Warning stamp in my passport

I think it depends  on the Immigration officer who is  working and if they had lunch already.. 

I came  as an american  to visit for  6 months,..(which is  allowed and legal)  I HAD  a return ticket  and  was definately going back  to the united  states..  DH and I had  already booked  our  Xmas  trip..  .. she asked me all kinds of questions  about   how I was  going to support  myself  and who i was  staying with.. ..I was  married  but had  no proof.. (our license  hadn't posted  anywhere  in the states..so we couldn't get a  spousal  visa.. i wa  sgoing to get it at xmas.. ) 

so i came as a visitor (to see my fiance...technically my husband)  with a  return  ticket  already paid  for!!..)  well  she  thought I was  trying to stay  forever ..and  when  she  was  given the paperwork  to fill out  she  gave the reason that  I didn't have a return ticket  to the UNited  States..  Total  Bull sh*t)  well  I have a cross in my passport..basically she  crossed  out  the stamp that let's  you in..  and  I was sent  home to the US  the following morning..    but low and  behold.. they sent  me BACK  with  the return ticket  they said I didn't have!!          hhmmm..  (so i  went  back  to the states  for  another month and  got my visa  sorted.. )

since then I have traveled  to  sicily and was asked  about it..  to the states..  have come back  to  Birmingham and  have been asked  about it..  but now  i have  my visa in  my passport..   now DH  comes in my line  with  me  everytime no matter  where  we  travel..   (being separated  like that  that first time  was traumatic..all of a sudden  I didn't come  out  to  get my bags.. )  well you can imagine...  sigh* 

Thanks Liz.... I could have sworn that I posted something. Maybe I posted it to the wrong thread! That would be JUST like me.

Anyway my question for Garry was re this quote:

the 6 months spent leave thing is a constructive rule, not a legal limitation.  Somehow this got vectored on the Internet as a legal thing, and now people just believe it to be true.

I just wanted to make sure that I was hearing Garry right - if an immo officer stamps your passport "leave to remain in the UK for/until 6 months, no work recourse to public funds" thats actually just a GUIDE? You mean you can stay over your 6 months if you want to as long as you dont work or access public funds? Somehow that doesnt seem right - then again as you said its come across that its a legal thing - maybe its not. I always thought you could be picked up and deported if you overstayed the amount of time stamped in your visa. Am I hearing you right? Just gotta make sure.

Thanks
Sarah

I don't think that's what Garry meant. You can't overstay your visa. I think what he was saying was that there is no legal provision that says visitors can only stay for 6 months in every 12, that is just a Home Office guideline. Not that Ii want to be putting words in anyone's mouth but that's my understanding of what he said.

I think Garry was trying to say that visitors aren't guaranteed six months.  If the IO wants to give a visitor two months (or whatever), they can.  The six months is just a guide in that it's the maximum time a visitor can spend in the UK, but not the amount of time that every visitor will be given.

hmmm ok two views on what Garry said. hmmm...  Gary?

Hehe...we're all very good at interpreting what other people mean!   

GARRY?   

I always thought you could be picked up and deported if you overstayed the amount of time stamped in your visa. Am I hearing you right? Just gotta make sure.

First things first:  To overstay one's visa is a criminal act.  It doesn't matter if one was intending to settle here or not, it's a criminal act any which way you roll it.

BUT that was not what I was referring to.  I was referring to the "spent leave" rule, the 6 months out of 12 months thingie that is vectored all over the internet as sort of immutable law - which it is *NOT*.  You can see, even on this board, people babbling on about it who actually have no idea what they are talking about.  They are just vectoring stuff from "other" forums.

So let's have a look at the Entry Clearance Manual again (Chapter 2, Annex A): 

..There is no restriction on the number of visits a person may make to the United Kingdom nor any requirement that a specified time must elapse between successive visits. The fact that a person has made a series of visits with only brief intervals between them would not, in the absence of any other relevant factors, constitute sufficient ground for refusal... 

That looks pretty clear.  And then it goes on to say:

"...It is reasonable, however, for the immigration officer to consider the stated purpose of the visit in the light of the length of time that has elapsed since previous visits. A visitor should not, for example, normally spend more than 6 out of any 12 months in this country (but see Section 3 of this chapter in the case of visitors for private medical treatment)..."

The key words here are "reasonable", "should not", and "normally".  It's a constructive rule, not a policy.  If somebody has a good reason to be here, then they simply need to convince the IO of it and that's that. 

I recently answered an enquiry from an American woman who came in on a visitor's visa last September to stay with her bf.  They went to Scandinavia for Christmas and re-entered in January where she got a new standard 6 months visitor visa.  So she's good until 7 July, and that makes 10 months!  All legit.  And yes, poise, aplomb, confidence had much to do with it.  It all depends upon what the IO is thinking and the whether or not you have a good reason to be in the UK.

If the IO thinks you are dodgy, or even *worse* suspects that you have a typically American cavalier attitude towards UK immigration law, you will *NOT* get in if he can nail you on "spent leave".  It's constructive.

Hope that clarifies. 

Thank you Garry! I thought I was misreading your post but I thought Id better make sure

That's excellent. Thanks very much Garry. Your expertise is greatly appreciated.

I have a question. I recently went to visit my fiance in November, I stayed 2 weeks and all went well getting in,when I returned back to the US however the US immigration officer did not stamp my passport, I asked why and they said it's in the system that I returned. I recently sent in all my documents for my VAF2 fiance visa, so will I be questioned about this or will they look it up in the system that I did not over stay my visit?

If your passport was scanned upon re-entry to the US, it's the same as getting stamped.  You'll be fine with your VAF2.  My passport has only been stamped one time upon re-entry to the US and I've never had trouble going back and forth (even before I had my visa).

That's good to hear! I was also wondering if they question you about past visits, especially if they're up to 6 months. I have a stamp in my passport above the normal one they usually stamp with "6 months" written in..no working or recourse to public funds I think it said.

You'll probably be asked about that stamp.  I was asked about mine -- I'd gotten it because I admitted that I was entering the UK to see my boyfriend.  The IO wanted to know if he was my fiance and if I had a job to return to in the US, etc.  It wasn't a big deal and I was honest about it, but I was really surprised to be asked about it over two years later at the interview for my spousal visa!

as far  as I know  EVERYONE who has  a   passport is  in  'the system'..   

I wasn't asked about my 6 month stamp at all, unless they ask when I go over