On September 5th, 2002, my girlfriend (a Canadian citizen) flew to see me (a United States citizen) in Dallas, TX on a one way ticket. She was admitted without any problems as a visitor. She returned to Canada in December and I went to visit her for Christmas. On December 31st we attempted to travel back to the United States via the Toronto Pearson airport. She was denied. Their very breif reasoning was that she could not prove that she had ties to Canada or, in other words, they didn’t think she had any reason to come back. Therefore they assumed that she was attempting to immigrate and denied her.
I don’t know what to do and I don’t know where to go for help. I have a call into my Congresswoman. They are trying to get information for me. I’ve called INS, but they aren’t any help. I’ve contacted the border patrol, but they are worse than useless. The US consulate in Canada does nothing but give other numbers to call that lead nowhere.
If you have any information, have ever been in this situation, know someone who does, are friends or related to an immigration laywer, or know anyone who knows the law in this matter, I would be very grateful for anything you would be willing to do for us. Comment here, email me (jim @ revjim.net), or IM me (MSN: therev@hotmail.com) with any information you might have.
If you can’t help in this way, I would be very grateful if you would link to this page in the hopes that someone who reads your site might have the information I am looking for.
Most imporantly, I’m looking for a few answers. What are the consequences of trying to cross again? What are her chances of making it across? What kind of proof are they looking for that she will indeed return to Canada in April?
I didn’t really even think that she could be denied — we were doing everything legally and not trying to trick anyone in anyway. We should have been much more cautious. Honestly, I didn’t even consider that it might be a problem. Like they say: hindsight is always 20/20.
We approached the INS counter together. That was my first mistake. When they asked if she was my girlfriend, I said “yes”. That was my second mistake. From there on it was all downhill.
They stated that she need to prove ties to Canada in order to be allowed to enter the United States. She is enrolled in correspondence classes (classes via the Internet and via mail) in Canada and studies while visiting me in the US. However, we didn’t have any proof of that with us. We didn’t have a round trip ticket (though she intends to return at the beginning of April to take her tests). She doesn’t currently have a job in Canada (how can she hold a job if she’s going to be with me for three months), and we had no proof of her financial status (though she has enough money to support herself and is the daughter of parents with enough money to support her).
The INS officer that interviewed my girlfriend treated her very rudely. Additionally, regardless of how nice I was to the INS supervisor, he refused to listen to me, and refused to give me straight answers to any of my questions.
Since that time, my girlfriend has obtained the following.
- A notarized document from her school stating that she is enrolled in classes and that tests are in the beginning of April.
- A notarized document from her bank displaying the contents of her accounts.
- A signed document from her father stating his willingness to support her financially.
- A Canadian passport.
- A letter from an Ontario MP stating that she and her family are upstanding citizens of Canada. This document is notarized and has a photocopy of her passport on the front of it.
- A letter from her previous employer that states that, upon her return to Canada she will be offered the ability to return to work with them.
- A letter from a local retail shop stating that, upon her return to Canada she will be offered a job with them if she desires.
- A letter from an OOP cheif stating that she and her family are upstanding citizens of Canada.
We were hoping she could attempt to cross again with this newly obtained information. We had planned on having her takw a greyhound bus into Dallas sometime next week. Getting a plane ticket was just too expensive and we’d rather not go through the SAME INS office again, if we don’t have to. Unfortunately, after speaking to someone to whom this same situation occurred, I’m starting to think that maybe attempting to cross again is a bad idea.
We just want to be together. We’re open to all suggestions.
We are planning on getting married. However, we’d like to wait until this summer, if not later, do to so. Not because we don’t love eachother or aren’t ready to be married, but because we’d rather not spend 3 – 6 months apart waiting for approval to be married right now, and she’d like to finish this semester of school before being confined to the United States for up to two years after the marriage takes place.
If you can help, even with just a link to this page, we would greatly appreciate it. Thank you in advance.