- I am retired, living exclusively off my investment portfolio
- I have traveled extensively throughout the States my entire adult life as I am married to a US citizen.
- For the last 8 years I have vacationed in central AZ for periods of the winter, living in my motorhome. (Snowbirds do that sort of thing).
- I spend a load of money having a wonderful time there every year.
- I cross the border every year at the same Point-of-Entry.
- Every year, it’s all about “working”. What do I do? How do I live? Why do I have so much fancy (read expensive) photography and sporting equipment.
- Oh, you have a website? With a few of your photo’s posted? And people “can” buy them if they want? No sir, it doesn’t matter you offer the original data-file for free, if you’re selling any pictures on-line taken “anywhere in the US, you’re working illegally!”
- Oh, and you admit that sometimes before you can step up to the window with money, a friend beats you to it and pays for your sporting day? Well then, you are being “compensated” for your time, effort, skill, and you’ve been “working illegally” in the US.
- Oh, you’ve been doing this for… 8 years you say?
- Well then sir, you just won the prize behind Door Number 3: Expedited Removal, complete with a 5-year ban from re-entry. Let us escort you back to Canadian Customs (20 yards away), and by the way, do you mind if I keep one of those beautiful 8×10 prints in your motorhome?

A lovely way to spend 11.5 hours of my day on Thanksgiving 2009.

And there does not seem to be a mechanism in place to appeal this nonsense.

Now you are telling me that according to this first border agent, you can have clients if an American is doing the work? So theoretically, me having clients in the State is irrelevant as long as my husband does the work???

Sorry to be venting, but…

I was just curious to know if you have found the actual statutes or a reference to the law somewhere that says that?

jmlucio@versacore.info (not for long because I might have to now change my company name!)

Greetings from India. I’ve been here for several months and am loving it. I thought of you the other day and decided to poke around the internet to look for you. Your visa story sounds nuts. Hope all is well.

Cheers,
~Sue

I lived in the US for 13 years. My son is American. And I trust that the folks working at the border believe in free speech, and of the importance of critiquing outdated or inconsistently applied laws.

- DaBear (Canadian with 15 years of US work permit experience)

Do you have to answer absolutely everything regarding your client’s operations, or is there a limit to the amount of specific detail you have to give? This is especially important if you are required through an NDA to keep a client’s operational/financial information confidential and would be in potential breach of breaking it in order to answer questions which seem irrelevant.

Anyway, glad you got it sorted out in the end!

We employ a Canadian citizen to work in Rwanda. In effect he stole a job that could have gone to US citizen X, or UK citizen Y (the work in funded by DFID, but they have “open” procurement, meaning they don’t have a “buy-America” stamp on their foreign aid.) He still has to travel to Kigali and stay there. Does Rwanda say: you cannot work here and displace Rwanda workers? No, they accept the fact that other wealthy countries can export “smart” people to help them “run” their country better, In fact, when US companies send their consultants overseas on development projects, we are doing the same thing as you did. Yes, we pay a “business visa” ($100!!) to come in, stay at a nice hotel, do our stuff and leave after 5 days, etc. Its’ all the same, but I haven’t seen Rwandans or anyone else kick out US foreign aid “workers” or “Consultants”. T’as compris?

In scenario 2, you found out there is a “safe door” for your situation..they even have a form for it..because you once had a green card (it’s blue now), and maybe because Liam lives here. So the lesson is, next time don’t give a bureaucracy an even chance..you say you are going to DC to see Liam and then to Seattle to enjoy their awesome expresso-gas stations and beautiful vistas..leave out working for the Awesome Company story… it’s honest, but does not serve you, Liam or Awesome Company… it’s the same tale we tell the foreign immigration guys when we arrive in Kigali or Bamako, to avoid paying the business visa, and to come in as “tourists”.

i got this jolly fellow again a few months later, and he harassed me for something else even more minor and suggested that i’d probably want to illegally go live in the states. right (i’m canadian!)

assholes.

Incredible… Same questions, same answers, totally different results…
L8er – Martin