There are many reasons a person may be ineligible to enter the U.S. The legal descriptions are lengthy and complex, so to help you understand them, we are providing a general description of the most common ones. This list should not be taken as a complete list of reasons to be excluded from entry. In general, you might be denied entry if you have a communicable disease, if you have a criminal record for crimes of moral turpitude (age 18 or older), for possession of or trafficking in a controlled substance, if you have any involvement with terrorism or terrorist organizations (no waivers can be approved for this category), if you have trafficked in persons, been involved in money laundering, might become a public charge because of limited financial resources, have been previously removed (deported) or have overstayed a previous period of admission to the U.S. Again, this list is not comprehensive and you should use the above link to read the complete list.
Depending on the reason for your inadmissibility into the U.S., and if you are a class of nonimmigrant where a visa is not required (e.g., most citizens of Canada), or you are a nonimmigrant with appropriate documents who subsequently becomes admissible, you may be eligible to apply in advance of your travel directly to Customs and Border Protection (CBP) for a temporary waiver of inadmissibility. The waiver application process can be lengthy (up to a year) and there is a cost of US $545.00 per application regardless of the decision on the application. Payment must be with a certified check in U.S. funds drawn on a U.S. bank for the $545.00 application fee.
Since they know exactly how much money I had coming into the country and told me in their own words from their own lips, I have enough to get me through to my semi-planned February departure date. I really can't see why I was given such a hard time.
So the real question here is...
Why, in the name of socks would I want to stay or live in a country that makes average hard working citizens feel like criminals?
Money, Money, Money...If I weigh my options it will be cheaper for me to stay; over stay my permitted limit, subsequently be deported and pay the $545.00 to apply for re-entry. Assuming I would ever want re-entry into this county. I was told I could spend five weeks in the United States of America; December 03, 2010 is to be my forced departure date. I was told I could leave my Florida destination and drive back to the US border and apply for re-entry the next day. I was then told under breath that they would not be letting me back into the country and I should just plan on going home and forget about Christmas in Florida. Of course all this is my word against theirs and I am sure my small insignificant existence in this giant world they call the U.S of A would have less than a leg to stand on in this matter.
The WHTI (Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative) = Keep the bad guys out and let the good guys visit! hmmmm sure.
I have had more e-mails and conversations about this topic than I care to have or read about. However, I guess it is a sore subject for many people. I would really like to hear more opinions from Americans traveling to Canada and their experiences coming through Canadian customs. From what I have heard so far there really is no difference. Also, my comment about never being more proud to be a Canadian was a bit of an exaggeration and I was just speaking from angered passion. I am still not impressed with the Canadian government either and I think they could both benefit from a bit of a revamp.
I was told something yesterday that really chaps my ass; and it not only frustrates me but angers and hurts me as well. I was informed that if I disregard any orders I have been given by US customs the worst thing that could happen to me is I get deported and never allowed access back into the United States again. That is my burden and my issue and I have no problems dealing with the ramifications. However, I was informed that they will not even bother to come after me if I choose to ignore them. They will go directly to any contact names I gave them at the border and attack them directly. Meaning, they will make life a living hell for Alicia, a Canadian citizen attending the university of Maine on a student visa. Now, call me crazy....as I am sure you have already! But I have heard of this kind of "terror tactic" before ..."rule by intimidation," "govern by fear" and if all else fails "go after the ones they care about" ..."Capone, Luciano, (after Prohibition) Anastasia, Gambino and Costello just to name a few. Why is it OK for the US government to pull out organized crime tactics on someone who is just trying to visit and learn about their country. excess, excess, excess!!! Am I really the biggest threat to this country? Am I really someone who needs to be on a watch list? I am so glad they got all their other issues under control so they can focus on keeping people like me out of their country. I would hate to put money back into their economy and contribute to their gross national...anything!
OK, to sum this up I would like to throw out a question to anyone and everyone who happens to read this post...
What would you do?
1. Leave on date given and just ignore any sort of poor treatment you have received
2. Stay as long as you need to and deal with whatever happens, happens
3. Post blog globally and show the rest of the world what is going on
4. Televise the rest of your trip and exploit any abuse of power you may run into
5. Other
PS... remember Freedom of Speech! You can say anything you want! Consider my blog site Switzerland
Well... considering my experience with the US Border.... I have a negative look on them anyway. But you know what, I would probably go with either 3 or 4 or both. In the end, either they tell you to get the hell out right then, or the bend and let you finish your trip with no issues.
ReplyDeleteYeah, they give you issues just for touring their "great country" but they let a REAL terrorist live freely for ummmm... how many years until they blow something up. Then say... hmmmm we knew he was going to do that, but didn't think he would do it on this date.
Ok, before I go saying something nasty, I had better get going.
I like 3 AND 4 bud! Put it on the news and show them that you and YOUR DOG are not terrorists and you are looking for KINDNESS!!! Exactly what the Border/Gvmt is NOT giving!
There... my 6 cents!
Good luck!
Start by sending it to the Canadian News stations I think and it will quickly filter to the American stations because if there is one thing... Our News Personnel will actually go there or contact them for their views. Can't say that the American Personnel will do the same. They only talk about Canadians when it has to do with the "top pro baseball player in the US is a Canadian".
ReplyDeleteOnce news goes from here to there, then they are all over making sure that it gets resolved. But they would never start the ball rolling.
I like #2. There are millions of people living in the US who have overstayed their permitted time limit. How are they ever going to find you? (Unless you get pulled-over or arrested.) I doubt they will contact Alicia anytime before the New Year, since there are probably thousands of other people who were supposed to leave before you and have also overstayed their forced departure dates and they will have to deal with those people first. Once they do contact Alicia, then you can change your mind to #1 at that point. I'm fairly certain that you are not the first (or the last) visitor that US customs will treat poorly. I'm also fairly certain that you did not receive the worst treatment that they could have doled out. There are probably many others who have been treated worse and have gone to the media and yet we never hear about any of them on the news. So I'm guessing that both #3 & #4 will be a complete waste of your time and will cause a serious outflowing of negativity from you and from those around you. You pledged a few posts ago to try and focus on the positive. Now, always with the good comes the bad, but if you take option #3 or #4, I predict there will only be bad. I have a feeling you will lose the reason behind your trip in the first place, which was to go out and seek kindness, not to get back at US customs, who probably won't change a thing they do as a result of any media campaign you start. Like I said, they've definitely squashed bigger horror stories than you will be telling. So, go out and seek kindness for as long you can and then deal with whatever happens when (and if) it happens. By the way, I have a friend who is an immigration lawyer in the US. Not that you're trying to immigrate, but she must know how things work with border patrol, so if you have any questions about how they will enforce your forced departure date, or any other questions about US immigration, let me know and I can she if she can shed any light. That's my 6 bucks!
ReplyDelete#2 and #3. But skip #3 if you think they'll have any cause whatsoever to investigate you.
ReplyDeleteI know I'm alittle late on the ban wagon but here i am. Margo I have only met you once and from that time I have thought of you as a kindhearted soul, who always has a smile on her face. Happy-go-lucky! so it was sad for me to see u in such turmoil over the border horror. Like ur friend said earlier focuz on what you set out to do which was find kindness. Try not to focus on the negative as there is always good with bad. I'd probably stay and wear my welcome out if I was you. But if that meant putting my friend in jeopardy from living in the great US of A then i'd probably not take the chance and go home. But that is just me, not you so do what u feel is right! You started this tour, you know what needs to be done. Take care and hopefully now i'm online more I'll keep up on ur posts and blogs..... PS: when u gonna hit BC? I'll take u out and make this horrible experience all go away!!
ReplyDelete