I- 485 - removed at government expense?

[crowcaller 0]

Hi,

Im a TN holder applying for AOS- just married a US citizen last month. Im filling out my I-485 and had a question:

#8 Have you ever been deported from the United States, or removed from the US at government expense, excluded within the past year, or are you now in exclusion, deportation, removal, or rescission proceedings?

Back in 1998 on my first TN attempt I was denied TN entry at the border due to improper paperwork. I got the paperwork fixed and was granted TN status a week later. The catch is, if I remember correctly, I was turned back the first time while crossing the border on a train, so the US border patrol (i think) had to drive me back across the peace bridge in buffalo to get me back into Canada- I think the train passenger inspection was done on the US side. Does this constitute "removed from the US at government expense"?

I was going to mark "Yes" and then explain the situation as I have done here.

any advice?

[la2011 5]

Hi,

Im a TN holder applying for AOS- just married a US citizen last month. Im filling out my I-485 and had a question:

#8 Have you ever been deported from the United States, or removed from the US at government expense, excluded within the past year, or are you now in exclusion, deportation, removal, or rescission proceedings?

Back in 1998 on my first TN attempt I was denied TN entry at the border due to improper paperwork. I got the paperwork fixed and was granted TN status a week later. The catch is, if I remember correctly, I was turned back the first time while crossing the border on a train, so the US border patrol (i think) had to drive me back across the peace bridge in buffalo to get me back into Canada- I think the train passenger inspection was done on the US side. Does this constitute "removed from the US at government expense"?

I was going to mark "Yes" and then explain the situation as I have done here.

any advice?

If I were in your position, I would write no. You were not deported, you were denied entry, that's entirely different. If it makes you feel better, you might want to explain exactly what happened on a separate sheet.

But having your TN turned down because of insufficient info is not being deported at the cost of the US government. When I applied for my TN, the US Custom Officer was so nice, she said, "if we cant approve you today, its because you're missing something in your application, dont worry, go get that info and come back tomorrow and we'll approve you. (thankfully, such was not the case and I was approved on the spot) but it sure didnt sound like a big deal.

It's my understanding that to be deported, you have to be IN THE US and then forced out. You never entered in the first place....It's a good thing you asked though, it's always better to be overly careful than not enough with this process

Edited July 22, 2011 by la2011

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

If I were in your position, I would write no. You were not deported, you were denied entry, that's entirely different. If it makes you feel better, you might want to explain exactly what happened on a separate sheet.

But having your TN turned down because of insufficient info is not being deported at the cost of the US government. When I applied for my TN, the US Custom Officer was so nice, she said, "if we cant approve you today, its because you're missing something in your application, dont worry, go get that info and come back tomorrow and we'll approve you. (thankfully, such was not the case and I was approved on the spot) but it sure didnt sound like a big deal.

It's my understanding that to be deported, you have to be IN THE US and then forced out. You never entered in the first place....It's a good thing you asked though, it's always better to be overly careful than not enough with this process

This is all correct except for the last paragraph. You can be considered to have been removed from the US without ever actually being admitted. It's called expedited removal - it essentially consists of CBP deciding not only that you're not going to be admitted, but that you need to be forcefully ejected from the US. You're taken into custody, processed for summary deportation, and escorted to transportation back to your home country. CBP handles everything - no courts, no lawyers, no appeals. If the US government pays for the ticket (they usually don't) then you would have been removed at US government expense. Expedited removal usually comes with an automatic 5 year bar from return to the US.

Someone who had been subjected to expedited removal would have to answer "yes" to that question.