ACR DIVERTING FROM DFW TO IAH WAS INITIALLY REFUSED WIND ALIGNED RWY REQUEST BUT AFTER POSSIBLE EMER DECLARATION; RWY REQUEST WAS GRANTED.

Narrative

SCHEDULED LEG FROM ZZZ TO DFW. MASSIVE TSTM MOVED OVER DFW AS WE APCHED GLOVE INTXN. SPENT 40 MINS IN HOLDING PATTERN AT GLOVE THEN PROCEEDED TOWARD DFW IN MODERATE TURB WHILE DODGING TSTMS. 20 MI OUT OF DFW THE APCHS WERE SHUT DOWN FOR WINDSHEAR AND TORNADOS IN THE AREA. WE DIVERTED TO IAH PER OUR FLT PLAN. THE ATIS WINDS AT IAH WERE SOMEWHERE IN THE RANGE OF 160 DEGS AT 20 KTS GUSTING TO 29 KTS AND THEY WERE LNDG ON RWY 8. LNDG ON RWY 8 WOULD PUT ME RIGHT AT THE MAX XWIND COMPONENT. ALSO; I DID NOT HAVE ANY FUEL LEFT FOR A GAR AND SECOND ATTEMPT IF THE APCH DID NOT GO WELL. I DECIDED THE SMARTEST THING TO DO WAS TO REQUEST RWY 15 FOR LNDG. WE REQUESTED RWY 15 UPON CONTACT WITH APCH. WE WERE TOLD THEY WERE LNDG ON RWY 8. WE SAID WE COULDN'T USE RWY 8 BECAUSE OF THE XWIND COMPONENT. THE CTLR THEN SAID WE WOULD HAVE TO GO SOMEWHERE ELSE. WE SAID WE WOULD DECLARE AN EMER IF WE HAD TO; BUT THAT WE WERE NOT GOING TO ANOTHER ARPT AND WE WERE GOING TO LAND ON RWY 15. AFTER SEVERAL MINS OF THE CTLR COORDINATING WITH SOMEONE HE SAID WE COULD USE RWY 15 BUT WOULD HAVE TO VECTOR US AROUND IN A BOX PATTERN FOR A WHILE. EVEN THOUGH WE WERE LOW ON FUEL; I ACCEPTED THIS. WE LANDED UNEVENTFULLY. ONCE INSIDE THE TERMINAL I HAD THE OPPORTUNITY TO TALK TO TWO OTHER CAPTS WHO ALSO DIVERTED TO IAH. THEY SAID THEY RECEIVED THE SAME RELUCTANCE TO BE ALLOWED TO LAND ON A RWY ALIGNED WITH THE WIND. THEY ALSO WERE ON THE VERGE OF DECLARING AN EMER BEFORE THE CTLR APPROVED THE RWY 15 APCH. I DON'T APPRECIATE HAVING TO BATTLE ATC AFTER A LONG FLT THROUGH BAD WX WHILE RUNNING OUT OF FUEL. WHATEVER PROC IAH APCH HAS SET UP TO DENY PLT REQUESTS NEEDS TO BE ELIMINATED.