Which line at the airport should my parents take when entering with IR5 immigrant visa (merged)

[calberry 18]

My parents are arriving next week with their IR5 immigrant visa finally! Does anyone know which line they should take when entering the airport at SFO? I think there's 2 lines, one for visitors and one for permanent residents and citizens. I wasn't sure what to tell them since they're neither at this point.

[JeanneAdil 6,483]

non USC line as they need to go thru immigration

and are not yet LPR

[Mike E 11,739]

Visitor line. 

 

 

[calberry 18]

3 minutes ago, Mike E said:

Visitor line. 

 

I spent some time googling after I posted this and this website says the opposite 😅

 

https://www.alllaw.com/articles/nolo/us-immigration/entering-on-immigrant-visa-green-card.html

 

Maybe this means it's not important which line they go in? I know my parents would feel calmer going in the visitors line since that's the line they've used dozens of times.

 

Related to their entry, is there a way to verify what address they will be mailing their green cards to? When we started the process years ago we lived in a different address and want to make sure they send it to our current address.

[Mike E 11,739]

23 minutes ago, calberry said:

I spent some time googling after I posted this and this website says the opposite 😅

 

https://www.alllaw.com/articles/nolo/us-immigration/entering-on-immigrant-visa-green-card.html

 

That article is listed as being written by someone named Tiffney Johnson. 

 

I cannot find this person in  https://www.ailalawyer.com

 

The website that person has lists to physical address for a law office. 
 

No entry in google maps or Yelp. 
 

 

Any way, if they use the LPR line, IMHO,

 

* They will probably be screamed at for not using their GCs at the kiosk.

 

* LPR line is for LPRs who can enjoy faster processing as a benefit from their status. They have no status.

 

23 minutes ago, calberry said:

Related to their entry, is there a way to verify what address they will be mailing their green cards to? When we started the process years ago we lived in a different address and want to make sure they send it to our current address.

There is no 100 percent certain way to verify this because of the reality of human error.
 

That said I have yet to hear of a case where after giving CBP the correct address, the GC was sent to the wrong address. Though I have heard of cases where the GC was never sent. 

 

They should set up online USCIS accounts, and change their address there too. 
 

They should also change their address using online AR-11.

 

I would not have paid the GC fee until inside the U.S.  

Edited July 29, 2023 by Mike E

[JeanneAdil 6,483]

Rather than tell them and maybe you tell the wrong line and they get embarrassed by CBP telling they are in the wrong line,  why not tell them to find the agents that are there to direct them properly to the right line

every large airport has agents to assist when the international flights come in

 

The lines for non US citizens are the ones with multiple language speakers

[Allaboutwaiting 2,503]

As @JeanneAdil advices, tell them to just ask an agent to direct them to the proper queue as it varies between airports and even times of the day.

[JeanneAdil 6,483]

20 minutes ago, Allaboutwaiting said:

As @JeanneAdil advices, tell them to just ask an agent to direct them to the proper queue as it varies between airports and even times of the day.

i  just know someone got in wrong line and CBP was rude and this is not the way to start off living in US

[Allaboutwaiting 2,503]

3 minutes ago, JeanneAdil said:

i  just know someone got in wrong line and CBP was rude and this is not the way to start off living in US

That's why it is better to ask an agent. If something goes wrong, they can put the blame on someone else. 😁

 

And thing is there is no set rule; it depends on how crowded the place is, how many CBP officers are working that day, how many planes are arriving at that point and where from, etc.

[Mike E 11,739]

3 hours ago, JeanneAdil said:

Rather than tell them and maybe you tell the wrong line and they get embarrassed by CBP telling they are in the wrong line,  why not tell them to find the agents that are there to direct them properly to the right line

every large airport has agents to assist when the international flights come in

 

The lines for non US citizens are the ones with multiple language speakers

 

2 hours ago, Allaboutwaiting said:

As @JeanneAdil advices, tell them to just ask an agent to direct them to the proper queue as it varies between airports and even times of the day.

 

1 hour ago, JeanneAdil said:

i  just know someone got in wrong line and CBP was rude and this is not the way to start off living in US

Except that those “agents” are not CBP employees and they do not know the rules.
 

For example, each time I traveled to the U.S. with my fiancee / wife before she became an LPR, the “agents” insisted I separate from her  and enter the U.S. citizen line. This was neither going to happen nor was it proper procedure: each family or household traveling together is expected to present themselves as one party to a human  CBP officer for inspection.

 

 

[calberry 18]

Haha I expecting this question to have a simple answer. Since I'm not 100% sure what the correct answer is I'll ask my parents to ask which line to get on or if they feel more comfortable to just go to the visitors line at the SFO airport.

 

In case it helps, it says at https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-visas/immigrate/the-immigrant-visa-process/step-10-prepare-for-the-interview/step-12-after-the-interview.html that "When you are admitted, you will enter as a Lawful Permanent Resident, also called a green card holder" which to me implies they should go to the LPR line but maybe I'm not reading it correctly.

[Mike E 11,739]

12 minutes ago, calberry said:

ask my parents to ask which line to get on

IME they will get the wrong answer at SFO

 

12 minutes ago, calberry said:

just go to the visitors line at the SFO airport.

Correct.

 

12 minutes ago, calberry said:

Lawful Permanent Resident, also called a green card holder" which to me implies they should go to the LPR line but maybe I'm not reading it correctly.

 You  not reading it correctly.

 

Some people with immigration visas think it is a fore gone conclusion they will be admitted on their visa. This is a falsehood. Not everybody gets in.

Edited July 29, 2023 by Mike E

[Chancy 6,241]

*** Moved from Bringing Family of USC forum to Moving to the US forum, where similar topics about POE procedures are discussed ***

 

53 minutes ago, calberry said:

Since I'm not 100% sure what the correct answer is I'll ask my parents to ask which line to get on or if they feel more comfortable to just go to the visitors line at the SFO airport.

 

As others already mentioned, have your parents ask the ushers at the SFO immigration line where they should go.

 

I entered through SFO multiple times when I had my B visa.  Once I was told to line up at the USC/LPR line because the visitors line had too many people already.  DFW was my POE when I entered with my immigrant visa.  There I was told to go to the visitors line, even after I repeated to the usher that I'm entering with my immigrant visa.

 

[African Zealot 1,455]

This kind of question gets asked a lot. Ultimately it doesn’t matter, you will be redirected if you get in the wrong line

[Mike E 11,739]

24 minutes ago, African Zealot said:

you will be redirected if you get in the wrong line

Let me fix that for you:

 

you will be screamed at if you get in the wrong line

 

I’ve contributed all I can, and I don’t wish to argue or bicker, so I won’t post more in this thread.