill the landing card in your LPR's spouse name. That way the card can be used either for them alone (LPRs with extension letters need the paper landing card because their green cards do not scan) or for your entire family if the USC(s) also skip the kiosk.

 

Edit: Further advice:

 

I should note on our last trip back, they were directing anyone with a filled out paper landing card away from the kiosks and straight into the officer lines because of backlogs at the kiosks. So if anyone is triaging travelers as you get in line, I would advise you to show them your pre-filled landing card, explain that your spouse's green card won't scan at the kiosk and ask to all bypass the kiosks.

Edited September 4, 2017 by stackeria

[Dashinka 24,467]

1 hour ago, theanswerisdance said:

For anyone who's travelled on it and bypassed the kiosks, have they allowed your USC spouse to bypass the kiosk with you and go straight to the officer? Or do they still have to go through the kiosk?

My wife has used her extension letter twice, but only once with me.  At that time (yesterday) we were both directed to an officer who processed both of us so I did not have to use the kiosk.  As @stackeria mentioned it seems to be a toss-up.

[Dashinka 24,467]

1 hour ago, stackeria said:

 

We used the extension letter twice. Once I was told to use the kiosk. The other time I was able to go straight to the line with my LPR wife. It really depends on the airport, terminal, staff, etc...

 

My advice:

1- Be prepared for either scenario

2- Pre-fill the landing card in your LPR's spouse name. That way the card can be used either for them alone (LPRs with extension letters need the paper landing card because their green cards do not scan) or for your entire family if the USC(s) also skip the kiosk.

 

Edit: Further advice:

 

I should note on our last trip back, they were directing anyone with a filled out paper landing card away from the kiosks and straight into the officer lines because of backlogs at the kiosks. So if anyone is triaging travelers as you get in line, I would advise you to show them your pre-filled landing card, explain that your spouse's green card won't scan at the kiosk and ask to all bypass the kiosks.

This is interesting.  In Detroit, they do not use landing cards at all, but foreigners are directed straight to officers.

[stackeria 280]

3 hours ago, Bill & Katya said:

This is interesting.  In Detroit, they do not use landing cards at all, but foreigners are directed straight to officers.

 

Weird. Surely, foreigners have to make a customs declaration? That said, they appear to be rolling out changes with landing cards. This time they took our landing card at the immigration desk whereas in the past they would stamp it and you'd turn it in (or the equivalent printout from the kiosk) at the customs inspection past baggage claim.

 

Basically, YMMV. I usually fly into JFK terminal 4. This time we flew into terminal 1 and it was a slightly different experience. Also, at some point, someone up the management chain is going to have to admit that the kiosks as currently deployed aren't a particularly good experience for most people and things will change some more...

[theanswerisdance 144]

Flew back into the U.S. today from Canada and cleared U.S. customs in Vancouver prior to the U.S leg of our journey. I was so nervous but skipped the kiosks like everyone here said, got sent straight to an officer, pulled out the extension letter, and before I could even hand it to him he recognized it and said, "Looks like you're travelling on the good old extension letter!" He said they've been seeing a lot of them lately and he also said he prefers the letter to the I-551 stamp because he can process the letter right at the desk, unlike the stamp, which he said would have to be done in the back at secondary...I thought that was interesting. We were through customs in 2 minutes. If only it would always be so easy and all officers would know what to do with it!!

[YacineSade 0]

22 hours ago, theanswerisdance said:

Flew back into the U.S. today from Canada and cleared U.S. customs in Vancouver prior to the U.S leg of our journey. I was so nervous but skipped the kiosks like everyone here said, got sent straight to an officer, pulled out the extension letter, and before I could even hand it to him he recognized it and said, "Looks like you're travelling on the good old extension letter!" He said they've been seeing a lot of them lately and he also said he prefers the letter to the I-551 stamp because he can process the letter right at the desk, unlike the stamp, which he said would have to be done in the back at secondary...I thought that was interesting. We were through customs in 2 minutes. If only it would always be so easy and all officers would know what to do with it!!

Good news bro. Thx

[Dashinka 24,467]

On 9/5/2017 at 8:24 PM, theanswerisdance said:

Flew back into the U.S. today from Canada and cleared U.S. customs in Vancouver prior to the U.S leg of our journey. I was so nervous but skipped the kiosks like everyone here said, got sent straight to an officer, pulled out the extension letter, and before I could even hand it to him he recognized it and said, "Looks like you're travelling on the good old extension letter!" He said they've been seeing a lot of them lately and he also said he prefers the letter to the I-551 stamp because he can process the letter right at the desk, unlike the stamp, which he said would have to be done in the back at secondary...I thought that was interesting. We were through customs in 2 minutes. If only it would always be so easy and all officers would know what to do with it!!

That seems to be the case in Detroit as well.  The officers my wife had seen were well versed in the extension letter. I hadn't heard about the I551 stamp requiring secondary.  As the ROC moves along at a glacial pace, I imagine we may be hearing more of those stories.

[carapuce 35]

Hi all,

 

I just flew back from France to Los Angeles with the extension letter for the first time.

 

The (lowcost) airline staff seemed used to dealing with that kind of situation. The lady that was in charge of checking travelers' visas/passport... just double checked with her manager and it took 1 minute.

 

At the border, here in LA, the officer read the letter, asked my spouse and I a few basic questions and let us go through within 2 minutes.

 

Feel free to ask me more detail.

 

 

[sddude89 31]

On ‎9‎/‎5‎/‎2017 at 5:24 PM, theanswerisdance said:

...he also said he prefers the letter to the I-551 stamp because he can process the letter right at the desk, unlike the stamp, which he said would have to be done in the back at secondary...

I just entered on I-551 stamp at LAX and it took me two minutes to get through.

 

There is no such a thing as "secondary" at immigration that I know of.

There can be secondary screening at customs (bags x-ray, search, etc.)

[Immigration and customs control are two different things]

[theanswerisdance 144]

8 minutes ago, sddude89 said:

I just entered on I-551 stamp at LAX and it took me two minutes to get through.

 

There is no such a thing as "secondary" at immigration that I know of.

There can be secondary screening at customs (bags x-ray, search, etc.)

[Immigration and customs control are two different things]

That's good to hear you had a smooth experience with the stamp! With regards to CBP there is secondary inspection for immigration (I believe a number of VJ users have had experiences with it when traveling on the extension letter, and I've been there a couple times myself though not while traveling on the extension letter). In my home airport it's just an office off to the side of the main immigration kiosks where they conduct further processing. With any luck you'll never have to go there! Fortunately my experiences have always been quick, i.e. an extra few minutes, but I would be more stressed to be sent there if I had to make a connecting flight afterwards.

[sddude89 31]

9 hours ago, theanswerisdance said:

That's good to hear you had a smooth experience with the stamp! With regards to CBP there is secondary inspection for immigration (I believe a number of VJ users have had experiences with it when traveling on the extension letter, and I've been there a couple times myself though not while traveling on the extension letter). In my home airport it's just an office off to the side of the main immigration kiosks where they conduct further processing. With any luck you'll never have to go there! Fortunately my experiences have always been quick, i.e. an extra few minutes, but I would be more stressed to be sent there if I had to make a connecting flight afterwards.

The I-551 stamp has existed for decades

The sole fact of having an extension letter or a I-551 stamp is no reason for getting the reported "secondary screening" at all.

 

As unofficial as it may look (both the stamp or the letter) the immigration officers are familiar with them and people should not worry about entering the US with such docs.

 

If someone got pulled aside for the reported secondary screening, there were probably OTHER reasons for it.

[theanswerisdance 144]

9 minutes ago, sddude89 said:

The I-551 stamp has existed for decades

The sole fact of having an extension letter or a I-551 stamp is no reason for getting the reported "secondary screening" at all.

 

As unofficial as it may look (both the stamp or the letter) the immigration officers are familiar with them and people should not worry about entering the US with such docs.

 

If someone got pulled aside for the reported secondary screening, there were probably OTHER reasons for it.

Actually, it's not unusual for people with the stamp (or the letter) to be sent to secondary simply because procedure varies from POE to POE. It's not a matter of "worry" or having done something wrong, but simply that in some cases, that's how that particular POE (or even that particular IO) opts to handle it. A simple search of the forums on this topic will provide you with plenty of stories of this. In many instances, a trip to secondary required nothing more than fingerprinting, the same procedure which is often just as easily done by the primary IOs. I think many of us can vouch for the fact that the experiences at various POE are nothing if not inconsistent.

[sddude89 31]

5 minutes ago, theanswerisdance said:

Actually, it's not unusual for people with the stamp (or the letter) to be sent to secondary simply because procedure varies from POE to POE. It's not a matter of "worry" or having done something wrong, but simply that in some cases, that's how that particular POE (or even that particular IO) opts to handle it. A simple search of the forums on this topic will provide you with plenty of stories of this. In many instances, a trip to secondary required nothing more than fingerprinting, the same procedure which is often just as easily done by the primary IOs. I think many of us can vouch for the fact that the experiences at various POE are nothing if not inconsistent.

You are missing the point of what I said.

 

I am not saying that people with extension letters, I-551 stamps, advance paroles don't go to secondary screening.

Heck, I bet that Green Card Holders and even US citizens also get pulled for secondary screening ocasionally.

 

There is evidence that people with stamp get pulled aside at certain POE. Fine. I am sure there are tons of examples on this forum (duh!)

That evidence does make me firmly conclude that at certain POE ALL people with a letter or STAMP get secondary screening (As there are many other facts that are left untold on this forum which could also offer an explanation).

 

[sddude89 31]

37 minutes ago, sddude89 said:

 

That evidence does make me firmly conclude that at certain POE ALL people with a letter or STAMP get secondary screening (As there are many other facts that are left untold on this forum which could also offer an explanation).

 

*does not