What questions are asked at POE for GC holder?

It seems that the experience can vary from airport to airport and officer to officer. Entering thru Chicago, I was asked 3 Qs by the Immigration Officer:
1. How long where you out for?
2. What is your DOB/
3. How much time did you spend abroad? (I guess she was tyring to twist the Q) Wrote ARC 2 weeks on the pp.

But, I did get a white glove inspection by the custom officer:
Luggage was searched in and out.
He asked me all kinds of Qs like how much money you have, what country you visited, why?, where do you live in the US, how long did you live there, what part of town do you live, what do you do for a living, details about my job etc. I transited thru the Middle East, and he even asked about that, said something like I hope the situation gets better etc., is this scotch bottle for you or a gift for someone blah blah blah...

The interesting thing was that O'Hare airport was packed with 5 international flights arriving at the same time; many other connecting flights were behind schedule due to weather, it was chaotic but under control. They still took the time to screen each passenger in customs. Every immigration counter was overflowing with passengers.

However, I entered Houston 8 months later, mine was the only international flight, ICE and Customs officers had nothing to do. I was asked by ICE, "how are you and How long were out of the country this time?"
Had a sniffing dog sneak up to me at the baggage claim and customs repeated the items listed on the form back to me and waved me off. It was like they were all waiting for the end of their shift!
 
Will they care about change in employment at POE?

Hi,
I recently changed company after 2 years of getting my GC(CP) from sponsoring company. At POE will they care about which company we are working now?

Thanks for your reply.
 
srikoka said:
Hi,
I recently changed company after 2 years of getting my GC(CP) from sponsoring company. At POE will they care about which company we are working now?

Thanks for your reply.
Click to expand...

Yeah, they will ask you why it took you so long :D Honestly, I think they may ask you, but I don't see why you should worry about it.

My 2 cents.
 
Returned recently from vacation. I was asked following questions,

1. How are you doing?
2. Do you have any food items? Fruits etc.?
3. What was the purpose of your trip?
4. How long were you gone?
5. Where do you live in US?

I guess Q.2 was asked as I had handed over Customs Declaration form.

I had given only GC card and the Customs Declaration form. He put a stamp on the Customs Declaration form, wrote 1 on it and handed over to me. He then swiped my card and gave that to me. He did not see the details on the computer screen after the card was swiped. I noticed that the same scanner is used to swipe the front page of passport of US Citizens.

He then asked me if I have a passport. After I gave the passport to him, he looked for an empty space and put a stamp on passport. As there was no one behind me, I took this an opportunity to ask him questions.

Q.1 . Do I need to have passport to enter into US?
He said no but any additional document is good to have.
Q.2. Why do we need to get the arrival date stamped?
It is good to have to show your arrival date.
Q.3. When you swipe the card, does the system record the arrival date?
He did not answer this question, but kept on replying a vague answer. "It is good to have a record of arrival on passport".

While leaving US, no one except the airline staff asked me about my GC (before handing over the boarding card). However, she did not swipe the card into the system.

While departing from India, the immigration officer looked at my passport, asked me about my destination and looked at the expired US visas. She asked me if I have a GC and then looked at the card and let me go.
 
I visited Canada for 4 days this May by air. When I returned, the US custom officer stamped my passport as "ARC and the date". What does the ARC mean? Will the stamp reflect the time you have been out of US? If the officer doesn't stamp the passport (this happens sometimes). how can they record the time you have spent out of US? Will they put the information you filled in the custom declaration form into computer?
 
i had to go to secondary inspection at POE

I still do not have teh GC physically in my hand. When I entered last Satu after returning from Singapre (went there on a company business trip). I was asked to go to secondary inspection. I was asked lots of questions:

1. my address
2. where did I get my PP stamped (I-551)
3. Whom do I work for, business card, or photo id
4. approval notices (copy)
5. SSN
6. One officer asked me enter I-94 form - I did not question his authority on this

They made me wait for 1 hour at the POE. It was insane that one had to go through this torture.

If you dont have GC in hand, DONT TRAVEL<
 
sri3440

sri3440 said:
They made me wait for 1 hour at the POE. It was insane that one had to go through this torture.
Click to expand...
if you don't mind, could you please share with us which port of entry you are referring to?
thanks!
 
I was at SFO

I was at SFO.

What irritated me was that the officer at the counter made me fill I-94. I did not want to argue with him, I felt he is dumb! I thought he was referring to the customs declaration, but he sent me back in the line and asked me to fill I-94.

at the secondary inspection, the officer there tore the I-94 stating that we dont need this (ofcourse I know this !!).

People with I-94 were passing by faster than GC holders!!!
 
I hated to get the "How did you get your green card?" question. Here is my experience questioned by US custom officers after 4 days visit in Canada. I travelled two times before that since I got my green card. But this is the first time I got question like that. I was surprised and probably a little bit nervous to answer the question because I am not the primary applicant. My spouse filed the green card as EB-1 (outstanding). I filed as dependent together with the primary.

"Where do you live?" <Name of the city>
"Which part of the city?" (a little bit strange question). Downtown area of the city. I am in school there. (Probably I shouldn't volunteer to give the infirmation about I am in school. Maybe that is one of the reasons leading him to ask the following question.)
"How did you get your green card?"
(I didn't respond immediately since this is a question I didn't expect.)
"Who sponsored your green card?" My husband.
"Is he a US citizen?" No, he is a green card holder.
"Where does he work?" <name of the work place.>
Then he asked me to fill out customs declaration form. (Whoops! I forgot to pick one and fill it out before talking to the officer).
After I filled out the form, I lined up for different officer.

Here are the questions from the second officer.
I handed in my passport, green card and customs declaration form. She looked at the document for a second.
"How long have you lived in US?" <number of years.>
Then she stamped my passport with arrival date.

For the future reference, how should I answer "how did you get your green card?" question as a dependent, not the primary applicant? Should I directly say "employment based" first and if they ask more I can tell them that " I am the dependent"?
Maybe I shouldn't say that my husband sponsored my green card for my case. That normally happens when you marry a US citizen and get the green card through the marriage.
 
While Travelling if you are in between jobs should that be a cause for concern. I see that randomly people get questioned about where they work. If the person is currently unemployed could he / she be potentially considered as a public charge or is the intent behind the question is to find out if the person is still with the sponsorer?
 
I believe you answer is correct.

As far as being unemployed, I think if it’s >1 yr. Since you go your PR it should be ok. True, there is concern that you could be a public charge, but what’s the proof? To my knowledge, once we have a green card, it is not our responsibility to show evidence that we are supporting ourselves. It is the legal requirement that we do so, but we don’t have to prove it. That being said, I’d be surprised if an answer like “I’m looking for a job right now” would cause trouble. Anyone else with experience in this?
Rgds,
sadiq
 
Here is a website that illustrates what you can do to proove that you will not be a public charge as well as what could get you labeled as one.

This confirms JoeFs statement that CIS an question you if you stay abroad for > 180 days.

rgds,
sadiq

http://www.lausd.k12.ca.us/lausd/offices/student_health/public_charge.htm

I have my green card and I get cash welfare. Can I travel outside of the United States?

"If you are a legal resident who gets SSI, CAPI, CalWORKs or other cash welfare right now, you should not travel outside of the U.S. for more than 180 days (about 6 months). Any time you are gone for more than 180 days, the INS can ask you questions about whether you are likely to become a public charge, and may not let you re-enter the country. If you are outside of the U.S. for 180 days or less, in most cases the INS will not ask you questions about public charge when you re-enter the U.S. The INS will only ask you these questions if you intended to live permanently in another country, committed certain crimes, or had a pending deportation or removal case when you left the country."
 
London --> SFO, with wife and kids.

Were asked how long we had been out of the country, and then told "welcome home". Took about a minute. And I only had my stamp (the card was waiting in my mailbox when I got home, my wife got hers before we left.)
 
Came by air. I handed over just my GC to POE officer. She scanned the card. She asked my Customs Declaration form and stamped it.

She asked my passport. I waited to ask question but before I could ask, she said, "It is up to you. Don't you want as a proof? It will help you while taking citizenship." I handed over my passport and she stamped it. No other questions were asked.
 
genejock2000 said:
I just came back from the UK on a business trip (2 days out of US). At Newark, I (and another PR in front of me) were asked the following questions:

1. How did you get your greencard?
2. Hold up your index finger. He then examined my fingerprint with a flashlight and compared it to the one on the card, which he was also holding up at the time ( :rolleyes:)
3. Was the trip business related or personal?
4. What line of business are you in?
5. Where do you live in the US?
6. What is the nearest highway?
7. What exit?

None of the US citizens got these questions :mad:

Oh well, I guess these border agents need to feel important....
Click to expand...

:eek: I think its just me but I don't even remember the exit number to our place, the route home has become so routine. I have to remember to see the exit number.
 
Answer for “Whom do you work for”

I am thinking of leaving the job 6 months after the GC approval and start consulting as contractor by incorporating a C-Corp or LLC. I will be owner/employee of this company, which has just one person working for it. I might not have a contract in had at the time of travel, as I would like to travel in between contracts. I would certainly answer that I work for my company when asked.

Could that jeopardize the POE inspection? What precautions I must take in answering this question? Assumptions are a) I lived in rented apartment b) I plan to be out for 15 – 90 days c) I have bank balance that can pull me through for 6 months w/o any income d) I have been living in the US for 6 years (4 yr – H1B and 2 on AOS).
 
I just came back from India on I-551 Stamp on my PP ( No physical card yet).

I had to go thru secondary Inspection. No question asked.
 
Contracting after GC

JoeF said:
Just answer every question ....
Click to expand...

Thanks JoeF. Appreciate your inputs. I was just trying to ask if anyone had similar situation and if there was any eyebrows were raised by INS officer.

Hey Joe, one more thing I would like to get words of wisdom since you got into consulting with your own company after CP and staying with the GC sponsor for a year. What is the best way to market oneself as contractor? Any professional membership helps? Or are there commission agents who do the sell job for a commission? Any reference would help. Thanks.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top