Guilty until proven innocent

This is about my most recent visit to the UK to spend time with my wife there until we can live together permanently.
The flight itself on United was ok, just ok, not great. They didn't have enough blankets to go around for everyone, so some of us had to stay cold. we landed at Heathrow airport a little early and went to passport control with no qeue ahead of our flight, so it went quickly. I got up to the immigration officer and she looked at my passport asked me questions, and then took my passort off me, handed me a sheet of paper saying why I was being detained and had me sit down. I was probably there for an hour before someone came back to take me to get my bags from baggage claim. Then he took me into a room and had me put them on a table so he could dig through them for "documents" (what he said he was looking for). He even counted my cash. Then he took me into another room where he took my picture, got my fingerprints and put me in the system. After that he led me down to a holding area where he locked up my bags in a separate room and I was kept there for the rest of my time of being detained. The guard down there patted me down and kept an eye on me through CCTV. I wasn't allowed to have my cellphone in there (no pictures were allowed) but there was a payphone in there so I got some change off the guard and rang my wife to let her know I was ok and what was going on. She had been waiting for me since my flight arrived. Immigration had even talked to her asking her a bunch of questions as well! Then another immigration officer took me into an interrogation room where she asked me a series of questions abut my purpose for being there and wrote down what she asked and my answers all in my file. She told me her colleague wasn't convinced I was going to leave when I said I was going to leave and they wanted to establish my purpose for being in the country. I told them the same thing at every turn, that I was just there for 2 weeks and at the end of that I was returning to the US. They kept me down in the detainment area for awhile longer (I tihnk Loose Women was on the TV down there) and she came back in and told me she talked with the immigration supervisor and had to convince him to let me enter the country, but on the stipulation that I was to leave at the end of my 2 weeks, not the 6 months that the passport stamp says and what is normally allowed for US citizens to do. I hadn't done anything wrong, hadn't broken the law in any way, and yet I was treated like a virtual criminal! My flight got in a little after 8 in the morning, and I was finally released about 1:30 in the afternoon. I was, for all intents and purposes, a Detainee of the UK for 5 hours. Being held without charge, having committed no crime.

They did not have to let you in the country at all.

Not a very pleasant experience but I suppose they have to check out why you are coming in to the country as a visitor when your wife lives here, rather than obtaining entry clearance as a spouse.  At least you got through in the end, could have been a LOT worse.

Very sorry to hear about your terrible experience. I sometimes wonder why the UK even allows US folks to travel there via the VWP given all of the suspicion and frustration that they put people through upon arrival. Yes there are folks that abuse the system and they should be questioned but what you went through was a bit OTT.

If you think that was bad, just wait until you try to open a bank account in the UK.  

Did you have supporting documentation to prove that you had strong ties to the US were not going to overstay?

Surely in this situation the onus is on you to have enough evidence to show that you are complying with UK law? As the UKBA are under no obligation to let you through the border at all.

Very sorry to hear about your terrible experience. I sometimes wonder why the UK even allows US folks to travel there via the VWP given all of the suspicion and frustration that they put people through upon arrival.

Seems a bit harsh. We do hear a lot of those stories, but we have to remember that overall, I bet a rather small minority really get hassled, much less detained or bounced. We, on UKY, prep people to expect treatment like that sometimes but that doesn't mean it happens to everyone.

And it would fill out the story some, not to mention help people out dealing with this in the future, if he explain what kinds of questions the IO asked him (and what answers he gave) before she gave him the detention notice.

Seems a bit harsh. We do hear a lot of those stories, but we have to remember that overall, I bet a rather small minority really get hassled, much less detained or bounced. We, on UKY, prep people to expect treatment like that sometimes but that doesn't mean it happens to everyone.

And you have to admit, more people join this board and post "oh no I was bounced now what?" over people who post happy "hey I got through!" posts.

And you have to admit, more people join this board and post "oh no I was bounced now what?" over people who post happy "hey I got through!" posts.

True but it doesn't mean that more people get bounced then let in.  It just means that those who are bounced find it note worthy to post while those who are let it don't.  I have been here 5 years and have taken around 30 trips during that time.  My family have also come to visit on multiple occasions.  If I posted at every turn that we made it through fine, you guys would think I was a nutter at worst and annoying at best.

Very sorry to hear about your terrible experience. I sometimes wonder why the UK even allows US folks to travel there via the VWP given all of the suspicion and frustration that they put people through upon arrival. Yes there are folks that abuse the system and they should be questioned but what you went through was a bit OTT.

If you think that was bad, just wait until you try to open a bank account in the UK.  

If you don't like it, you know where the door is.

True but it doesn't mean that more people get bounced then let in.  It just means that those who are bounced find it note worthy to post while those who are let it don't.  I have been here 5 years and have taken around 30 trips during that time.  My family have also come to visit on multiple occasions.  If I posted at every turn that we made it through fine, you guys would think I was a nutter at worst and annoying at best.

I think that's what she was trying to say...

And Contrex, this is the grievances area. I think it's a given what posts are going to be about.

And you have to admit, more people join this board and post "oh no I was bounced now what?" over people who post happy "hey I got through!" posts.

ETA: Basically, what Sara Smile said.

If you don't like it, you know where the door is.

Right -- cause that is the constructive way of dealing with stories like these. Just because they are legally allowed to do what they've done, doesn't always mean they should have. Every couple of weeks, there's a story on the visa board of IOs being unjustifiably a*&seholeish when questioning Americans (both men and women.) When I personally know two people who, while entering under different circumstances, different airports, 6 months apart, both got lectures on how "..Americans are so-and-so! And how entitled they are!" when I am fairly certain they didn't act in any way that deserves it (I prepped them -- I distinctly remember "To minimize hassle,  honest + humble + unassuming = best!" being mentioned several times.) I'm thinking a solution more nuanced than "Don't let the door hit ya where the good Lord split ya!" is called for.

P.S. Let me just short-circuit the inevitable "But it's TRUE!" post, by pointing out that there are tons of more appropriate threads/forums to have that argument and "taking Americans down a peg or two." is probably not in IOs' job descriptions.

P.P.S. Yes, US-side IOs can be bastards too, and it's not usually any more justified on that end either.

P.P.P.S. Without knowing more details, we can't judge 100% that they were unjustified in this particular case, but knowing history, if they were, it would not be unprecedented.

Seems a bit harsh. We do hear a lot of those stories, but we have to remember that overall, I bet a rather small minority really get hassled, much less detained or bounced. We, on UKY, prep people to expect treatment like that sometimes but that doesn't mean it happens to everyone.

And it would fill out the story some, not to mention help people out dealing with this in the future, if he explain what kinds of questions the IO asked him (and what answers he gave) before she gave him the detention notice.

I don't think what I said was harsh, truly I don't understand why the UK even allows the VWP when so many people are stopped and questioned? If you are coming over for a visit and they allow you six months, then why all of the questions?

Most people visiting aren't even staying for that long. Of course, if they come over on a one-way ticket, that should be questioned.

If you don't like it, you know where the door is.

LOL! Oh, I saw the door and the brick walls....many times, had enough, packed up and moved own my merry way...

I don't think what I said was harsh,

Jumping from "few people get questioned!" to "dump VWP altogether?" Yeah, seems pretty harsh. You can also read "harsh" as "unreasonable" if that clarifies my view of your post any.

What it sounds like you're saying is "It seems silly that some fairly small portion of perspective visitors get hassles on entrance! Let's scrap the whole thing and make everyone apply for an advanced visa instead." Which..really?  

There seems to be a general misconception that VWP should equal an unquestioned open door. I'm not sure where people would get the idea that that's reasonable. And even if that is not what you're saying, unless you know something I don't, we're still quite a way away before the possible hassle of being occasionally questioned and even less possible hassle of being detained and yet even less possible hassle of being actually bounced outweighs the hassle/expense of advanced visa application.