Visiting US and length of stay

[CitizenUS 0]

Greetings from the US.

I met and fell in love with a Canadian. We met in the US when he was here for a golf outing put on by his friends that were also my friends. We've been going back and forth across the border at Grand Portage (land) to see each other since Oct 2007. He spent last Jan, Feb and Mar here (he was laid off from construction) as well as meeting me in Duluth for 3-4 days at a time all summer and fall.

At no time did the US Customs and Border Protection stamp his passport or give him an I-94 Arrival-Departure Record. So my Canadian boyfriend has no idea how many days he has left to visit the US this year. If we are to base it on 180 days, then he has about 25 days left in 2008.

He wants to come here again in Dec of this year and then stay through Mar as he will be laid off from his job again. But he's paranoid about the US Border Protection and thinks they could come get him and kick him out of the US for 2 years because he may have overstayed his visitation.

So I have a few questions to Canadians who are familiar with land crossings and dealing with the USCBP.

1. Is there a reason the USCBP do not give out Arrival-Departure Records to Canadians visiting the US?

2. Can a Canadian who visits the US on pleasure ASK the US border people how many days he may have left to visit the US without sending the wrong message or raising flags?

If you have knowledge in this area, I sure would appreciate some answers. I may have more questions if I can get some conversation going.

Thanks

Edited November 3, 2008 by CitizenUS

[canadian_wife 1,822]

HI there

1) Yes, it is standard procedure NOT to give Canadians the I-94 (Arrival and departure record)

2) Hmm...I think the boarder patrol might raise some eyebrows but you never know right?!?!?

Any other thoughts?

[thetreble 19]

1. Yes. They don't have to get I-94s to Canadians.

2. You could ask but by asking he's most likely going to raise suspicion. What will be more suspicious to them, though, is how he is spending so much time there without employment in Canada. What kind of ties to Canada does he have if he has no job? Does he own property?

[CitizenUS 0]

2. You could ask but by asking he's most likely going to raise suspicion. What will be more suspicious to them, though, is how he is spending so much time there without employment in Canada. What kind of ties to Canada does he have if he has no job? Does he own property?

He works 10-14 hour days Apr-Dec in Canada and makes good money. During this time he has taken 3-5 days off to meet me in Duluth approximately once a month. He also came for 10 days in Aug to help me move. He has been living in the same house his uncle owns for the past 8 years.

The information on the length of stay in the US by a visiting Canadian is very obscure. The USCBP web site says 6 months but it does not say if that's in a calendar year or if that is in a one time visit and if you go back to Canada, the time starts over.

We are under the impression (from what our friends say) that a Canadian can visit the US for 180 days in a calendar year even though there are 182 1/2 days in 6 months.

Is there anyone who has experience in crossing the border (land) who will please tell me what the law is on visitation to the US?

Both he and I are upstanding citizens of our respective countries. Why would there be any suspicion from the US border people if he simply asked them how many days he has left to visit in the US in the year 2008?

Edited November 3, 2008 by CitizenUS

[thetreble 19]

It has nothing to do with you both being upstanding citizens, which I am sure you both are.

The suspicion is, if he is not employed and staying in the US for months at a time, that he has all intentions of immigrating to the US without going through the proper measures.

He can be in the US for 6 months out of any calender year, but most people who are not snowbirds do not really utilize this because it would be impossible. They BP officer may want to know what ties he has to Canada. I would suggest he come up with something to prove that he has all intentions of going back to Canada at the end of his stay. If he has no job or no residence, it can appear that he has no real responsibility to Canada.

He can show other documents to prove ties to Canada like bank statements and everything. But usually employment and the ownership of property/paying rent are the two big ones in my opinion.

[Flames9_RN 358]

yes a Cdn CAN visit the USA, but one doesn't have the RIGHT to visit and it all comes down to the Port of entry (POE) officer. He/she have to make thier decision to allow you to enter or deny you entry in that short initial chat. So if he thinks ur spending more time in the USA than Canada or figures your a risk to stay in the USA he may deny you, or he may send you to secondary screening were you plead ur case, where they may allow u into the USA or deny entry

many of us on VJ (cdns) have visited, and never had a problems, and some do run into problems, its really all depends on the POE officer. I would rather the strong majority encounter no difficulties, but one should always be prepared, me free advice:

1) Always tell the TRUTH. never lie to the POE officer

2) Be confident in ur replies

3)keep ur response short and to the point, dont tell ur life story!!

4) look the POE officer in the eye when speaking to them. They are looking for people lieing and have been trained to find them!

5)pack light! No job resumes with you

6) Bring ties to Canada (letter from employer when ur expected back at work, lease, etc etc)

7) Always be polite, being rude isnt going to get ya anywhere, and could make things worse!!

8) have a plan in case u do get denied (be polite) It wont harm ur visa application if ur denied,that is if ur polite and didnt lie! Refer to #1

Best of luck

[Carlawarla 1]

Just wanted to remark, in case this has happened to others, that for the four years that Gene and I were in a LDR, I only had one passport stamp given to me. I remember in 2005 coming down for 4 months to visit Gene, and wondered about "using up" my time in the US, but then realized who was going to know anyway? Maybe they're stamping consistently now, but if not, I wouldn't worry too much about days away.

[thetreble 19]

Just wanted to remark, in case this has happened to others, that for the four years that Gene and I were in a LDR, I only had one passport stamp given to me. I remember in 2005 coming down for 4 months to visit Gene, and wondered about "using up" my time in the US, but then realized who was going to know anyway? Maybe they're stamping consistently now, but if not, I wouldn't worry too much about days away.

I guess it all depends on where you are coming in and out. I got the 20 questions and evil eye almost every time I went to visit Jared for the 2.5 years we were apart.

[Reba 2]

They are starting to *have* to stamp more and more often now I think. They want to have more in/out records of us wayward Canucks wandering aimlessly around the US. And they'll be keeping records of our comings and goings for several years.

[canadian_wife 1,822]

I am not sure it's so much about stamping passports anymore. It's all about technology and when they scan your passport and either enter admittance or denials.

I've been both admitted to see my husband and denied. And yes, they typically do know how long you've been visiting and for how many days (at least they did for me). And like everyone has said, 180 in a calendar year. You can't 'step out' and the clock restarts.

Good luck.

[Carlawarla 1]

I am not sure it's so much about stamping passports anymore. It's all about technology and when they scan your passport and either enter admittance or denials.

I've been both admitted to see my husband and denied. And yes, they typically do know how long you've been visiting and for how many days (at least they did for me). And like everyone has said, 180 in a calendar year. You can't 'step out' and the clock restarts.

Good luck.

Alas, I still had/have the old passports, but I understand yes with the new ones they'll be able to see exits and entrances. Thanks for clearing that up.

[ruby_mtl 0]

canadian_wife is right, all the information is accessed by scanning the passport now. However, I'm guessing that they only see when you entered and not when you left (I doubt that Canada and the US share infor on this, but I could be wrong). Therefore, they might not be able to calculate the number of days!

[Reba 2]

Yes, they are sharing info on entrance and exits. They have full sharing of files, everything from your travel habits to your last parking ticket.

[MsZ 6]

Reba's right on that one. They share the entire database. So there's no way to get away with lying or hiding from these guys.

[xtinab 0]

I was actually wondering this as well, as Ive been back and forth from Columbus to Toronto... I most recently went into Toronto, by bus and when I went to customs, they asked me how long I was in the US, and I told them 3 months, however, he didnt even scan my passport, he just looked at it and handed it back. I think out of the past 6 or 7 times, my passport only got taken and scanned about 2 of those so Ive been lucky. My last time in TO ( I was just there) I was supposed to stay for 2 weeks but missed BB so much I came back early. Coming into the US (Niagara, also by bus) the guy asked me many questions about when I was coming back, what I did in TO, when was the last time I worked, If I had a return ticket...I was even ON a return ticket, purchased in Columbus because it was cheaper there, I explained this ti him....the whole time, he was looking at my passport and entering info into the PC..finally after like 5 minuites, he handed it back and said ok...such a sigh of relief...but then he said "Nothing's coming back up yet" But he had said it to his colleague and kind of away from me...I thought he said "make sure you come back then" I almost had a heart attack!

Im almost sure that Ive overstayed already. Ive been here in Columbus a lot. Every time we go through, we always say something along the same lines of "Im heading down for 2 weeks, hes driving me back on the following friday" However, I'm sure BB and I are on our last legs of luck and will need to make a move soon!

Edited November 7, 2008 by xtinab