Upon Entry 2022

Diego (a Venezuelan urbanist) and Elena (a Barcelona dancer) fly to the United States together, as she has won a Green Card Lottery visa and they are a pareja de hecho or common-law couple. Both are nervously excited to start their new life together.

Arriving at Newark Airport passport control, Diego misplaced the I-9 Declaration form, and Elena fills out another. Watching the available agents, one appears to let people through more quickly, and Diego is pleased they get him.

However, after scanning their passports, the agent fingerprints them and takes their photos before escorting them to a secondary inspection area. Both are concerned, but when they mention their connecting flight to Miami, it does not speed up the process.

After 30 minutes the couple are asked to sit and wait more. As she had not eaten on the plane, Elena asks if there is food or water available, but is told no. Diego discourages her from asking more questions, as he fears they will have problems if they appear difficult.

Brought into a small interrogation room, their bags are thoroughly searched again. When asked to turn off and lock away his phone, Diego resists slightly as he had planned to see his brother in New York before continuing to Florida. However, the agent suggests time constraints could make that difficult.

A drug-sniffing dog goes over them and their luggage. Then they both are given thorough body searches, and the agent bags some of Elena’s insulin and a needle. The couple are left alone to await their interview. Once alone, Elena is indignant about the search, unaware it was a possibility. Diego wonders if they are being watched.

A female agent enters, and one by one asks for a series of documents, social media account information, again about birth dates. Elena voices her annoyance to Diego in Spanish, to which the agent responds in perfect Spanish and suggests they answer truthfully as lying is considered a criminal offense.

When asked if they have another nationality, Diego says he is a Spanish resident through Elena, as his partner. The agent points out he should have waited for his Spanish nationality acceptance before travelling. Diego explains they needed to come before Elena’s Diversity visa expired. The agent then confirms he had applied on two previous occasions unsuccessfully. Diego also has other family members who were unsuccessful at getting the visa.

When asked why theirs is a civil union and not a marriage, they indicate they do not see it necessary. They are interrogated about work, to give specifics as to their experience and why they specifically chose the US, rather than another EU country etc. Elena asks why they are repeating the same questions as those in the embassy; she is told they are checking due to new information they received.

As the interview goes on, Diego is further prodded, as he was in the US four years ago, and also in a similar secondary interview. He admits his questions are making him nervous. The agent asks Diego about Kate, a Miami woman he had met online ten years his senior, with which he had almost entered the US on a fiancé visa with. Elena has no knowledge of her and is upset to learn he broke it off with Kate after meeting her.

Diego is then interviewed by two agents. She tries to get him to admit he is only out to get his green card, under threat of deporting him to Venezuela, where he once had been kidnapped by the authorities. Elena is next barraged with questions, and they make her realise how little she would see her family. Also, she is reminded that when they have kids, their upkeep is expensive. They plant doubt about Diego’s intentions, then the male agent tries to force Elena to prove she can dance.

Returning to the waiting room, Diego can see Elena has been crying. She says she just wants to return to Barcelona. They both realize they gave different answers about his knowledge of his former engagement. Called up to the desk, after realizing they missed the flight to Miami, they are surprised to be welcomed to the US.