Who do I contact for false issues in border crossing?

[Switchblade 0]

Hey guys,

So here is the scoop. Last summer I tried to cross over the border on land with my dad (which had an old criminal record) and we were stopped at the border. I got rejected because it looked like I was an intended immigrant because of how much I was carrying and not enough ties to Canada at the time, and I was staying for most of the summer. Needless to say that I was ill prepared to cross over because I never did it before and learned some hard lessons that day.

A few weeks later I decided after gathering the right papers I was going to take a flight over instead. I was brought into secondary screening (which was expected) and they looked at my papers. However one thing that I wasn't expecting was the girl asked me for some court papers that had nothing to do with me. When I got rejected the first time, the girl was talking with my dad who had forgot his papers that day and well couldn't cross. Some how the fact that he needed court papers to come over ended up on my record.

The girl ended up asking me for those papers and I told her there is no such papers for me because I never committed a crime and so there was no court papers stating discharge or I'm clean or whatever. I dunno if she ended up believing me or whatever but in the end I was allowed to cross without those papers, however that doesn't mean I want to go through that again.

I'm planning on making a trip to the states for a week during the Spring Break and so if possible I want to be able to clear garbage like that on my record.

So my question is, is there a place I can call or contact regarding issues like this? I don't see how it's fair for them to screw up and I have to pay for it.

[Colleens 40]

Hey guys,

So here is the scoop. Last summer I tried to cross over the border on land with my dad (which had an old criminal record) and we were stopped at the border. I got rejected because it looked like I was an intended immigrant because of how much I was carrying and not enough ties to Canada at the time, and I was staying for most of the summer. Needless to say that I was ill prepared to cross over because I never did it before and learned some hard lessons that day.

A few weeks later I decided after gathering the right papers I was going to take a flight over instead. I was brought into secondary screening (which was expected) and they looked at my papers. However one thing that I wasn't expecting was the girl asked me for some court papers that had nothing to do with me. When I got rejected the first time, the girl was talking with my dad who had forgot his papers that day and well couldn't cross. Some how the fact that he needed court papers to come over ended up on my record.

The girl ended up asking me for those papers and I told her there is no such papers for me because I never committed a crime and so there was no court papers stating discharge or I'm clean or whatever. I dunno if she ended up believing me or whatever but in the end I was allowed to cross without those papers, however that doesn't mean I want to go through that again.

I'm planning on making a trip to the states for a week during the Spring Break and so if possible I want to be able to clear garbage like that on my record.

So my question is, is there a place I can call or contact regarding issues like this? I don't see how it's fair for them to screw up and I have to pay for it.

You could call your nearest border patrol and ask them how you would go about getting that cleared up, that could take awhile though. In the meantime if you are planning on travelling you could go to your local police station and ask to have a criminal background check done (when I had one done for my K-1 it cost me $40 and I got it right then and there) that way you would have the evidence that you have a clean record and may help you avoid any issues.

Good Luck

[Switchblade 0]

Thanks I'll take a look into that. Hopefully that will be able to get me through without too many problems.

Thanks!

[BBCC 16]

So my question is, is there a place I can call or contact regarding issues like this? I don't see how it's fair for them to screw up and I have to pay for it.

Been there. I am a US citizen and was denied entry driving into Canada in 2007. Albeit I was going in the other direction, I wonder if my solution might also work in the other direction.

Find out exactly what incident they are referring to, date and especially the jurisdiction. The border officer needs to tell you that.

In my case, they flagged a false indication of an arrest 8 years prior. I can only assume it was someone else with the same first/last name. They gave me the date and jurisdiction of the arrest.

I had to physically go to the jurisdiction that the CBSA claimed was the arresting jurisdiction. For $10, I got a letter that stated I had not been arrested over a time period that included the incident in question.

The next time I went to Canada, in 2010, I presented the letter at secondary inspection. The letter was entered into my file on the CBSA records. I was told that this resolved the matter and I have been admitted in Canada ever since. The CBSA officer entering this new letter into their system told me that I wouldn't need to use the letter again but just to be safe, keep it with me just in case whenever I enter Canada.

One other interesting point- For months, every subsequent time I entered Canada even with a NEXUS card, I was asked if I had ever been denied entry into Canada and then sent inside for secondary inspection where they asked to see the letter yet again. Eventually, the initial entry officer suggested that I when I go inside to show the letter again, ask that the flag be removed. So I asked the secondary inspection officer to remove the flag. They forwarded an email off to Ottawa requesting this. I was told it would take about six months. The next entry, however, about a week later already showed the flag removed and I haven't been asked about the denial of entry since nor asked to produce the letter.

Hope this helps.

[Krikit 1,164]

Here you go: CBP FAQ - Traveler Redress