badab1ng

Sorry for any confusion here. I am a resident of Canada, with UK passport.

So am I ok to fly in to the US ( from Canada) and drive back to Canada ?

badab1ng

Sorry for any confusion here. I am a resident of Canada, with UK passport.

So am I ok to fly in to the US ( from Canada) and drive back to Canada ?

BritishExpatriate

But isn't is a condition of using the VWP that if flying into the USA one has to have a return flight booked?

BritishExpatriate

I don't understand... Why would someone entering on the VWP want an I94 instead of just a stamp?

Surely that then burdens the traveller with having to hand back the I94 when they leave the States, whereas if they'd just had a stamp they'd not need to do anything?

dbd33

Why would the US authorities care where you're resident? If you're entering on a British passport you're British and so need ESTA and/or an I94.

Former Lancastrian

But the US in their rules state that if you wish to fly into the US then drive to Canada you must be a resident of Canada.
What is happening is UK citizens coming to Canada to activate an IEC work permit are flying into the US and then wanting to drive into Canada. As they are not residents of Canada then legally they are not supposed to do this. They can fly into the US in transit and then fly into Canada but not drive.
Most do not have a return ticket if wanting to drive in so their journey cannot
terminate in Canada if not a resident of Canada. Sure they may have an ESTA but when clearing US Customs and not staying in the US or flying onto Canada they are being refused entry into the US as they dont meet the ESTA requirements. An ESTA does not guarantee you entry into the US.


Does a travel authorization guarantee me admission to the United States?

If your electronic travel authorization is approved, this approval establishes that you are eligible to travel to the United States under the Visa Waiver Program, but does not guarantee that you are admissible to the United States. Upon arrival in the United States you will be inspected by a Customs and Border Protection officer at a port of entry who may determine that you are inadmissible under the Visa Waiver Program or for any reason under United States law.

These are US laws and regs not Canadian ones. We dont care how you get to Canada only if you require a visa or not and have a valid passport.
Note it says Canadian residents not citizens as we have many students and workers who are temporary residents of Canada.

If in doubt
https://esta.cbp.dhs.gov/esta/

dbd33

Well, that's an unusually generous concession on their part, I wouldn't expect them to allow people on non-US passports to fly into the US from Europe with no documentation of a plan to leave and no right to remain in the US.

BritishExpatriate

But is this not referring more to those flying in from Canada? It may well be that those VWP nationals who are resident in Canada are allowed to fly into the US and drive out, (I've yet to see any laws, regulations or at least official sources cited that back this up), but even if this is the case, the majority of them will be flying in from Canada, not from Europe.
And even if they are flying in from Europe, why is it such a big deal that they would be let into the States and left to move back to Canada by road or rail if they are resident in Canada? I think this is just normal for any western country. If a US citizen was resident in France, I'd expect them to be able to drop by the UK on their way back to France from America for a holiday without them being accused to trying to illegally immigrate here.

Steve_

Because she was saying the CBP inspector she was dealing with was thick. Probably had never worked at an airport.

Sometimes you do actually need an I-94 for ID purposes in the US, although on the VWP there isn't much point because the things you might need it for don't really apply on the VWP.

Steve_

Because the regs for the VWP define leaving as leaving North America, not the US. This is to prevent flagpoling.

What they're supposed to do if you enter from Canada as a citizen of another country is to check what your residency status is in Canada (e.g. see your PR card) to verify your non-immigrant intent although I only had it happen a couple of times (both times I had it was with people who looked new on the job, I assume they remembered their training). It's not just about leaving.

Deficient

Because they would have no record of you leaving, unlike when entering by land and getting the I-94W, which would be surrendered either way (in theory, but not necessarily in practice I gather) when you drive/fly into Canada.

Saying that, I suppose when entering with ESTA clearance they wouldn't necessarily have record of you leaving by plane; I understand they have access to flight data but I imagine they might not do much with it unless specifically concerned about you for whatever reason.

As I said though, I felt like I had read something to that effect but could not find anything to back it up, so really just wanted people to confirm/deny. I guess one has to assume from the lack of anything about it on the USA's own visa waiver webpage that it's not the case, so sorry to have muddied the waters on this issue.

Steve_

Bear in mind the CBP and embassy websites have lots of mistakes on them, the most obvious one being the comment about how Canadian citizen visitors are only allowed to stay in the US for six months, which is not true. 8 CFR 214.2(b) says one year, not six months. The six month rule is just a rule of thumb that CBP use to determine non-immigrant intent, but there are plenty of valid reasons why you might have stayed longer, e.g. co-habiting partner, medical treatment, etc. It's not etched in stone like some people (including the embassy) seem to think. Canadian visitors generally aren't issued I-94s so there is no set limit other than the maximum limit specified in the regulations.

You will however become resident for tax purposes in the US if you stay longer than 183 days, although there are exceptions to that rule too, e.g. if you are receiving medical treatment you can file a Form 8843.

dbd33

I don't imagine there are many Canadians who willingly go to the US for longer than six months at a time; that's long enough to invalidate OHIP eligibility.