Story about people who stand in a line for years

Question

There is a story that I read decades ago, in which a long line of people stretches from horizon to horizon. There are small communities which form amongst the people who are in the line. Eventually the protagonist makes it to the end of the line: a desk or some such in the middle of nowhere, gets a stamp or other form of official acknowledgment for having stood in line, but that is it, no reward or benefit.

I believe the denouement is that he does not know anything else to do other than go back to the end of the line and do it over again. His whole life had been spent in line.

Answer 1

Probably "In the Queue" by Keith Laumer.

It ends:

"You In Line, or what?" the boy asked.

Hestler looked again at the bleak horizon. He came over and stood behind the youth.

"Certainly," he said.

Answer 2

Another possibility (theme matches, but not all the details) is 'Jumping the line' by Grania Davis.

The protagonist (Bi) has been in the line for all of his life, as part of a family group. He joins with another young adult and they start skipping the line to the end. There's a kind of circus, but when he left his family he didn't take the token he needs to get in. He's then directed to queue the other way.

“In the Other Line. You ever see that other line, way off thataway? That’s the line where folks get their tokens. You gotta go to the end of the Other Line and wait your turn.

Answer 3

I doubt this is the right answer, but a similar scenario appears in a subplot, labelled "Bureaucracy Bountiful", of the webcomic "Schlock Mercenary" from 2000:

• There is a queue of 20,000 people, with a wait time of at least 18 months and probably much longer (years). This contains an organized community with amenities.
• There is a religion around remaining in line, and queuers seem shocked at the idea of not doing so.

The protagonists resolve this situation, but naturally create still worse problems in the process.