Love in a no man's land-Seattle Times

[Danu 19]

No, I didn't mean that at all! Some people can go for a year without seeing their SO, and still maintain a strong bond with them and that's great! I, on the other hand, could never do that, and I was just trying to say that I don't understand how someone could wait that long and keep the relationship going. For me, finances have always been an issue, absolutely. But I suppose my lack of "maturity" helped me out. I was willing to max out my credit card, skip classes, call in sick for work, not buy a textbook I needed, just to make a trip. It wasn't smart, or "adult" but it was how I dealt with the circumstances. I don't think I would have had the patience and persistence to wait a year, despite my fiances. I would have begged and borrowed until I could do it, which isn't smart, I realize that. Everyone deals with things differently. It was not my goal to offend anyone! Trust me. We all have our struggles and were all in this together.

*hugs* I knew what you ment. For me its just the fact that I doubt I will get to claim EI and with my car (and he just had to get a new one cuz his blew up) and the move..blech, it sucks, its hard. I wish I could just go see him but then the other thing that came to mind is I have no ties to Canada other than my car loan and cellphone bill...too scared to get turned back at the boarded even if I did go! It sucks that hes not just a quick drive or I so would try, but I'd be terrified of wasting 800 bucks on a ticket to get turned around and sent home ><

Edited September 16, 2009 by Danu

[Hugglebuggles 60]

No, I didn't mean that at all! Some people can go for a year without seeing their SO, and still maintain a strong bond with them and that's great! I, on the other hand, could never do that, and I was just trying to say that I don't understand how someone could wait that long and keep the relationship going. For me, finances have always been an issue, absolutely. But I suppose my lack of "maturity" helped me out. I was willing to max out my credit card, skip classes, call in sick for work, not buy a textbook I needed, just to make a trip. It wasn't smart, or "adult" but it was how I dealt with the circumstances. I don't think I would have had the patience and persistence to wait a year, despite my fiances. I would have begged and borrowed until I could do it, which isn't smart, I realize that. Everyone deals with things differently. It was not my goal to offend anyone! Trust me. We all have our struggles and were all in this together.

*hugs* I knew what you ment. For me its just the fact that I doubt I will get to claim EI and with my car (and he just had to get a new one cuz his blew up) and the move..blech, it sucks, its hard. I wish I could just go see him but then the other thing that came to mind is I have no ties to Canada other than my car loan and cellphone bill...too scared to get turned back at the boarded even if I did go! It sucks that hes not just a quick drive or I so would try, but I'd be terrified of wasting 800 bucks on a ticket to get turned around and sent home ><

And that's totally understandable! You're being smart! The separation is hard, but being broke and miserable when you finally get to be together is not going to make things any easier. I'm sorry things have been difficult and thank you for not being upset with what I didn't mean to say *hugs*

[Danu 19]

No, I didn't mean that at all! Some people can go for a year without seeing their SO, and still maintain a strong bond with them and that's great! I, on the other hand, could never do that, and I was just trying to say that I don't understand how someone could wait that long and keep the relationship going. For me, finances have always been an issue, absolutely. But I suppose my lack of "maturity" helped me out. I was willing to max out my credit card, skip classes, call in sick for work, not buy a textbook I needed, just to make a trip. It wasn't smart, or "adult" but it was how I dealt with the circumstances. I don't think I would have had the patience and persistence to wait a year, despite my fiances. I would have begged and borrowed until I could do it, which isn't smart, I realize that. Everyone deals with things differently. It was not my goal to offend anyone! Trust me. We all have our struggles and were all in this together.

*hugs* I knew what you ment. For me its just the fact that I doubt I will get to claim EI and with my car (and he just had to get a new one cuz his blew up) and the move..blech, it sucks, its hard. I wish I could just go see him but then the other thing that came to mind is I have no ties to Canada other than my car loan and cellphone bill...too scared to get turned back at the boarded even if I did go! It sucks that hes not just a quick drive or I so would try, but I'd be terrified of wasting 800 bucks on a ticket to get turned around and sent home ><

And that's totally understandable! You're being smart! The separation is hard, but being broke and miserable when you finally get to be together is not going to make things any easier. I'm sorry things have been difficult and thank you for not being upset with what I didn't mean to say *hugs*

Haha no problem. I'm still hopeful that we will get an interview soon so this ####### can stop. About the original people, I feel bad that she got a ban, but then again if they knew enough to know about the process they should have known as well about telling the truth and bringing proof.

[Marilyn. 340]

where does it say she didn't tell the truth?

the article even says this..

she asked a U.S. border officer what she needed to do to be able to continue to travel into the country. He explained the green-card and visa process for spouses, but "never once said that I could be barred,

[Danu 19]

where does it say she didn't tell the truth?

the article even says this..

she asked a U.S. border officer what she needed to do to be able to continue to travel into the country. He explained the green-card and visa process for spouses, but "never once said that I could be barred,

My bad, I kind of jumped to a conclusion based on them finding out about her marriage via her marriage cert. I don't know if they would have gone any easier on her though if she said, I'm visiting my husband, here are all my ties to Canada.

[Marilyn. 340]

where does it say she didn't tell the truth?

the article even says this..

she asked a U.S. border officer what she needed to do to be able to continue to travel into the country. He explained the green-card and visa process for spouses, but "never once said that I could be barred,

My bad, I kind of jumped to a conclusion based on them finding out about her marriage via her marriage cert. I don't know if they would have gone any easier on her though if she said, I'm visiting my husband, here are all my ties to Canada.

well from what I get out of the article it seems that they were suspicious of all her trips to the US and thought she was planning on staying in the US (which I find kind of odd because doesn't it show that she always came back to Canada)... so I am not sure if they even gave her an opportunity to say or show them anything...

[sdw 10]

I cross quite frequently and I say I am going to visit my husband for the weekend and get asked a few other questions. Some CBP ask more questions that others.

I feel bad for them and anyone else that can't see there spouse regularly.

[Krikit 1,164]

As for was that necessary? Perhaps not, but I see people that come to post that are actually helping people with their journeys. I see others that post to do nothing but complain. Estadia is such a shining example IMO. She does what ever she can to assist others, without a word of her own journey.

I have, on occasion, whined about our plight. But I spent the majority of my time researching, and gathering information. I then used that not only to help our journey, but to assist others that have gone through, or are going through a denial. Others here have spent time researching how to speed up the process as much as is legally and feasibly possible. And then they post here to help others. Those are the ones I have admiration for.

Given your admiration for Estadia and others, would you characterize your posts as helpful and not "whining"?

[morocco4ever 63]

As for was that necessary? Perhaps not, but I see people that come to post that are actually helping people with their journeys. I see others that post to do nothing but complain. Estadia is such a shining example IMO. She does what ever she can to assist others, without a word of her own journey.

I have, on occasion, whined about our plight. But I spent the majority of my time researching, and gathering information. I then used that not only to help our journey, but to assist others that have gone through, or are going through a denial. Others here have spent time researching how to speed up the process as much as is legally and feasibly possible. And then they post here to help others. Those are the ones I have admiration for.

Given your admiration for Estadia and others, would you characterize your posts as helpful and not "whining"?

You haven't read very many of my posts have you? If you are interested to see you can read this thread.

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=3896

There were only one other couple that had gone through a denial on VJ when we had ours. It took me months to find her. Then many came right after. Between her, Kiyah, and myself we did some major research and pulled it all together in this thread. It is filled with useful information that will assist a person that went through what we went through. No body should have to feel as alone as I did when we were denied. For us it wasn't just waiting for our case to reach the target date because a denial has no target date. As I was told, they get around to them when and if they have the time.

Like I stated, I have whined on occasion, but as you can see I have done my share of research, and assisted many here with denials. So no, I don't find that many of my posts are in particular whiny, and yes I have been helpful to not just these, but many through PM's.

[Ban Hammer 13,333]

what this thread needs more of

[Krikit 1,164]

I'm sorry. I should have been clearer. I meant in this thread.

[Flames9_RN 358]

I always find it interesting how threads in the Cdn forum are so quiet and peaceful, then others come in and ruin it,lol

[Aero and Dero 0]

where does it say she didn't tell the truth?

the article even says this..

she asked a U.S. border officer what she needed to do to be able to continue to travel into the country. He explained the green-card and visa process for spouses, but "never once said that I could be barred,

My bad, I kind of jumped to a conclusion based on them finding out about her marriage via her marriage cert. I don't know if they would have gone any easier on her though if she said, I'm visiting my husband, here are all my ties to Canada.

well from what I get out of the article it seems that they were suspicious of all her trips to the US and thought she was planning on staying in the US (which I find kind of odd because doesn't it show that she always came back to Canada)... so I am not sure if they even gave her an opportunity to say or show them anything...

Having had years of experience with the Peace Arch and Blaine CBP, in the early half of this year, there was this one rather exuberant, very young (I'd say in his mid-20s at the most) guard. He may not have been the only one that was like this. But in my trips across the border and being detained (I am a USC) for having traveled in the past with my detained boyfriend (at the time), he had this noticeably bad habit. He used to work at Blaine on Sundays from 6AM until 6PMish Until this boy, we had no problems with the border ever.

Like one trip, he held over a girl traveling to the US by bus and sent her back to the US, because she had a US bank account/debit card and that made him suspicious in thinking that she had a job in the US illegally. This was at the time when the Canadian dollar was worth more than the US dollar and a lot of mine and my boyfriend's Canadian friends were crossing into the US to spend money. She wasn't flagged in the system as far as I could tell. The border agents were talking pretty freely behind the counter and it was all this particular officer's 'intuition.'

Another time, he pulled over a young Caucasian woman from the bus, who was going to visit her Hispanic boyfriend and he found a 'suspicious' letter in her belongings and confiscated it to take to someone not in the bus immigration area (the two areas are separated as far as I can tell at Blaine) so they could translate it for him. He thought it was a terrorist document. She was ultimately allowed into the US, after a border agent who read Spanish, translated it and was like: This is a love letter.... there's nothing in this that's wrong.

With the boyfriend, we've been dating since 2001, and been driving across the border since 2004, so that's 5 years worth of proof that he's not actually staying in the US, but this same border guard thought that he had an illegal job in the US and/or was going to school illegally in the US. I haven't seen him since, and the last time I saw him was last March, he had been delegated to standing outside in the snow and cold waiting for cars that had been pulled aside to show up so he can tell them where to park. I'm /guessing/ (maybe even spitefully hoping), he got demoted from booth car checker, to bus checker, then to standing out in the cold waiting for cars and driven out for creating so much extra paperwork for the office. Then again, it's more likely they rotate all those positions.

So I can totally see a lie by omission counting as ban-worthy, especially if she dealt with the same group of people.

[Aero and Dero 0]

Like one trip, he held over a girl traveling to the US by bus and sent her back to the US,

Woops. I meant they sent her back to Canada.

[warlord 73]

I've never been to Point Roberts, but my coworker crosses over there to buy gas.

I think that is the place I looked at on Google awhile back, a little pinsula thingy where the southern part is in the US, but the only way to leave the 12 or 16 block part is to drive into Canada and then around a bay into the US or take a boat.

I have been curious what school kids do on that section because without a school there, I imagine they have to go through Canada and then back into the US (2 customs) each just to get to school.

Also another question next to the Peach Arch, I noticed a road that separates the US and Canada with homes on either side. Does anyone know how that works? It doesn't look like theres a fench or anything, just a marker. I'm just curious how they monitor that road (think it's called 0 road or something)...