"dubious" visitor stamps query

[andygo]

Hi
just a quick question which hopefully will someone will reply to put our minds at rest....
I'm a UK national and intend to marry my American girlfriend next year.
I'm going to the US for 3 months in October where we'll apply for a fiance visa.
A possible problem is that she has two "dubious" visitor stamps in her passport given by IO's on previous visits to the UK this year.
Will they count against her when we return to the UK in January even though we'll be armed with a fiance visa?

the longer version.............

My girlfriend arrived in UK in Nov 2005 and was given a standard visitor stamp (she'd previously visited in 2004 and 2003 for short vacations and never overstayed).

She went back to the US in Jan 2006 but returned to the UK a month later in Feb 2006. She got a lot of hassle from the IO at Heathrow who put what he described as a "dubious" visitor stamp on her passport because he wasn't sure why she was returning to the UK so soon. (she explained truthfully it was to visit me and had details of her return flight and bank statements to show she could support herself). The "dubious" stamp is similar, but not exactly the same as a normal visitor stamp and had a leave date of July 2006.

In May this year we took a trip to France to celebrate my birthday - which turned out to be a mistake... We thought leaving the country for a short time (a week) wouldn't make any difference (I'd even called the Home Office to check and they said as long as she had return ticket and sufficient funds it should be fine)

The IO at Boulogne thought otherwise and gave her a bit of an interrogation. He said one of the reasons he did so was because of the stamp she'd got at Heathrow. My girlfriend also stumbled on the exact dates she'd entered the country which made him even more suspicious. He thought she was trying to get another six month visitor stamp despite us telling him she wasn't and was going to leave the country soon anyway - we even showed proof of a pre-booked flight to the US for June 28

He eventually let us through, but not before giving her another "dubious" stamp and giving her an extra month in the UK - which we didn't want.
No doubt he's also written up copious notes which will appear when her passport is scanned.

She did fly back on June 28 so didn't overstay so i think there shouldn't be a problem. She is worried though, that when we get to Heathrow next January they'll turn her away because of the stamps - even though we'll have a fiance visa and proof of our relationship.

Friendly reassurance would be welcome...

thanks for reading...

Andy

[L_E_O]

As long as the fiancee visa is in your girlfriend's passport you should have no trouble.

The reason she was being hassled by IOs is because they thought there was a good chance she was trying to settle in the UK using the VWP. As the fiancee visa is a settlement route, that reason to deny her entry is removed.

[andygo]

great, cheers for that Leo

[jes2jes]

I have read your post but I do not uderstand what is a dubious visa stamp. Is it an illegal stamp being used by illegal IO or IO have other stamps for certain types of people they think want to overstay?
Please clarify

[Christophe]

I have read your post but I do not uderstand what is a dubious visa stamp. Is it an illegal stamp being used by illegal IO or IO have other stamps for certain types of people they think want to overstay?
Please clarify

No, the latter, really - it means a stamp that flags up the fact that the the immigration officer has some suspicions about the passport holder or his or her intentions but nevertheless admits the holder to the UK. So it's the immigration officer that is dubious about the holder!

[RobinLondon]

What does it look like? Does it have the word "dubious" all spelled out with sparkle and flair?

[jes2jes]

I doubt it would spell out that on the stamp. It may have certain codes or markings associated with the trade of IO's which any of them can pick I think.