k.dlg
Difficulty:  | Review Topic: Port of Entry Review
Firstly, everything was very easy and there was no harassment whatsoever, but the organization was terrible.
I visited my hubby (beneficiary) and his family in the UK before we flew back together through IAH, and we were informed to stand in the visitors line together to go through CBP. This wasn't too bad since there were many lanes open which was out of the ordinary since there's usually just a few open, and we didn't wait more than 5 minutes to go up to the first CBP officer.
The first CBP officer looked absolutely miserable, though I don't really blame him since he had to work Labor Day weekend, but anyway, he hardly acknowledged us while we were standing there and simply took my hubby's documents and passport after he told him he was entering on a CR-1 visa. He then scanned my passport and gave mine back before telling us we would be escorted by another officer. He directed us to stand behind his desk and wait to be escorted.
Within a few minutes, an officer started escorting several other people with us and collected everyone's documents from the initial CBP officers and organized them into different folders. We then followed him into a room on the other side of the massive Customs hall where there was already a lot of people sitting in absolute silence (you could hear people across the room breathing) with only 3 CBP officers working (1 in training). He started separating the folders in his hand into different boxes labeled "LPRs, Paroles, and Other", "Immigrant Visas", and I couldn't make out the 3rd box. Obviously, my hubby's folder went into the "Immigrant Visa" box and was the only one in there while the "LPRs, Paroles, and Other" pile kept growing.
The overall feel of the room made us feel like we were in the wrong room because it appeared like everyone there was nervous about something, or they were about to be deported back to their countries. We were the only smiling and giddy ones in the room that kept getting more cramped because more and more people were arriving. Our box wasn't getting touched at all and it appeared as though they were trying to alphabetize the "LPRs, Paroles, and Other" box for some order though that didn't seem fair since there were a lot of people waiting already, and we dreaded that they would go through that massive pile before they got to us.
After waiting an HOUR, more CBP officers started trickling in and it went from 3 who weren't doing ANYTHING but tapping their pens, to about 7 or 8 officers and the folders were actually being handed out to several of them to be worked on. After another few minutes, I glanced up to look around and saw my hubby's passport sitting on one of the officer's desks and he was going through the packet, took everything out, and quietly typed away for about 5 minutes on his computer when everything was spread out. After he finishing typing, he stood up and called my hubby and asked him to sign a paper and took his right index fingerprint, stamped a few things including his CR-1 Visa, and told him he was free to go, and that was it!
It was very anticlimactic and we were surprised that the 2nd CBP officer didn't ask a single question. We got out of there and I jumped up and down and hugged him before we collected our luggage that was waiting for us (the only luggage left from our flight). The final step was managing to move 9 pieces of luggage between the two of us through customs where we handed over our form and were worried we would have to pay duty on his stuff he moved over, but they waved it off since it was "household goods." We finally walked through those doors into the International Arrivals hall where my parents were waiting for us with "Welcome Home!" signs.
Sigh. Can't believe our visa journey is over. Next step, receiving his SSN, Green Card, and then more fun dealing with USCIS for ROC and then citizenship! Hooray!
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Port of Entry Member Review #15732
Entry Date: 2014-08-30