Leaving in a couple weeks, nervous.

thats the thing, ill actually go to one.....i dont plan on more than one  but like i said, you never know.

I have somewhere that i can go already, and I am wanted there but if i/we get bored it will be something we can go do. I plan on actually buying and going to atleast one.... in ireland probably.

im not trying to decieve anyone, just trying to prove that i am in no way trying to settle in the UK.

You can come to the Isle of Man as well..we have no IO at our borders...

Oh, good to know!  Thanks for the info.

An IO can only refuse entry to someone who has been granted prior entry clearance if he believes that the situation has changed since the visa was granted or that the applicant used deception in getting the visa.  It does't happen often, and there would be a right of appeal.

Vicky

understandable. Then again, the return flight home is a good chunk of change wasted if I didnt use it.

actually one way flights are more expensive than return so that's likely not true many people have bought return tickets and not used the return leg because it costs more to buy a one-way ticket. I'm sure the IO's know this.

i wont be spending all my savings either....i highly doubt i will spend much money at all.

Sorry, but to me this statement shows that you, as a potential visitor, haven't done your research at all. All of those things you've listed that you would like to do as a tourist (London Eye, Big Ben, etc) are actually pretty expensive. Staying in England, especially London, for 6 months as a visitor is actually a pretty expensive holiday. Even just doing the 'normal' stuff, like going to the movies is ridiculously priced.

Also the whole backpacking discussion reminds me of an article in the Irish Times about 3 American tourists who wanted to backpack around Ireland. They were refused entry because they had no address on their landing card and they didn't have proof of funds for their trip. Pretty interesting stuff since the Irish IO are much more relaxed than the UK ones, particularly with Americans.

http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/ireland/2009/0710/1224250387958.html

thats just travel itinerary, thing i would like to do. Im bringing a lot of funds for someone who will not be living in a hotel but instead living in the home of a close friend.

i will stop at two airports in the UK, the last one being the one I SHOULD get into the UK through. Will I have to deal with 2 different IO?

You'll only go through immigration once and I would think it would be your first stop.

You've been given a lot of advice and opinions here and it's up to you what you do with that information now. Good luck.

yes and i have taken all the advice into account and will use it to my advantage at the border.

I have everything that everyone said i will need, the only thing stopping me apparently is my age and length of stay.

my sponsor will be picking me up at the airport, how would i contact her and tell her not to leave her house in the unlikely event that i should get rejected at immigration?

You can ask the IO to let her know, they may want to speak to her anyway.

that would be great if she could talk to them.

only problem is that i make two stops in the UK and it has been said that i'd get the IO treatment at the first stop.

They could telephone her or if she is already at the other airport, they can get a colleague to speak to her. 

Hopefully it won't come to this anyway.

I think you said you'll have a letter from her? - make sure it includes her contact numbers, and suggest to her that she is phone-reachable around the general time you will be going through immigration.  It is far from unheard of for IOs to phone and make sure the stories match up.

Obviously, she (like you) needs to tell the truth, but you might want to alert her to the possible suspicions an IO would have, just to make sure she doesn't inadvertently say something that could be badly misinterpreted.

As Britwife says, hopefully it won't come to that, but it's far better to be prepared.

only problem is that i make two stops in the UK and it has been said that i'd get the IO treatment at the first stop.

Yes, you will only go through immigration once and that will be when you first enter the UK - when you get off your flight from the US. Once you have landed in the UK and (hopefully) been allowed in, your remaining flights will likely be purely domestic and there will be no immigration controls between UK airports (similar to flying within the US - you only go through immigration when you land in the US from another country, but you don't have to worry about immigration if you're flying from, say, LA to NYC because you were already in the US before you started your trip).

Do be aware though, that if immigration takes a long time, you may end up missing your connecting flights (the airline should put you on the next available flight though). I have been through immigration in the US several times (I'm a UK citizen) and it has taken anywhere from 2 minutes to 3 hours to get through, depending on how many people are in the line (if several planes have landed around the same time, you could be waiting in line with hundreds of other people). I have missed a connection about 4 times in the past few years due to long immigration lines, so now when I fly to the US I try to make sure that I have at least 4 hours between connecting flights to allow for any hold ups at immigration.

awesome info here, thanks.

im sure they have payphones at the airports but they might not accept american currency. I do not want to her to wait around for me if she doesnt have to.

also, them calling her would be a good thing, it would help further prove my legitimacy.

thanks again all

A lot of payphones here take credit cards though so you could use that. Or if you have a tri-band mobile phone, bring that and use it to text her if need be.

But above all, relax!! There's nothing more likely to arouse suspicions than someone looking nervous and sweaty!!