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British tourist detained by US authorities for 10 days over visa issue

theguardian.com

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Re: British tourist detained by US authorities for 10 days over visa issue

#81

Post by stefan_ »

averageRoyalty wrote: post #41
viraptor wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sure, they could consider detention. But then there are daily flights back to the UK. Anything beyond an overnight stay (if necessary for the wait) is unfair.

I'm not convinced it's the Americans responsibility to get her back to a suitable international airport as quickly as possible and put her in the next flight out. 10 days does seem excessive, but I don't see why she should be a priority either. I would imagine up to 5 working days fits within the realm of 'reasonable'.

Yeah, what's habeas corpus.

Re: British tourist detained by US authorities for 10 days over visa issue

#82

Post by jkaplowitz »

xethos wrote: post #43
viraptor wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sure, they could consider detention. But then there are daily flights back to the UK. Anything beyond an overnight stay (if necessary for the wait) is unfair.

Dictating they buy one of the most expensive flights (one of the immediate ones taking off that day) probably isn't a great look either. Like so much else with law enforcement, they look like shit because of the system and incentives set up. Some do it themselves and are malicious for no good reason, but not literally every time.

10 days and counting of immigration detention (possibly more in the end since she's still detained) plus whatever deportation ICE would eventually conduct undoubtedly costs more than the flight you're describing.

Meanwhile, her British MP has relayed the family's request to arrange voluntary departure, so the trip home wouldn't even be at government expense.

ICE has no legitimate excuse to be slow about permitting voluntary departure unless they're planning to prosecute her criminally, think she won't actually go through with the voluntary departure, or think she will commit crimes before voluntarily departing. None of those seem likely in the scenario we're discussing.

The political environment of the Trump administration might very well be an explanation for why they're not quickly permitting this, but it’s just an explanation at most, not an excuse.

Re: British tourist detained by US authorities for 10 days over visa issue

#83

Post by cco »

sergers wrote: post #42

i was following this on another site before it showed up here: 1)UK citizens dont need a visa perse coming into canada as a tourist 1b) electronic travel authorization form is not required for UK citizens coming to canada over land border. 2)she was staying at Workaway, which depending on how you interpret/misinterpret is "working" (which it possibly is, a little shady on what they are.) so canada may have thought sh…

> very first thing i think of when viewing their site is this is some lodging for volunteer/unpaid labour. https://www.workaway.info/

I'm certainly not an immigration lawyer but my understanding is that _no_ work, none, even in exchange for room and board, is allowed on a tourist visa in the US.

Workaway looks like it isn't compatible with a tourist visa in the US and their website doesn't really call that out. Seems like something that nine times out of ten if you're just quiet about it it'll never come up and you'd be fine.

But unfortunately Canada refused entry and then questions were asked. Rough.

Re: British tourist detained by US authorities for 10 days over visa issue

#84

Post by carabiner »

sergers wrote: post #42

i was following this on another site before it showed up here: 1)UK citizens dont need a visa perse coming into canada as a tourist 1b) electronic travel authorization form is not required for UK citizens coming to canada over land border. 2)she was staying at Workaway, which depending on how you interpret/misinterpret is "working" (which it possibly is, a little shady on what they are.) so canada may have thought sh…

You can just say reddit: https://www.reddit.com/r/Seattle/comments/1j7qumk/uk_girl_sw...

Re: British tourist detained by US authorities for 10 days over visa issue

#86

Post by almog »

decimalenough wrote: post #14

If she is on a "four-month backpacking trip around North America" and tried to return to the US, she has exceeded the 90-day limit allowed by the Visa Waiver Program (which counts days both in the US and "adjacent territories") and is now an illegal overstayer. The unpaid labor stuff and getting refused entry to Canada is icing on the cake. For the record, I'm no fan of ICE/CBP, but it looks like they're just enforci…

It's not clear from the article whether she exceeded the 90 day limit on any single entry. However, there is no limit on the number of times a visitor can re-enter and use their 90 day visa. It's up the the immigration officer's discretion to decide whether or not to admit them under that visa again but assuming one exit and enter within 90 days there's no legal issue with re-entering again immediately.

Re: British tourist detained by US authorities for 10 days over visa issue

#87

Post by yandie »

davidgay wrote: post #79
kccqzy wrote: post #66

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Both would require university approval. OPT is literally structured as a course at the university.

You can also do OPT "post-completion" of your degree - this also gives your (new) employer some time to apply for a longer-term work visa.

And you need to get work authorization (EAD card) for that. It’s not a given

Re: British tourist detained by US authorities for 10 days over visa issue

#88

Post by paulsutter »

Little known fact: traveling to Canada, Mexico, or the Caribbean doesnt extend your 90 day visit to the US, in fact you keep the original 90 day stamp so the days spent in those places essentially count against the 90 days.

This is a convenience for travelers to North America, you only need to enter the US once. But seems like she wasn't aware of this.

Re: British tourist detained by US authorities for 10 days over visa issue

#89

Post by yandie »

hdjjhhvvhga wrote: post #47
quackscience wrote: post #8

Probably shouldn't tell border patrol you're doing unpaid labor in a country you're visiting. When speaking to authorities it's best to say the absolute minimum required for the encounter.

Statements like these make me happy I live in Europe.

European country really gave me bad taste when it comes to visa experience. Gave me the absolute minimum despite having a good paying job - and even after marrying a EU citizen I still had a hard time.

This is news because this woman happens to be from a developed country and not a developing countries.

Re: British tourist detained by US authorities for 10 days over visa issue

#90

Post by Terretta »

cco wrote: post #83
sergers wrote: post #42

i was following this on another site before it showed up here: 1)UK citizens dont need a visa perse coming into canada as a tourist 1b) electronic travel authorization form is not required for UK citizens coming to canada over land border. 2)she was staying at Workaway, which depending on how you interpret/misinterpret is "working" (which it possibly is, a little shady on what they are.) so canada may have thought sh…

> very first thing i think of when viewing their site is this is some lodging for volunteer/unpaid labour. https://www.workaway.info/ I'm certainly not an immigration lawyer but my understanding is that _no_ work, none, even in exchange for room and board, is allowed on a tourist visa in the US. Workaway looks like it isn't compatible with a tourist visa in the US and their website doesn't really call that out. Seems…

“Generally you will be expected to help around 5 hours per day in exchange for food and accommodation. Some hosts may give a paid allowance to ensure they are offering at least the minimum wage in their country.”
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