Hey, People In this article, I'm going to show you how you can speak English more confidently at customs or immigrations. This is another English article for the Airport immigrations Office. Make sure to stay until the end. Hi, Student and teacher perks here to help you talk to anyone, anywhere, anytime in English.
Thank you so much for reading this amazing article. Traveling abroad is something that many of you want to do or maybe have to do at some point in your life. So in this article, I'm going to be giving you some ideas, some strategies so that you can feel more comfortable when you are accustomed answering important questions to the immigration officer. Okay? With that in mind, the first step that I would like to give you in this article is
prepare yourself in advance.
Even though the questions the officer will ask you are very simple, it is important to have some kind of preparation. And you can do that now by reading this article and studying. And when you have a trip scheduled, booked, then it's a good idea to start preparing yourself for that situation because it is going to happen. For some people, it's going to be a very quick interview. For other people, like me.
For example, the last time I travelled, I spent quite some time with the officer answering questions and having a very nice conversation with him. So it is important to be prepared for that situation. The second tip I'm going to give you and stay until the end because I'm going to show you some important questions the immigration officer will ask you and also weird questions that the immigration officer might ask you. The second tip that I want you to take into consideration is accept that you may not understand some words at the time you have the interview. Okay, this is going to happen to all of us.
Whether you are a false beginner, a pre intermediate speaker, an advanced speaker, a fluent speaker, especially due to the emotions we are going through, we're feeling at that moment. Some of us get very nervous, very anxious, very worried. Some of us are super excited. So all of those emotions may impact your comprehension. Not to mention there is a lot of background noise, people talking, things happening.
So that may impact your listening comprehension. And if that happens and it's going to happen, okay? So it's just a matter of when that happens. Ask the officer to repeat they know English is not your native language. Prepare yourself and accept the fact that you may not understand everything they say.
And then make sure that you express that politely and calmly. I'm sorry, can you say that again? I'm sorry, can you repeat that, please? My English is a little rusty. It is completely natural to misunderstand immigration officers, and they are trained for those situations.
And remember, you are a good person visiting America or visiting Canada, Australia or another country. There is no need to feel like you did something wrong. So it's important to calm down, because the more anxious you feel, the more nervousness you show, the more questions the officer may ask, depending on your body and facial expressions. Okay, now, tip number three, there will be specific questions they are going to ask you, okay? So it's important to know how to answer those questions immediately.
Qs: 1. what's the purpose of your visit?
And to do that, you need to prepare. That's why in tip number one, I say prepare yourself because they're going to ask specific questions. So a few examples of those questions are what's the purpose of your visit? Basically, they want to know why you're here, are you on business? And be prepared to answer more questions if you're going on business.
I'm on vacation. I'm a tourist. They may ask you where you're going, why, how long you're staying. Okay, so for pretty much any tourist, they will ask those kinds of questions. I'm a student.
I'm going to study blah, blah, blah, blah. I'm going to study English at this school. I'm going to take a certification at this place. I'm going to participate in an academic conference at that university. So it's important that you prepare that part of the answer, because only you know the reason why you're visiting that country.
But, teacher, I'm going to America because I want to find a job. Be careful, because there are legal ways to do that, and you need the right documents, you need the right visa to be able to do that. I get a lot of questions asking me that, teacher, I want to find a job in America. Guys that are proper visas that you need to apply for before going to America, if that's your goal. It is actually very complicated to do that.
In many cases, when people contact me asking that question, it's because they intend to go to another country and find a job illegally, and that I cannot help you with. Another thing you can say is, I'm visiting a family member. You will need to answer more questions. They may ask you who that person is, if that person is legal. Of course that person should be legal.
What the person does is that person married, where they live? They will ask you more questions depending on your goal. Okay, important advice here never lie. Be as honest as possible. There's no reason to lie.
Qs: 2. How long are you going to stay here?
Okay, next question is pretty much connected with the first they want to know, okay, you're going to be here as a tourist. How long are you going to stay here? A week? Two weeks, three weeks? They may ask the same question in a different way, such as, how long are you going to stay here?
Or how long do you intend to stay here? But at the end of the day, that's basically the question you're going to ask. I was asked that question the last time I went to New York City, and I just said, well, seven days. No, eight days. I stayed in America for eight days.
Qs: 3. What do you do?
You don't need to give a very long answer. Just say the number of days that you are going to stay in that country. Next question. What do you do? What do you do means what is your occupation?
What's your job? What do you do? When I was in New York City. The last time I was in New York City, I answered this question. I'm a teacher.
Oh, my God. He asked me a lot of questions about my job. Oh, are you a teacher? And then I remembered, oh, man, I used the wrong word. I shouldn't have said teacher, because usually they connected the word teacher with a school, elementary school, and I had to explain.
And then I was like, oh, my God, I'm a private tutor. When I realized what he wanted to know, I was like, no, I'm sorry. I'm a private tutor, okay? I teach English on the Internet to adults. And he was like, oh, okay.
So that's why you can travel, because you're online. And I said yes. That's why. So be careful with the way you answer the question. What do you do?
Because they will ask more questions, especially if you look friendly. They will want to make conversation depending on the officer, okay? In my case, for example, he asked me a lot of questions with my friend. He didn't ask so many questions. My friend got another officer, not the same as I did, and his interview was very fast.
Actually, my friend was worried about me because I was there talking and talking and having a conversation. And my friend was like, Where were you? What happened? I was worried about you. And I was like, Dude, I'm fine.
We were just catching up. I have the time of my life when I'm traveling. So for me, I was really enjoying the conversation, actually, to be very honest. Oh, okay. So as I said, depending on what you say that you do, they may ask a few more questions.
So it all comes down to your job, okay? So be as specific as possible. You don't need to give a very long explanation, okay? Be objective, be specific, but don't speak for too long, because that's not the goal, okay? And hey, if you're enjoying this Article, make sure to hit the like button, and if possible to share our article, because when you do that, Google understands that this is a good lesson, that this is a good environment, and then it recommends my lessons to other English learners like you.
Qs: 4. Do you have any relatives here?
Now, let's keep going. The next question. Do you have any relatives here? Do you have any family? So this is another possible way to ask that question.
Do you have any family here? Do you have any relatives here? And if the answer is yes, again, they will ask who they are, where they live, what they do, how long they've been in the US. Or in Canada or in Australia? Because these are important questions for them.
Qs: 5. how much money do you have available for this trip?
They may want to know the answer to those questions. Okay, next question. I was asked that question, how much money do you have available for this trip? How much cash? My friend, well, I answered what I had.
I had about 2000 $2,500 in cash plus a credit card. So I said, well, about $2,500 plus a credit card. And then his mind is like, well, you are planning on doing some shopping, right? And I was like, yes, I want to go shopping. I can't wait.
So be prepared for a joke. Maybe they would joke about it. So you're going to do some shopping? Yes, I am. So how much money do you have available for this trip?
You don't need to give a very long explanation. Simply say how much you have. $2,000, $1,000 credit card and $2,000 and that's it. You don't need to make a very long sentence to answer this question. Another important thing is
Qs: 6. who is paying for this trip?
They may ask you this question. This is a weird question. Is it your boyfriend paying for this trip? Is it your mom? Your dad?
Your husband? Your wife? So they may ask you this question. But this is a weird question to ask. They may ask you this question.
If you look very young, they may ask you that question, who is paying for the trip? Okay. Especially if you say, I'm a student, then they may ask, okay, who's paying for this trip? My parents or my grandparents or my family got together and paid for this trip. A nice family.
Okay.
So it's okay. Don't worry about it. It is a little off the usual questions, but if you are too young, if you are a student, they may want to know, okay? And if you are a student who paid it by yourself, then you say, well, I saved money before this trip. Now I'm taking a break, and I'm here to study. Don't be afraid of giving this kind of explanation if it is true, okay? And then the next question, are you traveling alone?
Qs: 7. Are you traveling alone?
Nowadays it is very common for people to travel alone. So don't be afraid that the officer may think you are a weird person. No. Or in my case, for example, I answered, no, I'm traveling with a friend. And he was like, oh, that's wonderful. And then he asked, Where are you staying? Which is another possible question. So you see, there's not really a specific sequence. Depending on what you say, they may remember what kind of question they should ask. So when I said, I'm traveling with my friend from college, then he was like, oh, okay. And where are you guys staying? At an airbnb. We rented a house where?
In Queens. Oh, that's wonderful. Great. So don't worry about that.
Okay?
So if they ask, it's pretty standard. On the other hand, they may ask you some weird questions. So what I showed you now, we're pretty much standard questions that pretty much every officer may ask you, okay? They may not ask you all these questions. They may not ask you these questions in the particular order I've shown you here, but they may ask you. Now, these questions, on the other hand, are different. They may or may not ask you because they are a little bit weird. Okay? The first question they may ask you is,
Qs: 8. can I see your return flight ticket?
They may ask to see that if you don't have the copy, the physical copy, then you can show it on your phone. You open the app, make sure that you have your flight ticket, your return flight ticket saved on your cell phone that you can easily get access to because they may ask you, okay, this didn't happen to me in New York, but when I was traveling around Europe many years ago, they stopped me before, not even at customs, okay? But I was stopped before boarding the plane, and they wanted to see all my return flight tickets from all my trips around Europe. Was I worried? Yes.
Was I afraid? Of course. But I had the freaking flight tickets, so I showed them. Okay? So it's okay to be afraid, to be nervous, but be prepared. So this is something they may ask you. So it would be interesting to have the flight the return flight ticket in hand or that you can easily get access to. And another weird question, which you should absolutely say no.
Qs: 9. Are you carrying any illegal items?
I know it's weird, but they may ask you, and the answer is no. Okay? They are testing you. Maybe they're just curious to see your reaction, to see if you panic. And then they ask, are you carrying any illegal items? No, ma'am. No, sir. So it is a weird question, but that hardly ever happens, okay? So relax.
You're. Okay?
In addition to the standard questions I've shown you, they may ask you these questions can I see your return flight tickets? Or Are you carrying any legal items? They may even repeat the question like, hey, do you know anyone here? Do you know anyone in America? Do you know anyone here in Canada? They may want to know. So they may cut to the chase and say, how many people do you know here? And then it could be like, well, I don't have any friends here. I don't know anyone. Or maybe you are traveling on business. And then you can say, well, I know some colleagues, but I don't know them in person. We have conference calls. We have meetings every week, but I don't really know them in person. This is a more unusual kind of question. They may ask, okay, seeing your flight tickets, checking if you have anything illegal with you. You obviously don't, but they may ask. And it's weird. That's why I'm saying that. To finish up this video, we are going through a pandemic. If you're reading this article, in 2022, probably 2023, you know that there is something happening around the world that is changing some procedures at airports security, health screening, medical screening.
So be prepared for additional steps, additional questions, or medical screenings at the moment you arrive at your destination. So be prepared for additional questions connected with your health. But don't worry about it. I've had some friends who have already travelled to the United States during this pandemic, and the process was pretty much standard. Okay. Other than that, share this post with your friends. If you enjoyed it, make sure to hit the likes like button, and I'll see you next time. Bye
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