denied access... got a few questions

[nemo]

hi all..

a friend of mine is a canadian citizen, but was denied access because he didnt tell them exactly were he was heading to. is dis a truly major offense. i mean, does he need a lawyer to clear his name? or will it waiver off after a period of time... also, what must he do now to ensure that customs will be fully assured that he is telling the truth the next time he tries to cross the boder?
thx...

[nemo]

hi all..

a friend of mine is a canadian citizen, but was denied access because he didnt tell them exactly were he was heading to. is dis a truly major offense. i mean, does he need a lawyer to clear his name? or will it waiver off after a period of time... also, what must he do now to ensure that customs will be fully assured that he is telling the truth the next time he tries to cross the boder?
thx...

[ardainia]

You should ask your friend the question as to why he (didn't, couldn't, wouldn't) tell them exactly where he was going. He needs to have a valid reason for visiting the US and a definite point point or time of return. A lawyer isn't really going to make a difference, as the lawyer will ask what was he trying to hide when crossing the border the first time.

[nemo]

thx much for replying... ive asked my friend, and here's d full story... him and a couple other of his buddies jus wanted to go to downtown buffalo - that was their primary reason... but their secondary reason was to also pick up one of their buddies at the airport (who is a US citizen with a green card)... its all their first time, so they dont really kno exactly where to go, plus no one prep them on wat questions would be asked... therefore, wen the custom agent at the gate asked wr they were going... they answered that they were jus going to drive around downtown buffalo and see if they could find some nice places to stop by... (he didnt bother to mention the airport part since it wasn't really his main reason for crossing the border).. the agent didnt like this broad answer very much and sent them to customs office... after being interviewed and the customs agents checked his car... and den they were interviewed again.. the questions were again asked wr they were going... he told them jus driving around downtown... the agent them told them that they were lying because he found a flight itinerary in the car... and so they were denied access coz they didnt say that they were going to the airport... the agent probably thought that they were going to smuggle a person.. which by the way was not the case at all... he jus didnt tell them they were going to the airport coz it wasn't his primary reason for going to buffalo.. and den later jus out of fear... (that he might be accused of lying).. which ironically is wat happened... the agent took their fingerprint and their picture... i believe this is a federal offense... but giving false information to an agent must also have its different levels... how big of a deal is dis case? thx again... u hav no idea how much this is helping...

[Martha]

Nemo,

I can only tell you my experience. When I was younger, I used to live in canada and now in the US and we were going over the border from Canada to the US to a bar. I was underage to drink in the US but not in Canada. So we lied and told them we were going to visit.
They realized we were lying and denied us access. But however, we were never denied again. That was about 13 yrs ago now but now I live in the US and am a legal US resident.
So hope this help. He may need to contact a lawyer and find out what to do.
Martha

[Spouse]

Were they given any paperwork, and if so, does it cite which section of law they were denied admission under. This could help you a great deal!

[nemo]

spouse,

i thnk they're wr given some.. but im not sure if they had to surrender it to canadian customs... so i dont thnk they got to keep it... but if ever they did ( i will check with him), in what way could this help?

honestly though... i kno that lying is a federal offense... but its not like they lied bout drug possession.. or weapons in their vehicle... do they all have the same weight?

[Spouse]

Well, the weight of the matter depends on the situation... from what you are saying, it doesn't sound like a big deal at all. However, I don't want to tell you that, and then find out later that something significantly different was running through the immigration officers mind (I have no idea what, but maybe they thought there was an intent to immigrate, smuggle a person, or too many previous visits, or who really knows.)

Assuming that they were given papers (which I highly doubt were confiscated by Canadian customs unless something really wierd was going on!) those papers would give them the reason for their being denied access and what, if any laws apply. These papers are the easiest way to find out if they simply weren't allowed in for the moment, or if some type of removal order was initiated, or if some type of background information prevents one or all of them from entering the US in the future as well (i.e. one of them has some sort of criminal record, etc).

As previously stated, it is probably the former, but the papers would let you know for sure. Otherwise, there is FOIA, but honestly, I have never requested information from FOIA, and I really don't know if they would have the information if they were simply denied entry (although if there was some sort of removal order present or in initiation it should provide that information).

Everything you said seems like there should be no problem, but then again, if I were the immigration officer, I would have let them in, even if they were just going to "sightsee" (regardless of the flight itinerary). Thus, I think that the immigration officer might have had something else in mind, and it would be best to find out exactly what was officially documented.

So, looking at these papers, identifying the law they wrote down, etc. would help by telling you EXACTLY why they were not allowed in. This will let you know if it is a big deal, or not.

[nemo]

wow... thanks so much.. wat u said makes a lot of sense... i'll tell him to look into it rite away... and i'll keep you posted.. thx again

[Spouse]

please do keep me posted. I am very interested in what you have to say, and hope that it turns out to be the best case scenario.

Take care!

[nemo]

spouse,

jus wanted u to kno im still following up.. havent forgotten it!

[Catherine J.]

Hi Nemo,

I'm also a Canadian Citizen and was once denied entry to the US while trying to cross the border for business purposes. Imagine my surprise that they did that because I had a valid TN (nafta work visa) and was living in the US for already a year. Long story but the officer cancelled my TN stating that I should have applied for an H1B Visa instead, which he thought was more appropriate for my line of work.

Anyway, because of the cancelled Visa, he denied my entry to the US, since he knew I was going in to work. A few weeks later, I was able to get this same Visa reinstated because this officer's decision was unfounded.

The only advice I can give you and your friend is to NEVER LIE if he gets asked the question: "Have you ever been denied entry to the US?" He should always say Yes and explain the misunderstanding. If he answers NO, they will know he's lying (they can see it in his record) and will really get mad. THis is what an officer told me when they reinstated my cancelled Visa. He said that the fact that I was denied entry will not affect my future entries but I have to declare it if asked.

I think your friend will be fine. I don't think it's a major offense and I doubt it will cause him trouble in the future, as long as he's honest and tells the truth from now on.

Catherine

[moondin]

You don't need to lie to be accussed of attempt at fraudulent entry. Which carries a bar in itself.

Claiming to visit downtown buffalo to find nice places (i mean c'mon, who are we kidding here. This is BUFFALO. There ARE no "nice" places. It's freakin' ugly) and finding an iternirary can be seen as evading authorities and trying to commit fraud through avoiding questioning.

In this day of post 9/11 -- INS officers do NOT appreciate that half-*** answers, and blank stares. They don't know if you're picking up a terrorist, bringing over drugs, picking up a gf, flying to another state. Who knows.

You have to remember. The officers can't just let EVERYONE in all day and then go home. It'll look bad on their record. So they *have* to do some rejections, just for the sake of appearing that they are doing their job. And so the issue becomes "who" to interrogate to the tee, and who to let go. People who give evasive answers obviously are at the top of the list.

Hence, why people who fit the profile of someone who has something to hide get sent inside. Always always ALWAYS be truthful, confident and upfront of where and what you are doing.

When I lived in Canada, i looked like someone straight out of the Hells Angels. Know how many times I got stopped over hundreds of visits before getting USC? ZERO. Confidence. Answering questions politely. No hestitation. No evasive or exhausitve answers. Knowing the law. Welcome to the US. Enjoy your stay big biker man.

-= nav =-

[Catherine J.]

Moodin,

You make very good points.

And you're right, it helps to be truthful and confident, as if you have nothing to hide. However, as you said, in certain times, that may not be enough to guarantee they will leave you alone.

Catherine

[nemo]

moondin,

i totally agree with you too... d sad thing is... my friends learned the hard way... as previously mentioned.. it was their first time to cross the border... for the purpose of really jus seeing buffalo (however useless that may sound)... who knew there was nothing dr... which is probably one of the main reasons why they were given the curiousity eyebrow... and according to their stories... those customs ppl can be pretty scary...

rite now, i jus need to know if it will be all ok... i mean, im sure that the next time they try to cross, they will again be questioned by customs... but if they say the whole story truthfully, will it be ok? also, if they are asked: "Why should I believe you now?" what can we do to guarantee that they will?