crg

They probably went to Canada with a couple days left on the 90 trying to reset the clock. They were admitted back into the US at the booth and therefore only for the remainder of the original 90, but assumed they had received a new 90 or could claim ignorance. They overstayed and were busted at a checkpoint.


No IJ. No option for voluntary anything. They waived those hearing rights under VWP so they were probably ordered removed a couple hours after the arrest by an agent/officer. The prolonged wait to be removed was probably due to the government arranging for them to be transported under guard to an airport with a direct flight back to the UK. The airline who brought them would be on the hook for the air fare.

scrubbedexpat099

Maybe heading for Mexico for another 90 days.

GeoffM

Really, even though they (probably) originally entered perfectly within the rules? And would the airline not have grounds to argue since the second entry - and thus the one subject to deportation - wasn't by means of their aircraft?

Seems odd but you're the one that knows this sort of thing!

crg

Yep, the airlines have to sign an agreement to be a VWP approved carrier and guarantee to remove the passenger if they overstay. The airlines like it because VWP encourages tourism and gets them customers. The airlines generally won't allow a one way ticket to be purchased because they may have to return the person so all they lose is a bump, but probably gain a lot with all of the VWP who get married and stay forever.

If an unapproved carrier transports a VWP traveler then the traveler may be denied entry and the airline could also be fined a few thousand bucks each.

If the travelers had gotten a new 90 days at the land border then the airline would be off the hook. That's another reason why the guards are reluctant to grant a new 90.

GeoffM

Ah, didn't realize it applied to over stays as well as denial of initial entry. Thanks for the explanation.

johnnybrown532

So they could not have offered to pay their own flights home on a different airline? And what would happen if the airline that flew them over had gone bust or no longer flew transatlantic like Jet 2 who used to fly to nyc for a short while but now don't.

crg

Perhaps the airline needed to post money to an account or the feds would just eat the fare since jail costs more than plane tickets after a while.

As for paying their own ticket, that's possible, but feds would have to be scheduled to guard the person all the way to the airport with a direct flight. There is something called an order of supervision that could have them released to depart on their own. Perhaps they didn't qualify or weren't trusted to comply.

GeoffM

I understand that airlines in such situations will try to, and have done so in the past, recoup any losses from the errant passenger(s).

crg

I suppose they are welcome to try. Of course, the airline is served with a Form I-259 Notice to detain, remove or present an alien and they have to take the person back.

There's also a regulation stating that an airline who takes an extra deposit/fee to cover the added expense of the carrier in the event the person isn't admitted can be hit with a really heavy penalty. Something like $5000 per.

TopSec

We got caught out like this a few years ago. We were driving from Texas to California and hubby said "shall we take passports"? "No" said I, "we're not leaving the country"?!

Somewhere on the return journey, when we were just a few miles from the Mexican border we got pulled over, we had driven through a number of border checks before and just got waved through but on this one they were checking. They naturally asked for ID and we showed our lovely but incomprehensible UK driving licences which were as much use as a chocolate fireguard! Got hauled out of the car and had to sit on the naughty chairs inside. A lovely lady who really needed to get a refund from the charm school she attended dealt with us and because we had passport number info she managed to check it and see we were legit but not after we were given a proper bollocking for travelling without proper ID!! Lesson learnt

FlyingDutchman6666

The law says you have to carry your Green Card. But is there a legal requirement to carry ID if admitted under the VWP? Just wondering.

scrubbedexpat099

Passport, yes.

TopSec

I have to admit, we rarely carry ours. I tend to think of them as fairly 'valuable' items and leave them at home Long road trips we do, but out and about locally we don't bother.

FlyingDutchman6666

It says so where?

crg

I'd say the I-94 must be carried, but since that's electronic now I suppose printing the electronic I-94 (with identification) or carrying the passport with stamp would suffice. Canadians... not so sure...

Every alien, eighteen years of age and over, shall at all times carry with him and have in his personal possession any certificate of alien registration or alien registration receipt card issued to him pursuant to subsection (d). Any alien who fails to comply with the provisions of this subsection shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and shall upon conviction for each offense be fined not to exceed $100 or be imprisoned not more than thirty days, or both. (INA § 264(e))

ILW has more info.