Warning: Mega complicated question

[minnew 4]

Like sister Kathryn said: a lawyer will not be of any help. Best option: return to Canada. WTH.

Yes return to Canada and if you do, I suggest before June 1st! As you said you lost your passport in Miami. You will need a passport to cross any land borders! So that date is coming up very quickly!

Edited May 15, 2009 by minnew

[thetreble 19]

Like sister Kathryn said: a lawyer will not be of any help. Best option: return to Canada. WTH.

Yes return to Canada and if you do, I suggest before June 1st! As you said you lost your passport in Miami. You will need a passport to cross any land borders! So that date is coming up very quickly!

Oh. I'm confused. I thought the passport thing was just to get into the US. I didn't know you needed a passport to now get into Canada as of June 1st from the US.

[minnew 4]

Like sister Kathryn said: a lawyer will not be of any help. Best option: return to Canada. WTH.

Yes return to Canada and if you do, I suggest before June 1st! As you said you lost your passport in Miami. You will need a passport to cross any land borders! So that date is coming up very quickly!

Oh. I'm confused. I thought the passport thing was just to get into the US. I didn't know you needed a passport to now get into Canada as of June 1st from the US.

Humm I thought it was, now I am confused too! Because say if you visit Canada from the U.S. without a passport, how can you get back into the U.S. if the requirement is to have a passport for entry into the U.S.?

[trailmix 77]

Like sister Kathryn said: a lawyer will not be of any help. Best option: return to Canada. WTH.

Yes return to Canada and if you do, I suggest before June 1st! As you said you lost your passport in Miami. You will need a passport to cross any land borders! So that date is coming up very quickly!

Oh. I'm confused. I thought the passport thing was just to get into the US. I didn't know you needed a passport to now get into Canada as of June 1st from the US.

That's a good point Amanda. I don't think you do either - if you are travelling across the border in your own car. Taking commercial transportation - then you do need the passport as they are required to ensure you have it.

Canadians Returning Home - Canadian Border Services Agency

Make sure you carry proper identification for yourself and any children travelling with you to assist in confirming your legal right to enter Canada. Proper identification includes a Canadian birth certificate, a Canadian passport, a permanent residence card, a citizenship card or a certificate of Indian status. link

[minnew 4]

Like sister Kathryn said: a lawyer will not be of any help. Best option: return to Canada. WTH.

Yes return to Canada and if you do, I suggest before June 1st! As you said you lost your passport in Miami. You will need a passport to cross any land borders! So that date is coming up very quickly!

Oh. I'm confused. I thought the passport thing was just to get into the US. I didn't know you needed a passport to now get into Canada as of June 1st from the US.

Humm I thought it was, now I am confused too! Because say if you visit Canada from the U.S. without a passport, how can you get back into the U.S. if the requirement is to have a passport for entry into the U.S.?

Sorry this is OT from the OP's post!

Shoot, wish I could still edit. Sorry for the misinformation, its a U.S. law, Canada has not implemented it. If a U.S. citizen is returning to the U.S. after visiting Canada a passport will still be needed from what I read, even though Canada does not require a passport for him/her to enter. Here is the website about WHTI.

http://www.getyouhome.gov/html/eng_map.html

[warlord 73]

Another issue is your friend could get into serious trouble to for hiring an illegal if found out. Not to mention your boyfriend could also be accused of haboring an illegal alien which has it's on reprocussions as well. So it's not just you that you are putting into jeapordy now, it's your BF and your friend if they try and hire you.

Crossing over the border even once can be the end of it as getting back into the US they very well might want to see proof that you live there and have stable ties to Canada.

Yep heard about passports being mandatory as well now at the borders.

This is not a difficult or complicated situation. It's plain and simple. You are living here illegally and need to leave before you (and others) really get into problems.

I'd hate to ask how you are dealing with medical insurance as I'm sure you won't be covered by your boyfriend and would hate to see what the bill would be if you had an emergency or even going to the doctors etc. That I am curious how you are managing the insurance part of that...

[Chica Yeyé 41]

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English

Seriously, #######.

[Sprailenes 47]

Long story short: YOU'RE SCREWED! DO THE RIGHT THING AND GO HOME!

Nuff said.

[thetreble 19]

Oh Leeeennnn.

[Killer_Clown_2009 0]

Well, I looked into the overstay issue when I was applying for my AOS and this is the most current information that I could find:

"Subject: Advisory Opinion: INA 212( a)( 9 )( B ) and Canadians

Ref: ( a ) Montreal 1497, ( B ) Victars E57819, © 97 State 23545, ( d ) State 60539

Montreal's Reftel asks if the unlawful presence inadmissibilities, imposed by INA (a )(9 )(B )1 and 2, apply to Canadians, and Commonwealth Citizens Resident in Canada, who enter the United States following inspection by and INS officer, but have received neither a visa nor an I-94.

The INS General Counsel's office has informed VO that, a Canadian, or Commonwealth Citizen Resident in Canada, admitted following inspection, who has not been issued an I-94, should be treated in the same manner as a duration of status case, similar to an F or J.

As in duration of status cases, a Canadian, or Commonwealth Citizen Resident in Canada, who is found to have violated status and be removable by an Immigration Judge, or found to have violated status, by an INS officer, in the course of adjudicating a benefit, such as an extension of stay or a change of adjustment of status, is unlawfully present. The unlawful presence commences on the date when the immigration judge, or INS officer, makes the ruling, not the date the status violation began.

A Canadian, or Commonwealth Citizen Resident in Canada, like other aliens, who enters without inspection, accrues unlawful presence from the time of entry. However, as unlawful presence may not be counted in the aggregate, there must be an unbroken period of unlawful presence lasting at least six months after April 1, 1997, and following the applicant's eighteenth birthday, before a 9B bar could apply. "

I was also advised by a pretty decent immigration lawyer that while I had overstayed, I was not unlawfully present and not subjected to any bar and could travel on AP (which I didn't do). I would rather be safe then sorry, but I also believe that a bar issued to a Canadian could be challenged and successfully removed, using the above opinion.

Edited May 15, 2009 by jane2005

[thetreble 19]

Jane, Jane, Jane.....

Your pretty good immigration lawyer was wrong, just like most of them are. We all would like to think that because lawyers are supposed to know and research the law, they are always right. However, mostly when it comes to immigration, they are wrong.

Would you like us to honestly give you links to cases where Canadians have been successfully barred? If I go to the US and stay there for 5 years, am I not an illegal immigrant? What is the difference between me and someone who crossed into mexico as a visitor, and is also now there for 5 years? How could you argue, if I may ask, that you are NOT unlawfully in the US?

A J or F Visa only allows you to stay certain amounts of time, by the way, so again...you can't overstay those visas either!

Again, this issue keeps on coming up. If we were all allowed to stay for however long we wanted without penalty, why would I pay thousands of dollars to immigrate?

Every one knows there is a 6 month rule. Please don't be one of those people that comes on here and starts a massive debate about whether or not it exists and that Canadians are immune to overstay. It's almost prejudice to say that.

[Kathryn41 3,205]

Regarding the 6 month overstay issue for Canadians here is an interesting link to the CRS Report to Congress from 2006 where it specifically addresses the problem of estimating overstays for Canadian non-immigrants with a 6 month length of stay who are exempt from the I-94:

http://74.125.47.132/search?q=cache:bhToYI...=clnk&gl=us

[u]
Estimating Overstays[/u]
In the past few years it became apparent that the data on nonimmigrant overstays
were unreliable because these data were based upon the I-94 Arrival/Departure form.
Although the I-94 forms are usually collected from foreign nationals at air and sea ports,
the forms are infrequently collected from foreign nationals exiting at land ports.
Moreover, two major classes of nonimmigrants are exempt from fillingout theI-94 when
visiting the United States for business or pleasure:[b] Canadian citizens admitted for up to
six months[/b] and Mexican citizens entering with a border crossing card (laser visa) along
the southwestern border who intend to limit their stay to less than thirty days and intend
not to travel beyond a set perimeter, generally 25 miles (75 miles in Arizona) from the
border.

Edited May 15, 2009 by Kathryn41

[WalkonWildSide 0]

Hi! Alright so, almost 2 yrs ago (2yrs i Sept. '09) I was misguided and moved here from Toronto to be with a guy I was seeing.

Oh yes - I lost my passport in Miami and have yet to replace it, I never renewed my expired Canadian passport as I had the license and currently the only ID I have is my British passport (I have dual brit/can citizenship and I was born in London, UK).

Anybody have any ideas?

You have read the ideas and I am sure you don't like the answers. You are currently in possession of a valid UK passport. You should leave the USA as soon as possible and enter Canada on your UK passport. Do not pass Go! Do not collect $200.

So there are NO questions in your mind.

You are in the United States illegally. You are breaking the law. You are subject to deportation.

Harsh sounding...yes!!! You broke the rules now you have one chance to fix it. The one chance is to pack up and leave the USA as soon as possible. And pray, and pray that you didn't piss someone off and that person doesn't call ICE on you. They will show up at your house and drive you over the border!

[Hugglebuggles 60]

...and might I add that I find all this slightly annoying as my dad was born literally 5 minutes away from the border. I just want to be able to stay in New York, really.

I'm sorry but this comment bothered me a lot. I was born literally 15 minutes from the border, but what difference does this make? How does the birth location of your father (not even you, rendering the comment even more perplexing) somehow give you a special privilege to remain in the US illegally for 2 years? There have been many times where I wished I was born 15 minutes east, but international do borders exist, despite how inconvenient they may be. I'm sorry if that sounded harsh, but a lot of Canadians were born and live very close to the American border and spend a lot time visiting and educating themselves in the US. They are subject to the same immigration laws as anyone else. With that said, I hope you find a legal path to live your American dream. Good luck.

[tnguy21809 0]

Hi! Alright so, almost 2 yrs ago (2yrs i Sept. '09) I was misguided and moved here from Toronto to be with a guy I was seeing.

Oh yes - I lost my passport in Miami and have yet to replace it, I never renewed my expired Canadian passport as I had the license and currently the only ID I have is my British passport (I have dual brit/can citizenship and I was born in London, UK).

Anybody have any ideas?

You have read the ideas and I am sure you don't like the answers. You are currently in possession of a valid UK passport. You should leave the USA as soon as possible and enter Canada on your UK passport. Do not pass Go! Do not collect $200.

So there are NO questions in your mind.

You are in the United States illegally. You are breaking the law. You are subject to deportation.

Harsh sounding...yes!!! You broke the rules now you have one chance to fix it. The one chance is to pack up and leave the USA as soon as possible. And pray, and pray that you didn't piss someone off and that person doesn't call ICE on you. They will show up at your house and drive you over the border!

Yes she is here illegally! BUT ICE showing up and drive her over the border????!!!! I would bet my every dollar that would NEVER happen!

First off. In spite of all everyone is saying here, relations between the USA and Canada are different than with any other country. All Commercial traffic is logged into Canada and logged into the USA so they can compare notes and see the time spent each place. BUT non commercial traffic of Canadians being logged into the computers when entering into the US is random. and vice versa. If you are in a car and pull up to the inspection booth they may only ask a few questions and let you go. You are not put into the system so there is no record of how long you stayed and the issue of an overstay is irrelevant.

I know of many Canadians in the states and US citizens in Canada who have lived in the other country for years without getting residency. I am not saying it is right or wrong but they have the money to buy a house and live without causing any problems or making a noise about anything.

The passport requirments do go into effect June 1st! BUT, again, Canadian citizens who would be here before June 1st without a passport only need to prove to their government they are Canadian with whatever means they have on them. The US is the ones who require passports. The Canadian Government has said. Any US citizen must have a passport to enter their country because if the US will not let them back without it then they dont want them stuck in Canada.

Any Canadian will need a passport to enter the US after June 1st and I am sure all persons will be entered into the computers and will be trackable after june 1st so overstays and such will be known but as far as them tracking down everyone and escorting them out of the country??? NOT going to happen for a long long time. Unless you are found to be extremely dangerous probably wont be a problem if you keep a low profile. over 20 million known illegals here now! They cant deal with what they know about let alone the unknown.

Even though there are millions already doing it, I don't condone stooping down to their level and being like them. I say do it the right way. whatever that may be, going home and applying, doing an AOS here, just do it legal and you can sleep at night without any worries. Don't worry about overstays and bans, no one probably even knows your here and evidently your government has managed just fine without you or they would have called long ago and asked you to come home and help support the family IMHO!