Will I be denied entry to US?

Hi,

I have flights booked to LAX from Sydney on 12th October. I'm travelling with my wife (USC) I am UKC.

I'm slightly concerned about getting into the US, as I will have left my job in Australia where we have been living since January, and we are moving to the UK.

I do have a flight home, but I worry that if I admit to travelling with an American spouse that alarm bells will ring. I have been told I also shouldn't mention the fact that we are having a wedding reception there (we were married in NZ in August) but I'm not comfortable with saying I'm just on holiday in case it comes back to haunt me.

I will have some documentation with me (bank statements, letter from my mother stating we can live with her in the UK) for my wife's UK spouse visa application, and hopefully by then she will have a biometric appointment made and we will have some kind of proof that she has initiated the process of living in the UK.

Has anyone been in a similar situation, or does anyone know of any other evidence which might satisfy the authorities?

Maybe I didn't read your post close enough but it looks like you are just passing through the US. Am I right? If they ask you, at the port of entry, how long you are visiting for, what would you answer?

I think everyone needs a permit of some sort to visit the USA beside their passport.
Call up the US Embassy in Aus. Write down who, what, when then call back in a few days and ask the same questions.

Not to make you feel any more anxiety but they do look for ways to put people back on the plane after refusing them entry.

The world of travel has changed greatly in recent years.

The general advice that is given time and again here is to not lie to the officers at immigration.  It sounds as if you will all have plenty of evidence that you intend to not settle in the US but are just visiting.  I definitely wouldn't cover up that you are married to an American--deception can come back to haunt you in very bad ways (in the UK it can make you vulnerable to a 10 year ban).  There is nothing wrong with visiting the States, and as long as you can show you aren't settling there but just visiting, I think you'd be fine.

Lots of people visit the US with their UK spouse.  Not all of them have jobs.  Bring your evidence, don't lie. 

Make sure you register with ESTA at least 72 hours prior to your departure.

Hi, thanks for the replies.

To clear up a couple of things, I have a ticket to Dublin on 11th November (I arrive in US on 12th October), and I have already completed the ESTA thing online.

I haven't booked the ticket from Dublin to the UK yet as I was hoping my wife will have her visa processed quickly enough that we can fly back together and have a short break in Ireland.

Sounds to me like you should be fine!  You'll have the paperwork to show that your intention is to settle in the UK.  They shouldn't care about whether you have a holiday in the US first visiting her family. 

You don't need to mention anything about the reception frankly they don't care.  Just simply and truthfully say that you're visiting your wife's family before setting up home in the UK.

Your wife will be flying into teh UK for the first time on her visa?  We recommend you don't fly through Dublin because there is no way to get your visa validated by an IO after arriving in the UK. 

Obvioulsy, Dublin won't stamp it and then you get into the CTA trap. 

bookgrl - the Dublin visa thing kinda went over my head

I take it you mean she'll be using the spouse visa for the first time and not that she'll be coming to the UK for the first time? Why can't it be stamped when she arrives in Edinburgh?

Does this mean if she lands anywhere in the EU before the UK there will be a problem? She was in the UK in December then we went to Spain for 2 weeks, her passport was stamped in London, Malaga, and again on return to London.

It's not a big problem as she hasn't booked her ticket yet, but if she has to fly through London it'll cost us almost $200 more.

Dublin is the problem, not the rest of the EU.  There aren't immigration control points going from the Republic of Ireland to the UK, so there won't be anyone available to stamp her visa (thus validating her spousal visa) if she stops in Dublin first before going to Edinburgh. 

It will really be worth the extra money to avoid Dublin for her first trip using the spousal visa.

Thanks Geeta, I just found that info elsewhere on the site, probably should have searched before posting!

Oh well, we had hoped if her visa was processed in time we could fly together, I suppose we'll have to find an alternative for her.

Glad I found that out.