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My U.S. Border Nightmare

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Re: My U.S. Border Nightmare

#61

Post by uptown »

spitfire wrote: post #34

Two hints for easily crossing the boarder: 1. Enter via private plane. The staff at airfields handling private air traffic tend to be less stressed and way more relaxed. I've taxi'd right past the allotted space (Found it eventually) as well as made gitmo jokes with BP - they just laugh. 2. Cross by car at a smaller crossing. Again staff tend to be less stressed and more accommodating. 3. (I took CS!) Have all your d…

If the solution is to take a private plane, why not just suggest teleportation? It's as viable an option for most travelers.

Re: My U.S. Border Nightmare

#62

Post by thomasgerbe »

latch wrote: post #6

I couldn't get through that wall of incoherent text. But from what I read, he's 100% wrong...maybe the story gets really weird though...however.. Traveling to a country which you are not a citizen of is not a right, it's a privilege. There are places where you need to apply weeks (or months) in advanced just to visit. Every country has different types of visas, and each visa has restrictions on what sort of activity…

Yeah, I'd like to have sympathy for the OP because the USCBP and DHS can be annoying to deal with but you have to know what to say before going in there.

He brought it upon himself. You can't just go unprepared expecting them to help you out.

Re: My U.S. Border Nightmare

#63

Post by nonce43 »

Some tips for border crossings, based on my Canada to US experiences:

The border agents don't like one-way flights. My sister was turned away at the border because she had a one-way flight to visit her boyfriend and they figured she was going to visit illegally. She also had "suspicious" things in her suitcase like a cookbook: "So you're going to take an illegal food service job?"

Make sure you can prove you have enough money to support yourself. The guy in line in front of me got sent back once because he couldn't prove this.

Avoid hard-to-explain travel arrangements, such as travelling in the US, crossing the border back into Canada to visit someone, then crossing back into the US to catch a plane. My best friend got stuck in Windsor because of this, although his scary hair and beard probably didn't help either.

If you have a green card, don't leave it at home by mistake. I got taken into the little room and had to pay a $265 administrative fee because of this.

Make sure you have documentation for everything. When my friends drove through the US to a wedding, I told them to make sure they had the invitation, hotel info, etc, to show customs so everything went smoothly.

Don't have a complex story that makes no sense. I'm sympathetic to the original author, but reading his post I couldn't figure out what he was really doing in the US and I'm not surprised he got turned away.

The strangest questioning I had crossing the border: "Where are you visiting?" "What's your father's name?" "What does your father do?" "A teacher? What school did he teach at?" By this point, I was wondering where this line of questioning was leading. But then the border guard said, "I know your father. He taught me in Grade 11."

While I'm on the subject of border crossing, I've opted out of TSA body scanning several times. I've seen complaints from others, but the patdown has always gone smoothly for me.

Re: My U.S. Border Nightmare

#65

Post by marshray »

jrockway wrote: post #47

If you're ever locked in a jail cell, I have one word of advice: lawyer.

If you're a starting a corporation in the US and not very very familiar with it: corporation lawyer.

If you're a foreigner starting a corporation in the US and planning to come over for 3 months: corporation lawyer AND immigration lawyer.

(Aside: seems like the kind of thing guidance a early-stage startup incubator could very usefully help with.)

Re: My U.S. Border Nightmare

#66

Post by k-mcgrady »

duopixel wrote: post #22
potatolicious wrote: post #8

Author seems a bit naive about international sovereignty, though I suppose one can't exactly blame him for it. I grew up in Vancouver, a stone's throw from the border, so I suppose I take it for granted that we all learn very early on that CBP is a wretched hive of scum and villainy, and everyone knows someone who was chewed out, berated, and generally treated like a criminal by them. Seeing as how I work in the US n…

Yes to all of this. I always rehearse what I'm going to say entering any country legally. They will grind you to find inconsistencies and sometimes you just say honest mistakes that will take you to a second round of interrogation. For example: after a series of tough questions, the border was just about to stamp my passport, he held the stamp in the air and then asked "have you been in the US before"? And I flustere…

Good advice. I experienced the same thing when coming into Canada recently as a non-Canadian. The agent asked me if I had been to Canada before and I said know.

He then found a stamp on my passport (which was only there because I got a connecting flight to Chicago from Toronto - I never left the airport) I got another round of questions and even further questioning by a second immigration officer.

Granted, I am staying for almost the maximum time allowed without a visa (6 months) but such a minor slip-up can lead to a lot of extra questions and if you slip-up on them you could be on your way home. It's always good to know what you are going to say before you reach the desk, at least as much as possible.

Re: My U.S. Border Nightmare

#67

Post by nitrogen »

jperras wrote: post #39

As someone who, up until recently, traveled to the United States on a regular basis (I'm Canadian), this doesn't surprise me at all. The author basically committed every mistake in the book. Generally, every question that the CBP agent will ask revolves around money: who pays your salary, in what currency, are you attempting to get in to the USA to find a job, will someone be giving you money for whatever reason (e.g…

I really do understand what the author went through, and I sympathize. But the reality of the situation is that entering a country where you are not a citizen is not a right, it's a _privilege_.

The reality of the situation is that any country that treats its most productive guests in this way won't remain an attractive destination, regardless of whether those guests have the right or privilege of visiting.

Re: My U.S. Border Nightmare

#68

Post by tmeasday »

grecy wrote: post #23
lwat wrote: post #12

If this guy showed up at Australia's border with no return flight, incorrect visa and everything else he screwed up, I'd wager he'd have the same experience. Do your homework, be a smart traveler!

I'm Australian, so I see where you are coming from. Living here in Canada, so close to the border with the USA, it's totally different. It's so close and easy, I drive to Alaska twice a month in the summer just to get good Thai food. And from my own experience I can tell you this - he may have been denied entry to Aus or at least had a few issues, but I'll bet my bottom dollar he wouldn't have been belittled and made…

Nah, that's totally not true. My Italian friend came over for a month or so to visit his girlfriend, was a bit evasive for some reason for some questions, and got some pretty bad treatment.

As someone else noted, it's a technique they use to try and unsettle you. Not that I necessarily agree with it, or like it, but at least there is a reason for it.

Re: My U.S. Border Nightmare

#69

Post by smsm42 »

lancewiggs wrote: post #36

This is sadly a pretty obvious case. The author was moving to the US to start a company. It wasn't to travel, nor to pop in and out to conduct business, and calling yCombinator a training program is a stretch. It might be, but it's a 'training program' that helps you start a business. A simple google would have told the agent what was what. Blame dumb visa requirements, not the agents who actually managed to catch yo…

That's pretty messed up that people trying to start a business in America are considered criminals. Then again, it's not with the visas only - even being fully legal resident or citizen, you still need papers and permits and licenses to do business, or you're a criminal. It's like they go out of their way to discourage people from doing business.

Re: My U.S. Border Nightmare

#70

Post by bigiain »

joenathan wrote: post #50
grecy wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm Australian, so I see where you are coming from. Living here in Canada, so close to the border with the USA, it's totally different. It's so close and easy, I drive to Alaska twice a month in the summer just to get good Thai food. And from my own experience I can tell you this - he may have been denied entry to Aus or at least had a few issues, but I'll bet my bottom dollar he wouldn't have been belittled and made…

He wasn't just popping in for some "Thai food" though, he was going to be staying for 3 months, he should have been better prepared. edit: Too add that especially after 9/11 and all the border fervor, it unreasonable to not be prepared when crossing.

"3 to 4 months" according to the original article - I don't know what the usual thing to allow casual visits by Canadians to the US is, but I travel there from Australia fairly regularly for vacation and visiting family and friends under the visa waiver program, and I know I'm limited to 90 days - if I want to stay longer than that I need to get a visa.
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