Australian man arrested in US for overstaying visa by 90 minutes
Source: Sydney Morning Herald
A Canberra man has been imprisoned by immigration officials in the United States for overstaying his US visa by less than two hours, after being denied entry to Canada.
Baxter Reid, 26, and his American girlfriend, Heather Kancso, travelled to the Canadian border in upstate New York before Mr Reid was arrested by US border police on Sunday, April 24 local time.
Mr Reid is now imprisoned at Buffalo Federal Detention Centre where he could face six months in jail before his case is heard by a judge.
Read more: http://www.smh.com.au/act-news/australian-man-arrested-in-us-for-overstaying-visa-by-one-hour-20170501-gvw3yh.html
Jack-o-Lantern
(965 posts)where jack-booted thugs demand your papers please, and you can disappear into limbo on some goddamned phony technicality.
iluvtennis
(19,758 posts)SunSeeker
(51,377 posts)Eyeball_Kid
(7,410 posts)PoliticAverse
(26,366 posts)Rhiannon12866
(203,022 posts)Now he's targeting Australians??
proud patriot
(100,700 posts)before the world
moonscape
(4,664 posts)do with 45 or any new policy.
Canada was the dick here by not allowing them in, and the report doesn't say why they didn't and why they took so long to refuse them entry. But, with so little room for error, they would've been screwed anyway because by the terms of his visa he had to be out of the country that night. Pretty stupid to leave it to the last minute. A day earlier and he could've caught a flight out.
riversedge
(69,727 posts)samir.g
(835 posts)Honeycombe8
(37,648 posts)He's not here legally, so the officials have to hold him and make sure he leaves the country. That's the law. Just like if he were caught doing something else illegally.
The headlines make it sound like they went looking for him, which they didn't.
Blues Heron
(5,898 posts)They could have given him a temporary visa extension on the spot. But no, they gotta be vicious little twits. And half of america cheers! Lock him up!
christx30
(6,241 posts)He was trying to game the system. Was trying to fit himself into a loophole so he could stay beyond the expiration of his visa. I wonder how many times he's done this. It sucks for him, but that's his poor planning, and CBP following the law.
Blues Heron
(5,898 posts)He was trying to leave.
Response to Honeycombe8 (Reply #10)
jberryhill This message was self-deleted by its author.
DFW
(54,055 posts)One time, my wife, who is German, was visiting a girlfriend who lives in Vermont at the Canadian border. Her girlfriend took her over to Canada for lunch. No problem entering Canada for either one. Coming back, the US border guard asked her how long she intended to stay in the USA. She said until August 12th.
The guy went nuts on her, saying she was overstaying her limit by one day, since she had entered the USA on April 12th. She HAD entered the USA on April 12th, but that was for a week's stay for our nephew's graduation from Georgetown in Washington. She had returned to Europe a week later, and had entered the USA again in July. The stupid US border guard was too lazy to look thoroughly through her passport to find her July entry stamp (I found it in less than half a minute).
Having had experience with asshole border guards in East Germany when the "socialist paradise on German soil" was still in existence, she thought quickly and offered her excuses. Of COURSE the border guard was right, and she had stated the day of her arrival back in Europe, but the flights always left from North America the night before. The jerk was satisfied with this and let her back into Vermont.
WePurrsevere
(24,259 posts)"The guys on the US side of the border can be real jackasses if they feel like it"
We live in NY on the US/Canadian border. Even miles from the border they patrol, do periodic 'check points' on the roads, etc. While most are decent enough there are enough jerks to have many of the locals less than pleased with them.
DFW
(54,055 posts)The perennial disease of authority with too much power and not enough knowledge of how to use it in the manner that was intended when it was given to them.
WePurrsevere
(24,259 posts)I'm not saying they're all "throwing their weight around" some of them seem to be truly decent human beings it's just that just like with cops, judges... heck, all people in positions of power over others (both real & perceived)... there's the good, the bad and the ugliest of humanity.
WePurrsevere
(24,259 posts)He waited until the day his visa was up to do a required "leave the US" hop over to Canada. He arrived at the Canadian border with 2 hours to spare, due to car trouble (which I understand all to well).
The Canadians held him from crossing the border for over 2 hours, allowing his Visa expire, and then refused him entry because the Canadian border patrol didn't want him to become Canada's problem. In turning him away from the border with his now expired Visa he was arrested by some US Border Patrol twits.
I would have thought his being a fellow Commonwealth citizen would have gained him entry to Canada under these circumstances but I'm not as up on this as I'd like to be.
Retrograde
(10,073 posts)Come in to the US on a passport from one of the countries on the visa waiver list, stay almost to the very end, leave the US very briefly - like a hop to Canada - then come back in and request a new visa. He should have allowed a few days or even weeks leeway to make it seem not so obvious.
Wonder why Canada wouldn't let him in?
WePurrsevere
(24,259 posts)it's probably not uncommon to do but waiting until the last minute probably wasn't the brightest idea.
As for why Canada denied him entry, according to the article in the OP they didn't want to be stuck dealing with him. There's no mention of any past issues. For all we know he caught the Canadian BP agents on a bad night. According to his father is AU the 'kid' just likes to hop around the world and it sounds like he now has an American GF he wants to stick around a bit longer for.
It just seems to me that our laws may need a tiny bit of wiggle room for oddball cases like this. From what the article says, for possibly 6 months, our tax money is going to go to the care and keeping of this apparently non-violent man whose 'crime' was... staying a bit 'to long'... not doing the loophole 'bounce' sooner... wanting to stay with his girlfriend? Maybe he didn't have enough money to get himself and her to AU so figured the 'bounce' would buy more time.
This all seems just a bit OTT and ridiculous to me.
Blues Heron
(5,898 posts)that IS the system. You have to leave, you come back in on another visa. Same in many countries around the world. Talk to a backpacker some time, you'll see.
Greensix1
(67 posts)With a moron leading the way, the federal government police have lost all their common sense. If they ever had any to begin with. There is no reason to detain someone trying to Leave the US, none.
Coventina
(26,874 posts)I hope no DUers depend on foreign tourists....
OnlinePoker
(5,702 posts)They normally march in our annual Victoria Day parade in a couple of weeks, but because of the uncertainty of members trying to go back across the border, they're staying home this year. Apparently, it effects all Seattle schools for all foreign travel.
Coventina
(26,874 posts)geek tragedy
(68,868 posts)Our government is overtly hostile to all non-citizens.
sarcasmo
(23,968 posts)geek tragedy
(68,868 posts)we're using red maple leaf luggage tags.
More_Cowbell
(2,190 posts)If you do that, the rules don't apply to you.
Corgigal
(9,291 posts)Pay all these cost. Taxpayers shouldn't have to pay for small woman/man power trip.
They are hiring too many of these "police" and I'm sure the screening is too fast. See above, cause this is a straight waste of tax dollars.
freddyvh
(276 posts)getting a speeding ticket for going 57 in a 55 zone
Blues Heron
(5,898 posts)Dude's been locked up
freddyvh
(276 posts)is that is technically illegal.
but just stupid to enforce
especially since he was trying to comply with government orders