My travel time was approximately 13 hours. I got 3 hours of sleep. I was exhausted when I got to the UK border patrol. I hand the patrol officer my landing card and passport, and he starts asking me questions about how much money I have with me and in the bank, why I'm here, etc. Then he began to ask me why I don't have a job. I explain that I had to quit due to the amount of time I would be here-apparently this was a problem. Visiting my boyfriend, without a job to go home to, for an extended period of time. At this point, the officer began asking me more personal questions about my boyfriend: "How long have you been with your boyfriend physically?", "When is his birthday?", "What does he do for a job?", etc. He then continues to tell me that he's going to have to detain me while they call Shaun and interview him.
I freaked out.
They put me in a holding area (some benches surrounded by a rail, with locking gates) and told me someone would be with me in a moment. A woman came around and got me, we picked up my bags, and she searched them. She then took me back to the holding area, where I had to wait for approval to enter the country. While in the holding area I saw a transvestite, a man dressed as a woman, which made me smile. After what seemed like forever, the original officer returned and unlocked the gates. He let me know that he found Shaun and had a physical interview, rather than the phone interview. Then he let me know I was approved to enter the country. I was very relieved. He explained that the fact that I was here for my boyfriend, in combination with not having a job and being here for so long, they were concerned I was running away to get married and illegally gain citizenship to the UK. I thanked the officer, his boss (the one who gave me the final approval) and the guy that stamped my passport.
This entire process took over an hour, I was on little sleep, and this was the first time traveling outside of the US. You can try to imagine how I was feeling during the whole process...
It had been over 4 months since I had seen Shaun. It was amazing to see him after coming through the gates...
To be continued...
