sullim4 Posted December 22, 2010 Posted December 22, 2010 Are you asserting CBP has to admit US Citizens to Canada? Can you provide any support for that? I believe they have been denying entrance to Canada for any US Citizen with a DWI (not me, but I have friends who have had issues). I believe they have to let you back to the US, but not into Canada. CBP has no authority over Canadian matters - Canada's customs officers are charged with the responsibility of admitting travelers to Canada. Canada currently does not have any passport requirement at all so you will have no issue with them. The problem you run into is the reverse - when you come back, the US requires that you prove your identity with a passport or other approved document. If you don't have that, then the officer needs to determine who you are. If they determine that you are a citizen, they are under a legal obligation to admit you. The amount of time they take figuring that out? Well, that depends on whether you're on their good side.
The Dean Posted December 23, 2010 Posted December 23, 2010 (edited) CBP has no authority over Canadian matters - Canada's customs officers are charged with the responsibility of admitting travelers to Canada. Canada currently does not have any passport requirement at all so you will have no issue with them. The problem you run into is the reverse - when you come back, the US requires that you prove your identity with a passport or other approved document. If you don't have that, then the officer needs to determine who you are. If they determine that you are a citizen, they are under a legal obligation to admit you. The amount of time they take figuring that out? Well, that depends on whether you're on their good side. You will find that you may NOT be admitted into Canada w/o a passport. Here's why: [The] friendly border crossing agreement used to be mutual; however, now the WHTI requires that U.S. citizens have a passport to return home. In this way, passport requirements for Canada and U.S. borders are different on paper, but, are in practice, the same. Canada will not allow a U.S. citizen into the country who does not have the proper documentation to return home. http://gocanada.about.com/od/canadatraveloverview/qt/uscitizenborder.htm The US currently requires a passport (or passport equivalent) for US and non-US citizens to return home. EFFECTIVE JUNE 1, 2009 Travelers entering the U.S. through a land or sea border must present a passport or WHTI-compliant document. http://www.consular.canada.usembassy.gov/passport_requirement.asp Now, as you say, the US must (eventually) let a citizen back into the country, but Canada can (and regularly does) refuse US Citizens w/o passports entrance due to the new US law. How do I know this? Because it has happened to a couple of people I know. Edited December 23, 2010 by The Dean
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