Warning: Mega complicated question

[Reba 2]

At the moment, the OP is in the US as a BRIT NOT a Canadian. If she is asked for federal ID, she doesn't have her Canadian passport any longer, she said she lost it. So, as far as any ICE or USCIS person is concerned at the moment, because she is carrying a UK passport, she is a BRITISH subject, NOT a Canadian citizen. And therefore would be treated according to the laws for visiting Brits, which would include the Visa Waiver Programme, which allows visits only up to 90 days. Which she has obviously well overstayed!

I will add to the others who have already said it. You're screwed. Go home. Get your life sorted out and get a new Canadian passport.

[Sprailenes 47]

So just a quick question Reba.. if she were deported would she be sent back to Britain?

Omg could you imagine?? That would suuuuck!

[Kathryn41 3,205]

Yes, if all she had was a British passport, that is where she would be sent. There have been some unfortunate cases where individuals who have received Canadian citizenship but were still citizens of another country were deported from the US to the country of their first nationality, not their last. The Canadian government filed complaints. In this instance, however, she has no passport for Canada and may not have her Proof of Citizenship papers with her either (don't know). If that is so, they really have no choice but to deport her to the UK.

[Reba 2]

Zackly.

[jundp 191]

So wait. You just packed up and moved to the US and never left?

Yes. You are an illegal alien, regardless of what country you are from or where your daddy was born. You need to go back to Canada and sort this out.

Jane may have overstayed and been forgiven as she was marrying a USC and adjusting status. Your situation is vastly different.

[Sprailenes 47]

This girl probably comes back to read this thread and she probably cries every single time she reads it.

I know I would if I were in her shoes.

[Caladan 19]

You're accumulating unlawful presence now; if you leave you will incur a ban based on the amount of time you had overstayed in the U.S. Since you entered legally, were you and your boyfriend to marry, you'd be able to file for AOS, but you'd have to show that the marriage was not entered into for immigration benefit. (That is, I'm not saying "marry, and stay" but "if you two are thinking of getting married, better to do it here and adjust now rather than head home and face a multi-year ban.")

Any work status is going to require activation, which means contact with CBP, which means the overstay will be public knowledge.

[Caladan 19]

At the moment, the OP is in the US as a BRIT NOT a Canadian. If she is asked for federal ID, she doesn't have her Canadian passport any longer, she said she lost it. So, as far as any ICE or USCIS person is concerned at the moment, because she is carrying a UK passport, she is a BRITISH subject, NOT a Canadian citizen. And therefore would be treated according to the laws for visiting Brits, which would include the Visa Waiver Programme, which allows visits only up to 90 days. Which she has obviously well overstayed!

I will add to the others who have already said it. You're screwed. Go home. Get your life sorted out and get a new Canadian passport.

It's going to depend on how she entered. If she crossed at a land crossing with Canadian ID, that's the status that will be in effect for determining the ban (though if all she has is UK ID, that's where she'd be sent in the unlikely event she is detained, found deportable, and refuses voluntary departure.

[tnguy21809 0]

There is no documentation showing when she entered and if she has been in and out multiple times so the overstay is a mute point!

She said

"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. I chose to do this without bothering with visas because at the time I didn't really think I'd want to get married and I had enough money between he & I to float me for a while. Also, it was my intention at the time to come back to Canada every once in a while to comply with the 6 mos. thing."

MOVED HERE FROM TORONTO

"I came over the Buffalo border using my driver's license and my friend drove me using his car. I haven't been back since - believe me, had I been able to I would have but it's been a torturous time. A series of unfortunate events, as it were. Not the best idea, I know, but frankly I don't think they can tell how long I've been here unless they checked with Canada to see when I re-entered..."

I CAME OVER THE BUFFALO BORDER USING MY DRIVERS LICENSE

She has a Canada driver license which is sufficient proof for Canada that she is a Canadian citizen. Again, it is the US which requires a passport NOT CANADA. So she can prove to CBSA that she is Canadian and not US thus not needing a passport to return home. It still boils down to what she feels is the right thing to do. She implys the boyfriend is history and she wants to stay here to live and work so the marriage thing is out. tough call.

[Reba 2]

No, a driver's license is not proof of citizenship, only proof of residency.

Once again, if her only FEDERAL ID that she has is a British passport, as far as ICE is concerned, she is BRITISH, not Canadian. And therefore will be treated as a BRIT. Because she entered with a driver's license and not a passport, there is no proof of the day she entered or even that she entered with inspection, and because she of course won't have an I-94W in her passport, she will be considered here illegally, and will be sent packing. To Britain.

Unless of course she leaves now without fanfare and goes back to Canada. I'd highly suggest she go by land, because if she tries to go by air, the airline will be looking for the I-94W to take from her passport, which she doesn't have and she'll have to explain why. Possibly to ICE at the airport.

[thetreble 19]

Can I personally suggest that we lock this thread? This is one of those threads where the good information and advice is mixed in with some mis-informed/confusing information that could possible convince the OP that she hasn't done anything wrong, and that she is a-ok to get this job she told us about.

I don't know what you guys think, but it will just go on forever as a battle between decent information, and totally misguided information.

An overstay is never a mute point. Again, I keep on saying that if overstay didn't apply to Canadians (no matter what methods you use to get in and out of the US, no matter what the reasons are, no matter if you entered legally or not) we would all be in the US with no immigration procedure, living our lives. The OP intended to go back and forth to avoid an overstay but that is not what happened. And, if they couldn't catch you up on an overstay, people would never be banned. If you don't live somewhere for a couple of years, both countries are going to notice somehow.

Any ways, just my opinion.

Edited May 18, 2009 by thetreble

[Carlawarla 1]

Can I personally suggest that we lock this thread? This is one of those threads where the good information and advice is mixed in with some mis-informed/confusing information that could possible convince the OP that she hasn't done anything wrong, and that she is a-ok to get this job she told us about.

I don't know what you guys think, but it will just go on forever as a battle between decent information, and totally misguided information.

An overstay is never a mute point. Again, I keep on saying that if overstay didn't apply to Canadians (no matter what methods you use to get in and out of the US, no matter what the reasons are, no matter if you entered legally or not) we would all be in the US with no immigration procedure, living our lives. The OP intended to go back and forth to avoid an overstay but that is not what happened. And, if they couldn't catch you up on an overstay, people would never be banned. If you don't live somewhere for a couple of years, both countries are going to notice somehow.

Any ways, just my opinion.

If you're not the OP, I think you can request it be locked, however it would be nice to hear from the OP in terms of follow-up. If you PM a mod, they could review this and decide to lock it or not. You'd have to ask them though, they're not going to randomly review threads and see your post requesting it be locked.

[thetreble 19]

No I understand that. I guess I was just looking for other people's opinion on it.

If you feel it should be kept open to see if the OP ever comes back and follows up, then it should probably be kept open.

[warlord 72]

No, a driver's license is not proof of citizenship, only proof of residency.

Once again, if her only FEDERAL ID that she has is a British passport, as far as ICE is concerned, she is BRITISH, not Canadian. And therefore will be treated as a BRIT. Because she entered with a driver's license and not a passport, there is no proof of the day she entered or even that she entered with inspection, and because she of course won't have an I-94W in her passport, she will be considered here illegally, and will be sent packing. To Britain.

Unless of course she leaves now without fanfare and goes back to Canada. I'd highly suggest she go by land, because if she tries to go by air, the airline will be looking for the I-94W to take from her passport, which she doesn't have and she'll have to explain why. Possibly to ICE at the airport.

My friend and I crossed the border years back and all he had was a drivers licence. The border guard stated that it proved nothing. He said "You could be from Algeria and came to Canada and got a drivers licence, how does that prove you are Canadian?"

Canadian or English doesn't matter, many Canadians have been deported and barred from entering the US. There was a person on another board a few months ago that was told if they tried to re-enter they would face jail time.

To live in America you need to have proper documentation regardless if it's Canada or Uzbeckistan or the Isle of Tonga. They won't be more lenient on you if you are Canadian compared to another nationality, they will treat you as an illegal immigrant...

[Caladan 19]

No, a driver's license is not proof of citizenship, only proof of residency.

Once again, if her only FEDERAL ID that she has is a British passport, as far as ICE is concerned, she is BRITISH, not Canadian. And therefore will be treated as a BRIT. Because she entered with a driver's license and not a passport, there is no proof of the day she entered or even that she entered with inspection, and because she of course won't have an I-94W in her passport, she will be considered here illegally, and will be sent packing. To Britain.

Unless of course she leaves now without fanfare and goes back to Canada. I'd highly suggest she go by land, because if she tries to go by air, the airline will be looking for the I-94W to take from her passport, which she doesn't have and she'll have to explain why. Possibly to ICE at the airport.

I'm sorry, but I don't see how this follows. You're right that if that all she can prove is that she is British, then, in the event she were to be deported (and we're skipping over the common option of voluntary departure for some unknown reason), she'd go to the UK. But if she crossed the border using only her Canadian driver's license (and birth certificate?), that's the status that would be in effect (as in, she was admitted as a Canadian, with a permissible six month stay, and she's now out of status from that date, not the status she would have had as a British citizen.)

You seem to want to turn this into an issue where she entered-without-inspection merely by possessing an British passport, but that's not how it works. E.g., I have a friend who holds dual Iranian-Canadian citizenship. He is here on an F-1 or J-1, which is tied to his Canadian passport. He entered on that visa, and that's what determines his status. That's still his status even if he loses his Canadian passport; he wouldn't turn into an illegal immigrant from Iran. If he overstays his visa (which he's not), he's someone who overstayed the terms based on his visa in his Canadian passport, not a EWI from Iran.

I'm not arguing that she should stay, but merely not having an I-94 isn't sufficient to make her EWI. Proving legal entry and citizenship would be a separate issue, but that's why deportation proceedings involve courts and time (and not merely ICE putting your butt on a plane.)