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Odds I get Denied At The Border?

pauly2

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Jan 20, 2014
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Im an american poker player that relocated to canada last year for a bit less than 6 months. I flew in and told them what i was doing and had no problems with it. Showed bank statement and what hotel i was staying at etc and i was allowed in. It was lot easier than i thought it would been. I left canada then for close to 1 month then took a bus back to canada and this time i was asked lot of questions. Eventually i was allowed in again for up to 6 months, i had mentioned i was planning to come back 3-6 months. While i was there for the 1st month or so, i found out a close friend of mine was going to get married and so i would have to come back to the usa for it. So after 3 months i left canada to come back to my friend wedding and i been here for 1 month already.


Im planning to go back to canada again. Does anyone know if i would have any issues with this? When i took a bus back to canada for my 2nd time into canada, i was questioned a lot but the lady eventually let me in. She put something on my passport where im not allowed to work etc so it didnt bother me at all because i play poker on the computer. However, i was a bit worried i might not be let back in a 3rd time.


Note if my friend wasn't going to get married, i was going to stay longer. Does anyone know if i might have any issue with this?
 

rhcohen2014

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no one is going to be able to tell you for sure what your chances are, because no one on here knows what information CBSA has in their system about you. Every border crossing is unique to the agent you meet. Best advice is to be prepared to show significant ties to the us. The only ties CBSA considers to be significant are housing (apt lease/mortgage/deed) or a job with an american employer. They may or they may not let you in, and they may or may not make you check out at the end of your visit. Again, there's no knowing for sure until you get to the border.
 

zardoz

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I'm curious about the real reasons for wanting to be in Canada. Is this online poker playing illegal in your state and you using Canada to avoid prosecution or tax? If this is the case, it could impact your chances of reentry. Certainly, it appears that you are effectively attempting to "live" in Canada, which is not permitted.
 

scylla

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zardoz said:
I'm curious about the real reasons for wanting to be in Canada. Is this online poker playing illegal in your state and you using Canada to avoid prosecution or tax? If this is the case, it could impact your chances of reentry. Certainly, it appears that you are effectively attempting to "live" in Canada, which is not permitted.
I believe most online poker playing sites are blocked in the US but not in Canada. OP is effectively trying to live in Canada as a visitor.
 

zardoz

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scylla said:
I believe most online poker playing sites are blocked in the US but not in Canada. OP is effectively trying to live in Canada as a visitor.
In that case, I suspect that the chances of being denied are quite high. Would the USA take kindly to Canada aiding and abetting a US citizen to subvert US legislation?
 

pauly2

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Well im staying in canada so i could continue playing online poker,. The first time i came into canada, i had zero issues, the person at airport ask me my motives and everything and zero issues. My 2nd time i took bus and when i left canada, i actually still left all my things there because i was planning to come back. Thus i was still paying rent to the place i was renting from. The thing is when i left canada last month, i left 3 months earlier b/c my friend was getting married and had to attend his wedding. So in the end, i figured i might as well leave and closed my canadian bank acct while at it. I was planning to head to mexico after i got back to the usa.


However, i have an issue where one of my accounts online, they are leaving the canadian market and i was told i have less than 30 days to withdraw my money otherwise i wouldn't get my money back. This is 1 week ago. So if i was still in canada right now, no issue because i just make a bank wire and withdraw to my bank of montreal account. My issue here is thats why i need to get to canada fast just to open a bank account again, i had asked bank of montreal when i closed my acct, if i were to come back and open another one again, would that be issue and they said no and i figured b/c of that, i might as well close it since i planned to not come back to canada at least for a very long time or not at all.


This situation now is frustrating for me b/c canada is obviously closer for me to get there than mexico and im having second thoughts about mexico. I was planning to go to rosarito beach but as you know mexico isn't exactly safe so im havnig second thoughts. Because of that, i figure i just go back to canada so i could open bank of monteral acct again then withdraw my money, while at the same time continue playing onlnie poker for a bit. My family/friends told me they would worry me a lot if i go to mexico so i figure okay i go to canada. I could go to mexico get bank acct and withdraw my funds there similar to canada. My 2 issues with this is one, safety. I know rosarito beach is generally safe however you dont know how things are until you really get there. My other issue is if i go to canada then i get denied at the border, i will probably be very worried b/c i would need to go back to the us then fly to mexico as quickly as possible and i would need to find a place there as well and open bank acct and make sure i do all this before august 22.


I assume if i explain my situation to them about needing to withdraw my money before that certain date, it would help my case a lot? The thing is when i came back the 2nd time, the border lady asked me what would i do after 3-6 months in canada and i said i leave and probably wont come back for a long time and probably head to mexico. However, i didnt know my friend was going to get married once i went back to canada so i had to cut my trip short and then i found out earlier this week i need to withdraw my funds in one of my accounts soon otherwise i would lose all of it. For most ppl in canada who have this betting account, its not an issue b/c they could just request a wire or check. Even if they were outside canada for example, they could do it b/c they have a canadian bank acct and just need to email that site.


My situation is just very strange/complicated b/c im an american who relocated to canada but i left there recently and most importantly i closed my bank account. Because had i left canada and not close my bank account let say i took all my thigns with me and didnt kept my rented place, this isn't goign to be a big issue b/c i would request a withdraw to my canadian bank acct while in the usa and email them the details. I can't withdraw my funds from them to my american bank acct because of law restrictions.


Anyone can give me some insight here? Also someone told me to call the border before i come and explain it to them on the phone. I never done that before but isn't that not possible and everything happens when you see the individual border agent you meet there?
 

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pauly2 said:
I assume if i explain my situation to them about needing to withdraw my money before that certain date, it would help my case a lot?
I doubt this will help at all. If anything, it might cause more issues. As a border official, it would seem very strange to me that you need to come to Canada just to open a bank account and would make me worry about the legality of the source of your funds and what you're doing. What helps is looking like a genuine visitor and acting like a genuine visitor. Your challenge is that you're not. I think the most you can do is try re-entering - hope for the best - and have your Mexico back-up plan in place if you're refused entry into Canada.

pauly2 said:
Anyone can give me some insight here? Also someone told me to call the border before i come and explain it to them on the phone. I never done that before but isn't that not possible and everything happens when you see the individual border agent you meet there?
No - not possible. Whoever told you this has no idea what they are talking about.
 

pauly2

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scylla said:
I doubt this will help at all. If anything, it might cause more issues. As a border official, it would seem very strange to me that you need to come to Canada just to open a bank account and would make me worry about the legality of the source of your funds and what you're doing. What helps is looking like a genuine visitor and acting like a genuine visitor. Your challenge is that you're not. I think the most you can do is try re-entering - hope for the best - and have your Mexico back-up plan in place if you're refused entry into Canada.

No - not possible. Whoever told you this has no idea what they are talking about.

Yes that is what i was thinking too and it might make it more strange. But the thing is this is the truth. If it isn't, i wouldn't be going back to canada right now this quick. I would go back to canada maybe a bit later and thus not be in a rush. So if i say just play poker the last 2 times, thats probably a better idea? Would it help that i mention i came back earlier than i wanted to b/c of my friends wedding and then at that time, i had thought okay i probably wont come back?


Would it be bad idea if i mention about my plan was to go to mexico afterwards but then my family/friend worried about me going there and insisted i just go back to canada? The thing that worries me a lot is they asked me my 2nd time what was my plans after staying here for 2nd time for 3-6months and i told them i wasn't planning to come back for a while becase i was going to mexico. It was not until now i kinda thought, theres more danger in mexico for somenoe like me as im an american.



And yea that person who said call the border number... it didn't make any sense at all.
 

scylla

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Canadian immigration won't care if it's dangerous for you to be in Mexico. All they care is to ensure you are a genuine visitor to Canada who has no plans on remaining long term. None of us know (and there is no way to find out) what was entered into your file the last time you entered Canada. So it's really (really) impossible for any of us to say what you should say to get into Canada and what might happen. You'll just have to give it a shot and hope for the best - and have a back up plan in case you're not allowed it.
 

pauly2

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scylla said:
Canadian immigration won't care if it's dangerous for you to be in Mexico. All they care is to ensure you are a genuine visitor to Canada who has no plans on remaining long term. None of us know (and there is no way to find out) what was entered into your file the last time you entered Canada. So it's really (really) impossible for any of us to say what you should say to get into Canada and what might happen. You'll just have to give it a shot and hope for the best - and have a back up plan in case you're not allowed it.

The reason why i ask this question is b/c i had thought getting back to canada wasn't an issue. However, i spoke to other pokre players who seemed to enter canada for 6 months then leave for few weeks then come back again and do 6 months then leave agani and try again and many ppl seem to mention after a few times, they got denied so thats what got me worried. Since i did 6 month, then 3 month but had to cut my stay short b/c of my friends wedding.


And the worst thing is this happened where the site closed for canadian market it happened while im in the usa still. Because if i was currently still in canada or went to mexico already, no issue as i could withdraw the same day. Now im just really worried b/c im not sure i could get to rosarito and open bank acct etc and get everything verifired changed on time. Issue is rentals there are scarce during thsese 2 months b/c its high season there in rosarito.
 

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pauly2 said:
My situation is just very strange/complicated b/c im an american who relocated to canada but i left there recently and most importantly i closed my bank account. Because had i left canada and not close my bank account let say i took all my thigns with me and didnt kept my rented place, this isn't goign to be a big issue b/c i would request a withdraw to my canadian bank acct while in the usa and email them the details. I can't withdraw my funds from them to my american bank acct because of law restrictions.
I think you might be heading for some serious problems... You are at risk of being bitten by FATCA.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Foreign_Account_Tax_Compliance_Act
 

pauly2

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Okay i did not mention this. But i have a imm 1442 that is put in my passport. Mentions the date i came in was march 31 and i have to leave by september 30 of this year. Does this mean i will have a huge problem getting into canada and gettnig 3 months? I had just noticed this. I mean i saw this paper was put into my passport a while back when i came in.


Can someone tell me if this would be a huge issue and thus i wont be allowed in? I left canada last month but does this mean this means i cant stay after september 30? The first time i stayed in canada under 6 months, i came back in with no issues but 2nd time i got this IMM 1442 stamped into my passport


Basically its like this. Came to canada september 2013, left march 2014. Then came back late march 2014 and got asked lot of questions, allowed in but got this IMM 1442 into my passport and asked for 6 months and got it. It says i entered march 31 and have to leave by september 30 2014. However my big issue is that i left canada like around june 20.


Does this mean if i come back, basically if they allow me back in , there is zero chance i could stay past september 30? Or does it mean me exiting canada june 20 make this IMM 1442 not valid b/c i left canada in june 20?


Looking for a really quick response. Thanks.
 

pauly2

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Jan 20, 2014
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Also another question i have is i will be taking a bus into canada if i go there. I will be buying a 1 way ticket to canada but buy another return ticket one way back. I make sure i buy a refundable one though for the return ticket but does that mean to make things safe, make the refundable return ticket september 29th because if my return ticket is 3 months from now, it would be after that date?


Because i want to go back and get another 3 months but because of that imm 1442, im not 100 percent sure how this process would work. I thinknig they let me back in, but i still have to leave by september 30 unless i apply for an attention once i get back to canada?


If they let me in, does that mean i will get a new stamp and this stamp from march 31 to september is not valid anymore? Im thinking they say if i want an extention, then i have to apply for attention online and make sure i do this before september 30?
 

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When you say you relocated to Canada and that you know people who spend 6 months at a time in Canada, leave for a bit and then come back, what you are really talking about is not visiting Canada but living in Canada and you are actually not allowed to do that while you are on visitor status. If you want to relocate to / live in Canada, you need a proper visa.

On visitor status, you may visit up to 6 months at a time if nobody says anything to you. Immigration can however give you less time inside or even deny you entry completely if they believe that your intentions are unclear and that you may not be coming as a visitor. The rule of thumb is that you spend at least as much time outside Canada as you do inside. Your friends who have been staying for 6 months at a time and leaving for a few weeks have gotten lucky so far while you already got caught once.
 

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pauly2 said:
Okay i did not mention this. But i have a imm 1442 that is put in my passport. Mentions the date i came in was march 31 and i have to leave by september 30 of this year. Does this mean i will have a huge problem getting into canada and gettnig 3 months? I had just noticed this. I mean i saw this paper was put into my passport a while back when i came in.


Can someone tell me if this would be a huge issue and thus i wont be allowed in? I left canada last month but does this mean this means i cant stay after september 30? The first time i stayed in canada under 6 months, i came back in with no issues but 2nd time i got this IMM 1442 stamped into my passport


Basically its like this. Came to canada september 2013, left march 2014. Then came back late march 2014 and got asked lot of questions, allowed in but got this IMM 1442 into my passport and asked for 6 months and got it. It says i entered march 31 and have to leave by september 30 2014. However my big issue is that i left canada like around june 20.


Does this mean if i come back, basically if they allow me back in , there is zero chance i could stay past september 30? Or does it mean me exiting canada june 20 make this IMM 1442 not valid b/c i left canada in june 20?
No matter how many times you ask this question and in how many different ways, the answer won't change. It is impossible to say if you will be allowed in and for how long. This is entirely up to the immigration officer. You might be allowed in until September 30th, you might be allowed in for a shorter period of time, you might be allowed in for a longer period of time, or you might not be allowed into Canada at all.