interview in los angeles

[Decoy24601]

It really is a game of semantics, since the Allowed to Leave really does mean that she was denied/refused entry into Canada, even if it doesn't `officially' say this.

What about a voluntary withdrawal? It didn't say I was allowed to leave, it just said I was withdrawing my application to enter Canada. I asked about this a while ago on this forum and was told I didn't need to say on the application that I was denied entry. This is now making me worried about my own application.

 

[Ponga]

What about a voluntary withdrawal? It didn't say I was allowed to leave, it just said I was withdrawing my application to enter Canada. I asked about this a while ago on this forum and was told I didn't need to say on the application that I was denied entry. This is now making me worried about my own application.

http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/agency-agence/reports-rapports/ae-ve/2010/dr-rd-eng.html

An inadmissible person may be "allowed to leave" at the discretion of a BSO with a Minister's Delegate[16] designation.

www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/manuals/enf/enf05-eng.pdf
(see section 8.5)

No idea, really, what the difference is between the two.

I don't recall the exact wording of question 6 on IMM5669 (Schedule A Background Declaration), but it probably would have been better to tick `yes', if it specifically says denied or refused entry, and explain the details of being given the voluntary withdrawal. Having said that, I am NOT suggesting that you add this to your `stress plate'. Just see what other people have to say and then consider whether or not you want to send an updated form to CIC, someday.

 

[Decoy24601]

http://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/agency-agence/reports-rapports/ae-ve/2010/dr-rd-eng.html

An inadmissible person may be "allowed to leave" at the discretion of a BSO with a Minister's Delegate[16] designation.

www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/manuals/enf/enf05-eng.pdf
(see section 8.5)

No idea, really, what the difference is between the two.

I wasn't inadmissible. The whole thing was kind of a mess and a terrible day though. I was visiting my husband (then boyfriend) while in the process of moving to Washington and I left Canada to visit my mother there and establish some ties. I hadn't gotten a job yet, but I had applied. I tried to go back and visit him for a few more weeks. I was crossing the land border in a car with his mother. The first border guard treated me like a criminal, asked me a huge list of things like "do you have explosives or firearms?". He marked on the slip of paper for a secondary that we were two residents. His mother tried to say this was a mistake and I wasn't a resident and I was just visiting, but they wouldn't listen. The next border guard who interrogated me was incredibly rude. She was constantly rolling her eyes at me and basically made me say what she wanted to hear. This lasted 4 hours of sitting down waiting for her to call me up and ask questions and her actually asking questions. She then seized my passport and told me I was allowed into Canada for 3 days and that I had to come back on the third day and retrieve my passport and leave. When I came back and got my passport, she gave me a voluntary withdrawal and told me that I am still allowed to come back to Canada when I establish more ties and that nothing she did would stay in the system and the forms she had me sign for the passport seizure and the voluntary withdrawal were only to satisfy her supervisor that she let me go and they would be shredded after showing him/her. The whole thing made me feel like a criminal. I don't even want to go to that port of entry to land so that I never have to see that awful woman again. I don't disagree with what they did in the end, but I do disagree with how they did it.

Ponga, what do you make of this? I'm really hoping that this doesn't end up getting me an interview. That was the only time too and I've never overstayed.

 

[Ponga]

In your case, since you were not refused entry, I think you're fine.

 

[Decoy24601]

In your case, since you were not refused entry, I think you're fine.

Alright, thanks. I wasn't sure where the line between a voluntary withdrawal and allowed to leave was.

Hopefully, baccs can get this straightened out.

 

[Ponga]

Alright, thanks. I wasn't sure where the line between a voluntary withdrawal and allowed to leave was.

Hopefully, baccs can get this straightened out.

It seems odd that you were given the voluntary withdrawal after you had already been allowed to enter Canada, albeit for only 3 days.

Maybe she gave it to you, to show you what you'd need to provide if you were to seek entry again?

 

[Decoy24601]

It seems odd that you were given the voluntary withdrawal after you had already been allowed to enter Canada, albeit for only 3 days.

Maybe she gave it to you, to show you what you'd need to provide if you were to seek entry again?

She just wanted a way to control the length of that visit =/. I also still had a bag of my belongings with my husband and she wanted me to be able to collect it. She seized my passport to force me to come back and sign a voluntary withdrawal. She wanted to basically refuse my entry without actually doing it. She kept telling me that a month is not a reasonable amount of time to visit a significant other and that a weekend or 3 days was normal. Anything more counted as "living" in Canada. I felt royally screwed over throughout the whole process starting from when they kept calling me a resident and wouldn't listen to his mother or me when we tried to correct this. She said that it's normal for them to do that to people and I wasn't being singled out. This was at the Peach Arch, too.

She also asked if everything I owned was in Canada and I said "Yes, but everything I own fits into two suitcases". She said that it didn't matter. The whole time she basically was trying to get me to say what she wanted to hear.

Oh, and she gave me two printouts of information on being allowed to enter Canada and what that meant in terms of establishing ties in one's home country and the amount of money necessary. These I didn't have to sign, they were just for information.

Edit: I guess it's also worth noting that at my last crossing they didn't even mention this. I did go in for a secondary, but I think they mostly just wanted to scan my checked bags, since I was travelling by train. They actually asked us more questions initially than they did in the secondary inspection.

 

[Ponga]

She just wanted a way to control the length of that visit =/. I also still had a bag of my belongings with my husband and she wanted me to be able to collect it. She seized my passport to force me to come back and sign a voluntary withdrawal. She wanted to basically refuse my entry without actually doing it.

CBSA issues something called a Visitor Record (VR) when they want to control how long you stay in Canada and when the want proof that you've left when it expires. What she did was just weird, IMO, because she allowed you to enter, but pretended that you were given the voluntary withdrawal. :-\

 

[Decoy24601]

CBSA issues something called a Visitor Record (VR) when they want to control how long you stay in Canada and when the want proof that you've left when it expires. What she did was just weird, IMO, because she allowed you to enter, but pretended that you were given the voluntary withdrawal. :-\

Yeah, I really wish she had just given me a VR. It would have made visiting my husband much much easier. It was actually a lot easier for him to visit me in the US. Last time he entered he was given a 6 month stamp in his passport when he only was asking for 4 days.

The whole experience was just bizarre and terrible. She still claimed it was normal for them to do that, but I feel like she had some sort of personal agenda. I think for some reason something about me or my circumstances set her off. Well, maybe it's that port of entry, since the first border guard who was at the gate was also rude, treated me like a criminal, and called me a resident. It goes to show just how much is up to the discretion of CBSA officers and the individual power they have. I'm 100% sure that the way she went about my case was not common protocol. She might have been on a little bit of a power trip, so to speak. Needless to say, I was terrified of trying to enter Canada again after that.

I've heard of other people online having bad experiences at the Peach Arch crossing when visiting a significant other or spouse, so I don't know. I never had issues when I came into Canada the first time during that summer. I had flown in from Alaska saying I was visiting my boyfriend for 3 months before I move to Oregon to attend a university there (obviously that plan went a little awry). He asked some details about my boyfriend's work and income and my plans and was satisfied I would leave. I didn't even need a secondary inspection. This was at YVR.

 

[canadianwoman]

on the gcms notes the only concern noted is: PA has previously overstayed in Canada when a minor. Also, adverse information regarding sponsor has been noted POE examining officer. PA has been denied entry to Canada several times but has not disclosed this information on the application.

As others have noted, this is why there is an interview.
She should be prepared to argue that she answered, no, she had never been refused entry because every time they allowed her to withdraw her request to enter, and so she thought 'no' was the correct answer.
In addition, she should be prepared to talk about the overstay as a minor. If it was because of her parents, this should be OK, especially if she did not understand what was going on.
What is the adverse information about the sponsor that the border agent noted? Any idea at all?

 

[baccs]

Yes it was for sure a withdrawal, Well if its due to the overstay and withdrawal you guys think it will be a easy interview? And i really dont know what the adverse information part is all about. It did not further elaborate. Btw is it possible for my wife to get her fbi and her new york state both police clearance while she is in canada? Thanks guys

 

[Ponga]

Yes it was for sure a withdrawal, Well if its due to the overstay and withdrawal you guys think it will be a easy interview? And i really dont know what the adverse information part is all about. It did not further elaborate. Btw is it possible for my wife to get her fbi and her new york state both police clearance while she is in canada? Thanks guys

Yes, but why does she need the state level PCC? Unless CIC asks for one, the FBI IHSR letter is all they need.

 

[CDNPR2014]

Yes, but why does she need the state level PCC? Unless CIC asks for one, the FBI IHSR letter is all they need.

i believe it was requested in the interview letter.

 

[Ponga]

i believe it was requested in the interview letter.

No, the OP never mentioned that CIC needed the NY PCC.

 

[Aquakitty]

No, the OP never mentioned that CIC needed the NY PCC.

It's in the letter he copied out in one of his posts.

I guess I kind of see why the interview is required, but I also understand the confusion over a voluntary withdrawal. What's the point of a VW if it just goes on your record anyways? Rather confusing. Well I think you will be ok just explaining the truth of this matter.

It'd be nice if the forms were more clear on what they mean by "denied entry" because of all these technicalities, I am sure many people get confused.

I doubt the overstay is the primary issue here, more likely the officer thought there was some misrepresentation going on. The forms don't ask if you've ever overstayed in a country.