Entry to USA through Vancouver

[ambrella 62]

This might be in the wrong section so apologies if so...

 

I want to visit my fiance in LA in October.  I've had multiple entries and spent about 7 months there in the last 13 months and was told the last time I entered in January not to return for a while.  I left in April, my fiance has visited me twice since then.  He can't visit me anymore due to his work demands.  We have a K1 visa in progress but it looks like that will not be complete until Dec/Jan.  

 

I'm terrified of being denied.  I am considering entering via Vancouver so that if I am denied I am not sent straight back to the UK and then my fiance could at least visit me for a weekend in Vancouver? but my concern is would Canada want to send me back as well, if my return flight was from LA? I could obviously buy a new return flight while I am there but would Canadian immigration be OK with that? 

 

Or do I just suck it up and take the hit and risk LA? what happens if I am denied? do I have to wait in the waiting room for hours until there is a flight available for me to go back on?  

[az2014 381]

How long did you stay last time you went?

[ambrella 62]

Just now, az2014 said:

How long did you stay last time you went?

almost 90 days

 

this visit would only be 1 or 2 weeks 

[Ontarkie 14,409]

You've only been out for 4 month.  I would not push trying to go back so soon. Plus trying to gain entry through Canada may cause them to be more suspicious since your return ticket is for LA

[ambrella 62]

Just now, Ontarkie said:

You've only been out for 4 month.  I would not push trying to go back so soon. Plus trying to gain entry through Canada may cause them to be more suspicious since your return ticket is for LA

in October it will be 6 months...

[Ontarkie 14,409]

For some reason I read August.

 

Then I would just bite the bullet and fly straight to LA.  

Edited August 22, 2017 by Ontarkie

[Boiler 45,940]

Or through Dublin

[ambrella 62]

10 hours ago, Boiler said:

Or through Dublin

 Yeah I thought about that but then my fiance wouldn't be able to pop over and meet me. But it might be the best option for my stress levels. 

[ambrella 62]

I asked a similar question on another part of the forum but didn't get much response so I thought I would try here...

 

If I were to fly from the UK to Vancouver and try to enter the USA from there and fly to LA and I was denied, would Canadian Immigration send me back to the UK? or would they allow me to stay in Vancouver? bearing in mind my return flight booked would be from LA.  I could obviously buy a new return flight, but would they be OK with that? 

 

 

[cantofla 45]

Not sure how YVR is set up, but at YYZ in T1 if you arrive from an international flight and are connecting to a US bound flight, you bypass Canadian customs and immigration and head straight to US customs. There, I would imagine, if you are found to be inadmissible to the United States, Canada will likely also deem you inadmissible and you'd be sent home the same day.

 

Canadian agents are far friendlier and more human than their American counterparts in my opinion though, so if you explain to them your situation and if you bring proof, they might let you stay a few days in spite of the US denying you entry .

 

I never flew internationally into YVR. Only domestic Canadian flights... But if you must clear Canadian customs and immigration first, it wouldn't matter if the US denied you entry, as you were already admitted to Canada.. So in theory, then you can stay two days and then head back to the UK.

 

 

 

Edited August 24, 2017 by cantofla

[amicablebride 25]

1 hour ago, cantofla said:

Not sure how YVR is set up, but at YYZ in T1 if you arrive from an international flight and are connecting to a US bound flight, you bypass Canadian customs and immigration and head straight to US customs. There, I would imagine, if you are found to be inadmissible to the United States, Canada will likely also deem you inadmissible and you'd be sent home the same day.

 

Canadian agents are far friendlier and more human than their American counterparts in my opinion though, so if you explain to them your situation and if you bring proof, they might let you stay a few days in spite of the US denying you entry .

 

I never flew internationally into YVR. Only domestic Canadian flights... But if you must clear Canadian customs and immigration first, it wouldn't matter if the US denied you entry, as you were already admitted to Canada.. So in theory, then you can stay two days and then head back to the UK.

 

 

 

I agree. It'####### and miss... it really depends on the Canadian officer you encounter. I think if you bring proof that you have plenty of money to survive on, and you're there to visit, travel and spend, rather than steal jobs.. I'm sure both countries wouldn't have a problem letting you in. But you can also call both borders.. tell your situation and ask :-)

[broppy 204]

2 hours ago, cantofla said:

Not sure how YVR is set up, but at YYZ in T1 if you arrive from an international flight and are connecting to a US bound flight, you bypass Canadian customs and immigration and head straight to US customs. There, I would imagine, if you are found to be inadmissible to the United States, Canada will likely also deem you inadmissible and you'd be sent home the same day.

YVR's similar to YYZ - with a connecting flight, you can bypass Canadian immigration and head straight for US preclearance. But I doubt that Canada would find OP to be inadmissible - from her other post, the main concern seems to be that she may have visited the US too much. In the unlikely event that the US turned her away, I expect there would be no problem getting through Canadian immigration as a visitor instead and spending time in Vancouver.

[K1applicant 12]

9 hours ago, ambrella said:

I asked a similar question on another part of the forum but didn't get much response so I thought I would try here...

 

If I were to fly from the UK to Vancouver and try to enter the USA from there and fly to LA and I was denied, would Canadian Immigration send me back to the UK? or would they allow me to stay in Vancouver? bearing in mind my return flight booked would be from LA.  I could obviously buy a new return flight, but would they be OK with that? 

 

 

If the US told you to stay away for a while I would take that a little more seriously. I don't really know but I can't seem them appreciating you coming in through YVR. It might look like you're trying to pull a fast one and it just seems a little sketchy. If you have a visa in progress why are you even risking pissing them off? If it were me I would just plan to visit Vancouver and have my fiance come see me. They really don't like it when they feel foreigners haven't listened to what they've said and they really don't like people overstaying their welcome. 

[ambrella 62]

9 hours ago, CanadianMomtobe said:

If the US told you to stay away for a while I would take that a little more seriously. I don't really know but I can't seem them appreciating you coming in through YVR. It might look like you're trying to pull a fast one and it just seems a little sketchy. If you have a visa in progress why are you even risking pissing them off? If it were me I would just plan to visit Vancouver and have my fiance come see me. They really don't like it when they feel foreigners haven't listened to what they've said and they really don't like people overstaying their welcome. 

 

I haven't overstayed any welcomes and I've been away for 6 months.  Even if i am denied it isn't going to affect my k1 visa.  

 

 

Thanks for the advice everyone else 👍

[K1applicant 12]

21 minutes ago, ambrella said:

 

I haven't overstayed any welcomes and I've been away for 6 months.  Even if i am denied it isn't going to affect my k1 visa.  

 

 

Thanks for the advice everyone else 👍

I live south of Vancouver and I have visited the US what seems like thousands of times the past year seeing my fiance. I have never in my entire life been asked to stay away for a while. If they said that to you then there was a reason, and usually it means they felt you overstayed. Overstaying is a big deal to them. 

 

This isn't the answer you want to hear but you should listen to what I'm saying cause I'm in the same boat and sympathize and I'm actually trying to help you out. This is your call but it can absolutely affect your visa. A friend of the family had a K1 in progress and wanted to go to a festival in Miami. So there she was at the border with a couple of suit cases. They asked her why she was showing up to the US border while an immigration visa was in progress with all of her stuff? Was she trying to move there before approval? They ended up delaying her visa THREE YEARS. She was devastated. I'm warning you to save you the same grief that's the purpose of this site.