German husband going through "U.S. Residents" line

I'm flying back home for a visit with my German hubby for the first time together. Well, he heard from others at work that since he's married to an American, he can come with me through the "US Citizens/Residents" immigration passport-check line at the airport when we arrive instead of going through the scary non-resident one like usual (he's traveled alone to the US before). Does anyone know if that's true? Maybe it just used to be true before they started grilling, fingerprinting and photographing all tourists?

No. It is not true. Unless he has a Green Card of course. He has to apply for a permanent residency visa like the rest of us. And believe me, if he applies for that and goes through the standard procedure then an hour in the Non-Resident line at the airport is a walk in the park in comparison

I must say that really long waits in the VISITORS line seem to be a thing of the past. It was really bad
2-3 years ago but I suspect the US airlines put pressure on the authorities since they (United & co)
were loosing a lot of money having to rebook ongoing passengers...

Over last couple of years entry at Boston, San Fran, Denver & Los Angeles involved waits of no longer than 15 mins...

I know. I was exaggerating slightly. Now, the queues to get out of the States are a different matter altogether...

My German wife and I go through the US residents line going into the states and the EU Nationals line coming back to Germany. Or which ever line is shorter. Have never had a problem since we are traveling together.

Same here .. been choosing the short line on both sides of the Atlantic for 7 years now with no problems.
Husband is German, I am American.
Just go up to the counter together.
The arrival line at JFK has been seriously long each time Ive landed (in the last 3 years)

Yep, you can go to the residents line together because you are married. My husband (German) and I (American) do this all the time when flying back into the US.

Not since they implemented the fingerprinting and retinal scanning of all non-US residents (except Canadians) entering the US. The process takes quite a while.

As a Canadian, I was allowed to bypass it but my British boyfriend had to go through the whole shebang. Not sure if it would have been different if we were married. I suspect, at least in our case, not.

No it doesn't. It didn't with me anyway. One, two, three, done.
That takes a lot less time than the string of interrogating questions they've asked in the past.
Last month's effort was the quickest I've been through US immigration. The airport does make a difference though.

It is true. We asked THREE separate officials when my fiance and I were there in December (EWR), and they said that yes, even though he is "only" my fiance, and even though there is retina scanning now, and even though his passport had just over 6 mos left, he could just go with me. But he got all flustered and decided to wait in the longer line anyway. They all kind of chuckled at him, and I had the feeling, based on how they smiled, that it was a very German thing of him to do.

Thanks for the info, everyone! :-)

Retina scanning at the airport??? Is that for everyone or only non-US citizens?

Retina scanning? Is this new or just made up?

It's not made up! I had to have it done when I went to visit my boyfriend in the US while he was living there. They scan your fingers then your eyes.

I also got interrogated for about 20 minutes cos I hadn't put the exact address of where I was staying. I had the name of the street, the phone number - everything but the house number (which I couldn't remember) so they made me go to this little room and wait for half an hour. Then once it got to my turn the person there just said it was fine, stamped the bit of paper I'd been given and let me go. Not a nice introduction to the US!

The finger printing and eye scans are only for non-US citizens. Even those with green cards are required to undergo the xtra treatment.

really? never had it done. only a webcam shot

non US only, Sarabyrd has never been scanned when she has gone through, I got told at one airport I didnt need to as I did some sort of frequent flyer fast track for Schipol airport where i gave a dna sample and they only needed my finger prints scanned ( I coughed up a few euros at the airport and it cut down all the waiting as I was flying though it 2-4 times a week), down side I have only flown into one US airport that supports the thing so always end up in a mile long queue. One thing that pissed me off tho was I was flying with one of my development staff who just happens to be very black (UK passport holder but born in Granada) and it took them well over 45 minutes to process him, he only has a phd from Oxford and is nato security cleared and they gave him the third degree about why he was coming to the US.

cant figure that one out

no, Canadian also don't have to do fingerprints and eye scans.

erm well it did take ages for me. The airport was not busy and there were no long queues at all, yet they still took longer to process three people than the Chinese (who are also quite slow) take to process about 20 people. I'd dread to think what the queues would be like at peak time.

When I went to the States on a J-1 visa (exchange student visa) in 2004 and 2005 they did finger prints and a picture. Haven't been there since, but I wouldn't be surprised if they did, seeing as they also require you to have a biometric passport if it was issued after a certain date (October 2005 or 2006 I think).

So for all those saying your German husbands were allowed in the US citizen line with you, did you have to show any proof that you are married?

I didn't have to show anything, and I wasn't wearing my engagement ring at the time because it was being resized.

The arrival process was actually pretty overwhelming for my fiance. It didn't help that it was a rather busy day and security for whatever reason happened to be slightly more present than usual. I had to stop him from just randomly offering extraneous information about himself from nerves, and raising suspicions for no reason whatsoever, at every checkpoint.

Seeing it from his perspective, I could see how it would unnerve someone unused to being eyeballed every 10 feet by some surly American guy in a uniform. I also had the distinct feeling that my being near him and obviously knowing my way around, or clearly waiting for him, helped him get through a little bit faster.

we didnt have to show any proof of marriage. we also dont wear wedding rings and dont have the same last names.

wot Crawlie sed

Thanks! Good to know!

My Australian hubby always goes in the US citizens line with me, and no, we've never had to prove that we're married. Also, he travels to and from the US all the time by himself, and he's never had a retina scan.

Nope, they didn't ask us for anything. If you still feel unsure once you're at the airport, just ask one of the guards before you get in a line. They usually have a few uniformed guys/gals standing around, and they'll be able to confirm it for you.

Well, I asked Immigration's customer service the question and here is the official response I received, so I guess we all know now. I hope Seatac is one of those airports:

Question:
Can a European visitor entering the U.S. under the Visa Waiver Program go through Immigration's "US Citizens" line at the airport when accompanied by and traveling with their US citizen spouse?

Response 08/07/2007 11:57 AM:
No, you are required to go through the NON-USC line generally, but you may ask the officer when you enter because
some airports may let you travel together

Mostly, cause the Non-US lines are setup for the fingerprint, eyescan, picture thing while the US lines arn't

Every time I have been to the US I go through the US citz line with my husband (I also have a green card) and every time they tell me that they will let me through this time but next time I should go through the aliens line, I never do One of these days they will make me go to the end of the queue and I will be one unhappy bunny.

yea that pretty much confirms what happened when we went back a few weeks ago... could have bypassed all the lines cuz we were traveling with someone who was injured and had wheelchair assistance... but when I asked about my EU hubby the guard said we actually need to go through the non-citizen line

I too am American and have been told by both sides that my German husband can come thru the US citizens line with me, and likewise I can go with him through the EU citizen's line. This came from agents of both the US, and the passport control people in Germany and in the UK.