ILR and still always stopped in airports

Long story short, me and my wife ( me uk , she usa) applied for a wedding visa before you didnt need a wedding visa and it was refused, but a few weeks later the law changed and we got our civil partnership, she has since moved here and has her ILR ( we changed our civil partnership to a wedding certificate) but still every time she flys she is taken to the side, given paperwork saying she will have her ILR removed because of this denial from 7 years ago! ( thankfully they let her through )is there a way to get it taken off the system? and when she gets citizenship would she still be questioned if it hasn't been removed? talk about stressfull! and she has mental health issues so her anxiety goes through the roof when they question her!

I don't fully understand...  we may need the long story.

If she has ILR, that supersedes any prior refusal she may have had.  Do you have the exact wording of the paperwork they have given her?  That may help us to understand.

shes not back yet, flying heathrow to manchester, just back from usa for christmas, it must be flagged in the system as a failed visa request for the marriage visa ( when you needed one) so they see that first, make her wait to the side then when they interview her she has to explain it every time, i think the paper work is about why your being invited and what could happen but wont know till shes back home later today, she said the guy didnt understand why its still being brought to their attention because its way before the spouse visa and then ILR , makes no sense to me

If you could type out what it says when she's back, we can help you get it sorted. (Leave out identifying details of course).

I can't provide any advice but how frustrating for your wife.

I wonder who could contact to wipe that non-applicable record off

I can't provide any advice but how frustrating for your wife.

I wonder who could contact to wipe that non-applicable record off

i think once she is home and de stressed lol i will ring the local office where we got the ILR see if they can give any advice etc

When I was an undergrad in the states I got an assignment for an independent study to complete while traveling in the UK (theatre student during festival period).  My uni advised me to go for a Tier 4 visa, but since I wasn't working or staying more than 6 months (I was only there for the summer) it was refused, along with advice that I only needed a student visitor visa.  I got that at the border but for a few years I would get stopped and questioned for ages when coming into the UK.  After a while an immigration officer at Heathrow took pity on me and told me he was putting in a request for my refusal to be expunged from my record as I had followed rules as well as I can etc (as you have).  I never got asked about it again, although I mentioned it on my spouse visa app in 2016.

All this to say, perhaps next time she is questioned, she could ask the border officers at the airport about her record being expunged?  Mine was about 2 years after the refusal.  It has to go through a supervisor but it is something they can request, as long as they feel you are going about everything legally and all.

I don't really know if that happens a lot, and KF and ksand will know a lot more (esp once they see the wording of the letter), but this is my personal experience at least.

After a while an immigration officer at Heathrow took pity on me and told me he was putting in a request for my refusal to be expunged from my record as I had followed rules as well as I can etc (as you have).  I never got asked about it again, although I mentioned it on my spouse visa app in 2016.

I think "expunged" may be a US thing? You might have had a "marker" on your record, that the border officer applied to have removed?

If you applied for the immigration information the UK holds on you (a SAR), that refusal would be there.  UKVI are now required to look back at an applicants history for at least 10 years.  It's fortunate that you mentioned that refusal on your spouse visa application, otherwise it would have been viewed as deception.

Back in 2008, I incorrectly applied for ILR based on bad advice from the HO itself. I know, surprise surprise.

My limited leave continued without a problem, but the next two times I arrived back in the country, I was stopped at passport control. I was issued a IS81 (Authority to detain for (further) examination) and was questioned for about thirty minutes each time.

After the second instance of this, I asked the IO what was going on, and she told me that due to the refusal on my record, I should expect scrutiny at each subsequent entry.

I contacted my MP, informed her of the situation and her staff told me they would look into it. Six months later, I re-entered the country, and there were no questions and no delay. I went on to be granted ILR in 2009 and citizenship in 2010.

This is all about a decade ago now, but it might be worth it to get your MP involved if it's more than a nuisance to you. Mine made a difference, but given the passage of time since then, your mileage may vary?

I think "expunged" may be a US thing? You might have had a "marker" on your record, that the border officer applied to have removed?

If you applied for the immigration information the UK holds on you (a SAR), that refusal would be there.  UKVI are now required to look back at an applicants history for at least 10 years.  It's fortunate that you mentioned that refusal on your spouse visa application, otherwise it would have been viewed as deception.

Well, expunged is the word the border officer used, but I don't hold any illusions that they can't see it on my record when they look. They just stopped treating me like a criminal when I came in, is all.  My assumption is that it used to flag up when they scanned my passport, and that they added a note or something to it to say it's not a big deal or worth stopping me or something.

And yes, that is why I didn't use priority processing for my spouse visa.