IO questions upon return to USA

I've noticed this too...Both last November and just a few weeks ago were definitely more than 'welcome home.'  In November, the gentleman asked me 'Are you traveling alone?'.  To which i answered 'Yes'.  Then he said 'Why?'

Ummmm......what?!?  Why?!?! Why am i traveling alone? 

Because no one wanted to go with me?  Because i like to be alone?  Friendless??

What could be the point of that question?  This still baffles me for some reason....

I really really hope he meant why you're traveling, not why you're traveling alone and was just didn't put it well. Cause what are you supposed to say to that?

I've also been questioned when entering and even though it's never rude, I still find it annoying though I'm not sure why. I'd never refuse to answer them and I'm always polite but I really dislike the fact that I gotta explain why I'm in a country where I hold citizenship and where I'll be staying and what my plans are while I am there.

i got it every time in 3 1/2 years,  but the first time i came home after a year(from europe,and we wonder why i was bounced ) they asked me what i was doing in prague over and over again and what "they"did in prague over and over again, so i finally just said  "they"drink alot over there so that is pretty much what i have been doing...he seemed to find that funny and laughed then said welcome home!

I have never had anyone treat me rudely when I return, but yes I do get questions. Most often they seem pretty standard to me, how long was I in England, why was I there, what did I do there, etc. The one time I was completely taken off guard was when I replied I was visiting my boyfriend and the next question was "did you get married". I laughed and said "not today", to which the IO laughed and sent me on my way. 

I got quite a few questions the last time I went back--the guy was very confused by my surname, and then by the name of the town where my parents live. He also wanted to know what I did after I told him that I live and work in the UK. It did get to the point of seeming borderline rude to me in my just-off-the-plane sleep-deprived state. Especially when he asked, straight-faced and in a tone of disbelief, "Is that a real town?"

I've only been back to the States once, and flew into Newark.  The IO I had was flat out RUDE.  Where have I been, why was I there, since I lived abroad why was I coming back, where was my partner, where was my baby, and on and on.  I never got a welcome back, he just flung my passport back at me after a while and told me to leave and go to baggage claim.  Same trip, DH got a really nice IO who just welcome to the US and have a good vacation.

I've been travelling back for over 20 years and always get a 'welcome home' and that is going through a variety of airports.

Once well before the 9/11 hysteria, I got a real bellicose IO at JFK. 

He said "You live in the UK?" all snarly like

I said "Yessir"

He said "Where do you *WORK* ?"

I said "Abbey National"

He said "What's **THAT**?"

I said "It's a UK mortgage provider and end-user in the UK capital markets"

He mulled that over and said "Is it a religious organization?"

I said "Nosir, the name comes from its earlier formation as the Abbey Road Building Society."

He glared at me, handed back my passport, and mumbled something...

It that strange or what?

When I went back at Christmas, I brought my UK husband with me through the US line.

His response when my husband handed him his passport: 'I guess we'll let him in, even though we kicked these guys out in the war', and then laughed at his own 'joke' 

When I went back at Christmas, I brought my UK husband with me through the US line.

His response when my husband handed him his passport: 'I guess we'll let him in, even though we kicked these guys out in the war', and then laughed at his own 'joke' 

Oh yeah- one of the IOs asked me, why would you want to live in the UK when we spent so much time trying to break free from them? 
And I'm thinking that was 220 years ago! Name me one 220 year old person who remembers that and then we can have a discussion. 

I get those "why would you want to live there?  stay here, don't go back!" remarks all the time.  I usually just tell them that my cats would be super pissed if I didn't go back, and oddly enough they leave me alone.  Maybe I exude some sort of crazy cat lady vibe...

Once I landed in Venice Italy when my wife had a non-EU passport, and the queue was HUGE.

There were 4 IO's on duty:  1 was checking passports.  One was doing queue management telling people at the end they had to queue up outside  because so many people inside violated the fire regulations.

The other two were standing to one side laughing about how long the queue was.   

Once I landed in Venice Italy when my wife had a non-EU passport, and the queue was HUGE.

There were 4 IO's on duty:  1 was checking passports.  One was doing queue management telling people at the end they had to queue up outside  because so many people inside violated the fire regulations.

The other two were standing to one side laughing about how long the queue was.   

It takes a special type of sadist to become an IO or Customs Officer...

I wouldn't want to be an IO- but I wouldn't mind being the one who decides whether or not visas get approved or not...
But I have too big a heart and I'd probably let everyone in, so its probably best that I am not in that position. 

Interestingly enough, I find it interesting that you apply to live in another country, to people who actually live in your country.  What I mean is, when you're a person working in the British Consulate in Chicago, you're living in the states, but saying yes or no to someone who is moving to where you came from... 

I usually just get "Welcome Home" as well, but once I had a friendly IO in Chicago who asked me why I'd been in the UK (holiday) and then asked, "Why would you fly all the way over there when there's so much to see here in the US?"

I said, "I've taken so many vacations to see things like a cattle drive in Dodge City, a house built with dinosaur bones, a dime Annie Oakley shot a hole through and the world's largest ball of twine. I think I've done enough Roadside America for a lifetime."

(Not that those things weren't interesting and I didn't learn a lot, but 1) as a child you can only visit so many museums before your head wants to explode and 2) you don't ever, ever, ever want to be in Dodge City, Kansas during August. Between the smells of the feedlots and the abbatoirs, it's not really fun.)

When I went back at Christmas, I brought my UK husband with me through the US line.

His response when my husband handed him his passport: 'I guess we'll let him in, even though we kicked these guys out in the war', and then laughed at his own 'joke' 

Our first time back as a family (husband UK, me + 2 kids US), the guy looked at our passports and said, "So, three citizens and one alien."

So. not. funny.