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Back in 2010 on my way back to the U.S. on Easter Sunday, I got held up by some American border guard clown claiming they knew my friends and I went to Canada for pot and fake ID for nearly an hour. (Really dude, you don't think I could have easily found either of those on my university campus if I wanted them??) The last time I went up a year ago, the Canadian border guard asked us many questions about where we were staying, what we were going to do, how and how long have my friends and I known each other, etc. When we crossed back into the States, the American guard only asked if we were bringing anything back and just let us through. To put it in my opinion, it has a lot more to do with the individual you get when crossing than the country you are crossing in to.
To some degree of course, but I haven't heard of Canadian Border guards asking Americans if they've ever smoked pot.
Also, different laws require border guards to act on and ask a whole different set of questions.
But you might have missed the little bit about this being an open admission on the part of the banned person and not as the result of any sharing of criminal database information.
In that regard; even an entering Brit. would be banned similarly if he answered in the affirmative to the posed query by a U.S. agent.
Bit of advice, if a US Border Guard asks - 'Have You Ever Smoked Pot' - Just Say 'No'.
The US asks Brits on it's forms 'Have you ever Been Arrested' being arrested being different to being charged or convicted and different from having an unspent record or even a spent criminal record on the Police National Computer.
Once again Brits often just write 'No' as even if they could access the UK Police National Computer, unless you are convicted and found guilty of an offence then nothing is going to show up and you are not guilty of anthing in the eyes of the law.
There are some inter-country links, such as Interpol, Five Eyes and more, but inevitably these are very restricted, for good reason, and don't easily provide information on you to the relevant foreign authorities and are mainly used in relation to serious offences and national security issues due to a balance of cost, privacy, technicalities and bureaucracy.
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Originally Posted by Unlock
Millions of people visit the US from the UK every year. A significant number of those travelling to the US every year will have some form of criminal record. Many people successfully apply for a visa. Many simply choose to travel under the VWP and not declare that they have a criminal record.
If I don’t tell them, how will they find out?
It is a common question – “If I don’t tell them, how will they find out?”.
The answer is, if you don’t tell the US about your criminal record, they probably won’t find out.
If your criminal record means that you are ineligible to travel under the Visa Waiver Program, then you have a choice:
1. Apply for a visa.
2. Lie on the ESTA form (US Electronic System for Travel Authorization) and travel under the VWP (Visa Waiver Program).
Lying on the ESTA form- Access to the UK Police National Computer
The United States does not have access to the UK Police National Computer (see the FOI response below).
The security services do share information about high-profile crimes, serious offences or if someone is a security risk, but this is not as a matter of routine.
However, the United States authorities are able to seek details of any criminal convictions held on the Police National Computer on an individual request basis through Interpol channels. Although this very rarely happens.
People lie all the time – but is it right for you?
We speak to people all the time who are weighing up whether to lie on the ESTA form or whether to apply for a visa. Ultimately, this is a decision that only you can make.
For some people, the potential offences for non-disclosure, coupled with the anxiety they’d feel when travelling, makes them decide that applying for a visa is the right route to go.
For others, hearing from friends that have travelled with no problems makes them think that there won’t be a problem.
Fadi Minawi, a Toronto-based lawyer specializing in Canadian and U.S. immigration law:
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In the last two years, Minawi said, his office has received inquiries from at least 50 people who have been barred from the U.S. for life after telling a U.S. border agent they smoked pot.
Vancouver Psychotherapist Andrew Feldmar:
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In 2006, Feldmar was turned away from the U.S. border and barred for life after a border guard searched his name on the internet and found that he had written in an academic journal about using LSD in the 1960s.
The comments to that article above..............so much for some Canadians not hating the US........
I don't think anyone said that NO Canadians hate the US. Most hate the politics of the US, not the people. Some hate both, I assume, but have never met any Canadian that hates an actual person because of their citizenship.
I don't think anyone said that NO Canadians hate the US. Most hate the politics of the US, not the people. Some hate both, I assume, but have never met any Canadian that hates an actual person because of their citizenship.
You must have blocked out the bs over the Syrian immigrants.
I don't think anyone said that NO Canadians hate the US. Most hate the politics of the US, not the people. Some hate both, I assume, but have never met any Canadian that hates an actual person because of their citizenship.
I do read CBC.ca and it is not uncommon to see many nasty and disparaging remarks about Americans when comments are allowed on an article that involves the U.S. I know it's the Internet, but a lot of people do show their true colors and feelings behind a keyboard where they can be cowards.
I do read CBC.ca and it is not uncommon to see many nasty and disparaging remarks about Americans when comments are allowed on an article that involves the U.S. I know it's the Internet, but a lot of people do show their true colors and feelings behind a keyboard where they can be cowards.
Oh for heaven's sake; like there are never any comments from Americans, even highly placed ones, that routinely disparage Canada and Canadians.
Were all of Canada to take seriously the stupid crappola stated by numbnutz like McCain, Walker and Napolitannonutz, who were elected to speak on your behalf, we'd have no choice but to think ALL Americans are long on stupid and short on memory.
You must have blocked out the bs over the Syrian immigrants.
My reference was in regards to US citizens. That said, there has been very little opposition in regards to Syrian refugees. The few are always the loudest though.
I do read CBC.ca and it is not uncommon to see many nasty and disparaging remarks about Americans when comments are allowed on an article that involves the U.S. I know it's the Internet, but a lot of people do show their true colors and feelings behind a keyboard where they can be cowards.
I see those same comments, but you have to put into context. Yes people are more blatant on the internet than in real life, but a lot of those comments are not usually directed at a certain person. When people say " those Americans " they are usually reacting to something the government or big business has done.
Trust me, there have been enough ridiculous things said about Canada and Canadians coming from the US over the years, as to make Canadians wonder about the education system down there.
It's human nature to lump things and people together. Just look at the comments about " those Brits " after Brexit.
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