held at immigration:(

OH LORRRRRRRRRD
Okay so i am back at home now. I wonder should i put this on a diffrent post. WELL first let me just tell this story TheN post questions to save everyone confusion.

 AS we were all told, it is risky doing what i did. I do realize that I did not have a ligitmate plan/ long enough plans to stay for 6 months. ( GRR) or enough money $4000 dollars!   so i did try. My passport was taken and I was told that I would be able to stay the night in London because htey belived i would not run or anything ( to where?) and that my flight was at 10.am
  WELL that made my boyfriend's father VERY VERY Upset. It is nothing THEY could do about it, but i appreceiate the concern and love.
   They said i was not being deported, just  denied entery..   I got to speak to someone who roamed down on the terminals and spoke with  people that had problems and questions. HE told me i shoudl try for a Settlement Visa, but not to attempt coming back without one or it woudl be a bad idea. ( dont worry)
  SO right now i am trying to figure do i go to the Embasy and ask them what to do or what?
  aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhh hh  i wanna go back so baaaaaaaaad
thanks for the support u guys ..  It's a hard world we live in, but  I love Patch so much, i woudln't trade it. I learned something and NOW i have to figure out what to do. ANY advice woudl ROCK!

I got to speak to someone who roamed down on the terminals and spoke with  people that had problems and questions.

That would be the IAS duty officer, and he may have read your transcript.  Did he give you a card or did you get his name?

When you go to the British consulate to get an entry clearance, which will now be required for you, the ECO and ECM will need to see your transcript also.  Knowing what's in it can be very helpful in preparing your application and designing an immigration strategy.

Ladymoonwalker, what exactly was said at immigration?  What did they ask you?  What evidence did you present to them?

That's the case in the US, but I thought in the UK, that the supervisor makes the decision - the front man has to have a little conference with his boss presenting his evidence, voicing his concerns before a decision is made.

I don't think it is just a case of bad luck that entry was denied.  There must have been something concrete.

yes i know it is ultimately decided by a senior person but it is down to the frontline officer as to whether to let someone through or refer them in the first place;

anyway, good luck ladymoonwalker with your next step - you should definitely contact the consulate, ask them for a copy of the transcript that garry mentioned and then you will have a better idea of what to do next and what kind of entry clearance visa you should be applying for;

you should definitely contact the consulate, ask them for a copy of the transcript that garry mentioned

She can ask, but it only gets released to the advisor who is at the port of entry at the time the denial is being prepared - and all he can do is read it.  After that, nobody from the outside can see it.   It goes to the ECO and ECM at the consulate where she next applies, and then they add on to it. 

The only other time a transcript is released to an advocate is if something goes to the tribunal, which isn't the case for moonwalker.  Next time she should remember to ask the IAS representative to read it and brief her on it.

It will not be significantly different from the notice she was given; but will contain additional notes about what they think she lied about - which might be different from what she thinks happened.  It also contains notes if she were recalictrant or not - which is good to know.

Something I forgot:  whether it's the "front guy" or his boss who makes the decision.  In general I think "Jemima" is right about having a little conference.  But it's good to remember that it's based upon the person's rank.  A refusal can be confirmed by someone at the rank of Consular Officer or above, and since most ECOs are Vice Consuls, it would work the way she described.   Same at the airports where the people who interview and stamp the passports are usually Assistant IOs and the IOs are in the offices.  Exceptions being the smaller consulates and forward controls they are using for the Eurotunnel - those people operate alone. 

Ladymoonwalker,

What airport did you fly into? What questions did they ask you? What was the reason you were denied?

What it have been better if she would've bought a ticket for a couple of weeks and then changed it while in the UK?

HI EVERYONE
thanks for ur replies. Lemee see what I can answer for u all.
  1st of ALL i flew into Heathrow ...
 2nd of all. I had  with me my bank statement ( with $3,800 dollars on it) and  $500 dollars in my pocket ( if u convert this i can see that this probally woudlnt be enough money - being half  dead from the long flight and nervous i didnt think this through)
 3rd.. The front guy( yeah lol i know what u mean guys i got it) went to his supervisor and conversed with him. THEN they got a jolly type guy to search my bags after i found them cos i lost my tags somehow..  which  I did pass sucessfully ( i am in love, not a terrorist lol)
 SO THEN I was asked to come with him and have  a seat.. SO meanwhile all this was going on Poor Patch was looking for me

THen i sat there for what seem liked forever. Then i was taken into another place where i was taken a photo of..  I didnt know what to do. smile or not. They held my bags and i was asked to go into another room  if i wanted a drink of water or something. I said no.. cos i was to nervous to offer. I felt like.. If i say yes  to that what woudl they do lol.
   THEN i had my interview. THey asked easy questions. I KNOW that i didnt give proper answers.
   BASIACLLY this is what is going on.
 I said i was visiting. wanted t see my friends and go around and see the sights. APPARENTLY this does not take 6 monts to do.
  I was asked
 what kind of job i had.
would i be able to return
  * I dont have any job and i do temporary work. THAT is not going to help my case..

Asked: what do my parents do.. How much they make. Where i live .. ect.

Do i think the money I have provided would be enough ? I said YES but i mean what was i supposed to say?
"Naw Gee i was just playin' i thought i would see what happens after the money ran out!" DUH

Who was Patrick
What did he do
Where did he work
Where was I staying.
 * I had said i would stay with him and my friend who I do know that live in Nottingham. but I would stay wiht Patch mostly.
  THEN he asked what kind of hours patch worked
what i would be doing while he was at work
mmmmmmm
I said i woudl get up and go around and look at things I would have planned for htat day.

 He asked if there was conversation..
I said what>?
He said of buying tickets to things or a plan of seeing things.
I said not yet.
 * HE wantedto know if i had had a big huge plan to tour the UK and asked if i had plans of touring the U. K.
 now we were going to the Isle fo Wight. BUT  I didnt know if he wanted me to say i had plans or not : aaaaaaah

They asked me if i was paying rent where I stay?
I said NO.. i was staying with friends.
 He looked at me funny when I said no. HELLO I am a GUEST. and thats crazy.
SO THEN.. he asked me if patch was my boyfriend
I SAID no 3 times to this cos he asked 2 more times. I didnt know if they were asking Patch this too.. so i still said NO.


ANYWAY i think those were the important questions.

NEXT thing  hmmm. Oh so basically he came back hours later and siad he had some bad news ( this time i was bewildered and hungry and i did not want nothing in their snack machines)
  I was in the bathroom crying. I figured i would have to go home. and I wasn't sure if they told Patch's family to go home or if they told them anything at all. THEN he said he had bad news and I was being denied entry.  I had not done anything wrong but i didnt have a plan and I woudl probaly, if let in .. work after my money was spent.
   So i was like" where will i stay " Trhough tears cos i was like OMG i am going to have to stay here over night. there was no other flight out that night. He said No and that I would  be able to go home.. that the whole family was watiting for me downstiars ..
 he said he would have belived me if i had a plan of what i was going to see. going here for two weeks, a stay in so and so for a month.. THEN maybe. AAAAAAAAAAAAH
   so then i was told i had to arrive 2 hours before my flight.    I was allowed to stay the night at Patch's house and he didnt think i woudl try to flee.
   THEN i go to Patch's house and I look online to get some answers and we looked at my flight online. They changed the date and the ticket and everything. DOES that mean i can get my money back or what?
I have to call British Airways and ask.

 I REALLY HATE HOW. We dont know EXACTLY what amount will satisfy these people. and YOU DONT KNOW if u should give them an honest answer or what!
 How everything is diffrent for so many people. One person coudl get in and one cant.
I hate how we have these goverment sites, that speak so many diffrent languages. ITS CRAZZZZZZZY. like they dont speak where we can understand things. Thats crazy.


    If u all need more info lemme know.

My only knowledge of this comes from watching too many episodes of Airport-but they do seem to send people back who can't at least name some famous sites, and list some concrete plans-a weekend in London to see the London Eye, Buckingham Palace etc. , a trip to Stonehenge,  a week with friends in Nottingham.  I'm sorry it didn't go well for you Ladymoonwalker, but hopefully someone reading this topic won't be caught in the same way. 

hahah thats a good idea..
 Watching Airport. I so watch that its hillarious. i have only seen it a few times but it's funny.

 HOPEFULLY i can come back thats what i want to do..
 and I HOPE i help as many people as need help..

hahah thats a good idea..
 Watching Airport. I so watch that its hillarious. i have only seen it a few times but it's funny.

I dont think we are talking about the same 'Airport' here, cos the one we watch isnt really funny .... it's a sort of documentary about what happens behind the scenes in various areas of the airport.

Im really sorry about what happened to you...  Believe me, i know how you feel cos it happened to me as well, back in the late 80's.   It was awful... i didnt get to stay with my boyfriend that night.  I was released to friends in London, cos my friend's husband was a copper and he vouched for me.  My boyfriend had to come down from Glasgow on the overnight train.  He got drunk on the train, and was dead asleep /passed out when it got into Euston, and by the time he woke up /sobered up, i was already gone.   It was a pure nightmare, and i was so scared the whole time.  So i really feel for you.

Maybe you and your boyfriend can meet somewhere nice (outside the UK, of course!!) and go on holiday together.  That's what we did.  After i got sent back to the US, we each booked a trip to the Republic of Ireland ...  him travelling from Glasgow, and me from California.  We had a really nice loved-up fortnight in a caravan.  It didnt solve our problem, but it made us forget it and relax for awhile.

Good luck...

BROXI
  the airport show is funny to me when u see things happen to people that probally know better. I dont mean funny like sitcom funny. I am a  proud voyuer and i love to watch other people. so its interesting ot me to see people do things like get to the gate ALL KINDS OF LATE and demand to get into the plane!  or act a fool with the  airline employees and get mad when they are refused a flight.

ANYWAY..
I do belive that i will get a visa.. i have not done anything illigal so therefore that should not be a problem.
the only thing is i dont have a job right now. SO i have to call the Couselet tomorrow and ask some questions about my visa  form and then type it up online
 i have to find out about the letters if i need them  faxed or sent or what.. so i can send everything with my photos that they need, my visa ect.
 shala

Well, good luck to you. I can only imagine how hard this is on you. It is my biggest nightmare.

That same thing happened to me - only at Gatwick Airport last December 2003 when I tried to enter. Though they seriously thought I didn't have enough money and that I would try to marry and take up employment.

Like you, I was allowed to stay the day and was sent home the following day. My choice on coming back, was to properly apply for the visitors visa in enough time to be approved and to return.

I remember being just as upset as you and when I went through immigration I wasn't as clear headed as the trip was long and strenuous.

What are you planning on doing now? Any ideas yet? *hugs* Good luck hun!!

x x x - Minxy

my plan of action is to get a proper visitors visa.
  have my stay for just 3 months at most.
 and i  have went over the printout verison of the online form in pen so i can  jot down questions i need to ask the Counselet.
 i feel like i have fallen off a horse.. and i am scared to get back on. BUT when i fell off i did gt back on.
   i hope i can go back thats my thing. I mean they siad i was not  deported and i can come back.
 lol
 Shala

BROXI
  the airport show is funny to me when u see things happen to people that probally know better. I dont mean funny like sitcom funny. I am a  proud voyuer and i love to watch other people. so its interesting ot me to see people do things like get to the gate ALL KINDS OF LATE and demand to get into the plane!  or act a fool with the  airline employees and get mad when they are refused a flight.

Ah, so we ARE watching the same programme!
I guess the difference is that i dont find it funny... i just want to rip their f*cking heads off for being so stupid and/ or arrogant! 

Shala, you're talking about getting a 'proper visitors visa'... I dont know all the ins and outs of it, but i dont think there is a 'visitors visa' for Americans.  I think the options are student visa, fiancee visa, or if already married, settlement visa.  Hopefully i am wrong about this!