On a trip home....

Me and my brit wife are going back to the states for a visit around thanksgiving.  
My question is this:
I'm wondering what the precedure is for once we land in detroit metro....we've never flown internationally together so  i'm wondering what happens when it's time to go through immigration...do we have to split up, me through the u.s. line and my wife through the visitors line?  Or can we both go in the same line...if we did that i'm figuring that we would have to go through the visitors line together being that my wife is british and they should be able to still verify everything is good with me.
I'm hoping that we don't have to split up...that would bite.

The question also goes the other way around...how's it work  when we come back to England.
I'm all set with my visa's...i have indefinite leave to remain.

So if anyone has had any experience with this please let me know i'd really appreciate it.

thanks
-bob

Bob no need to use the visitors line on either side of the pond as long as youre travelling as husband and wife. You may find however that neither line moves very fast either way!

REALLY???

Last time we flew into Detroit, which is where we almost always fly into, we went into separate lines cuz that's what we thought we had to do! Me having nothing but a FLR visa, no british passport or anything...

Families are allowed to enter either country together and be checked in individually but also as a family unit which is why you'll see small groups step up to the immigration officers desk at the same time. They'll check each individuals passport but will allow the family unit to enter together as long as you have the proper paperwork. As callous as they seem sometimes they do get some sensitivity training and there's nothing particularly specialized about the checks in either line,its all immigration.

Alright cool.
Thanks for the advice!
Sounds like it should go smoothly then.

-bob

You've already received the advice you need Bob, but I'll just toss my experience into the ring.  We've only gone in two separate lines once and that was when I initially came over.  We should've just gone through together.  When we went back to the US the first time that's what we did.  Now, we always go through together and we just go through whatever line happens to be the shortest.  

This is good to know - I'd been wondering myself as we're going back for Thanksgiving and it will be the first time Phil and I fly together (oh the thrill of being at an airport and one NOT having to leave the other behind...).  I'd read other posts about this before, but everyone seems to give such varied advice.  Going with Celtic and elle on this one.  Shortest line gets the honour of our motley crew!  

I'll vouch for this as well...been taking the shortest line (whichever one it was) for years now.

Hubby politely asks the immigration official 'Is it OK if my wife comes through the blue line with me, she has a British passport?' So far it has always worked.