Why is US Customs in Canadian Airports?

[baltimoron]

while DCA is regional at best.

Air Canada flies some CRJs between DCA and Toronto, Montreal, and Ottawa.

Yet it's still called Ronald Reagan National Airport and not Ronald Reagan International Airport. I guess Canada doesn't count as another country?

And you no longer have to remain seated for 30 min. in and out of the airport.

 

[fuji]

The US does not recognize a Canadian pardon. However, if you get a pardon, your record will be removed from the Canadian police system and the US customs agent won't be able to find it. However, if they had previously found it on some previous entry before the pardon, then they have copied it into their system and its removal from the Canadian system won't matter, as they will still have their copy of the data. In that case they know about it, and the fact that you have a pardon from Canada is irrelevant to them--you will need a pardon from US Customs too.

What's even worse is that the US considers a Canadian "absolute discharge" or "conditional discharge" to be a registered criminal conviction. Technically it is: With a discharge a judge finds you guilty, but decides it isn't worth punishing you. All the US cares about is the part where the judge found you guilty--that you weren't actually punished is irrelevant, they will still exclude you.

So, a lot of people in Canada who commit relatiely minor crimes and are granted a discharge by the judge feel that the matter is behind them. Then they try and enter the US, and they are told that they are inadmissible because they have a criminal conviction. Confusion ensues.

The short story is if you have had ANY kind of run in with the law you should seek the help of a US immigration attorney before trying to enter the US. Key word there is BEFORE. Most of these problems are harder to fix if you learn about them at the border from US customs.

 

[TheNiteHwk]

Seems that I sit corrected…

Please allow me to clarify what happened to me at the boarder. Maybe I assumed some things because of what happened to me and those signs I have seen at airports.

First… my experience was not at an airport. It was at a land crossing.

When I pulled up in my car they asked where I was going and what the purpose of my trip was. I told them I was just giving my passenger a ride to the airport and would be returning in a couple of hours. For some reason they asked me to pull my car over and go inside. I did. With-in 2 minutes they came back to me and said I was barred from the US and I knew that already. I asked them what are they talking about. He showed me a paper where to my surprise was printed my entire record. BTW this was in 1996 when this happened. Also noted on the print out was the fact that back in 1985 I had tried to cross the boarder in BC again in my car and was warned back then that because I have a record for pot possession from back in 1971 that I am not allowed to enter the USA. They were very serious about this and were treating me very sternly. They then proceeded to search my car. They searched it with a fine toothcomb. About the only thing they did not do was pull the seats out. Then they grilled me for over an hour trying to get me to say I had other intentions then just giving my LF a ride to the airport. They asked me how is it that I am driving a brand new car, (my car at the time was only 3 months old) where did I work, how long have I been living at the address on my license, all kinds of things that I figured they did not need to know. Basically they just gave me a lot of hassle. They explained that since back in 1985 I had been warned already that I was not allowed in the US that I was knowingly breaking their laws and explained to me that if they wanted they could impound my car and take me to jail. After succeeding in scaring the shit out of me… they gave me another warning… this one in writing and made me sign it… and let me go. When they were giving me the warning (several times I might ad) they did mention that it was in effect on all entry points no matter where including airports and sea ports that if I ever try to enter the US again I will be arrested and charged. So maybe it is true (I will choose to believe you guys) that at an airport they have no arrest authority if you’re caught with counterband or something. But from that experience even though it was almost 10 years ago… I am not willing to chance it that they could maybe arrest me for trying to enter the US illegally. It’s just not worth it. So for all you US LE guys that may be reading this… congratulations… you have convinced one big bad guy to stay away. For sure I will never ever try to enter the US again.

 

[fuji]

The thing about arrest authority at the airport is just cutting hairs. Does it really matter to you whether you are arrested by US customs directly and shipped to the US, or whether they call the Cdn. police to arrest you, then have you extradited to the US? Either way you end up in a US jail.

 

[TheNiteHwk]

The thing about arrest authority at the airport is just cutting hairs. Does it really matter to you whether you are arrested by US customs directly and shipped to the US, or whether they call the Cdn. police to arrest you, then have you extradited to the US? Either way you end up in a US jail.

LMAO... yah... good point.

 

[someone]

The thing about arrest authority at the airport is just cutting hairs. Does it really matter to you whether you are arrested by US customs directly and shipped to the US, or whether they call the Cdn. police to arrest you, then have you extradited to the US? Either way you end up in a US jail.

Yes, but to be arrested by Canadian authorities you would have to do something illegal under Canadian law. I'm not sure that trying to enter the U.S. after having been previously refused entry is illegal under Canadian law.

 

[goodtime]

Air Canada flies some CRJs between DCA and Toronto, Montreal, and Ottawa.

Yet it's still called Ronald Reagan National Airport and not Ronald Reagan International Airport. I guess Canada doesn't count as another country?

And you no longer have to remain seated for 30 min. in and out of the airport.

No offence intend. I'm down by your neck of the woods often.

I'm fully aware AC flys out DCA. My buddy's relative was one of the 1st to resume flight out of DCA after 9/11.

DCA can't handle larger jets more than the 2 hr flight range thus regional.

CRJ are 'regional' crafts. I had to undo my carry-on as it didn't fit the overhead bins. And the cockpit door, a joke, the pilot had trouble with it in the last flight.

 

[fuji]

Yes, but to be arrested by Canadian authorities you would have to do something illegal under Canadian law. I'm not sure that trying to enter the U.S. after having been previously refused entry is illegal under Canadian law.

Nope. But it's illegal under U.S. law, and Canada has a rock solid extradition treaty with the U.S., so if the U.S. authorities can present clear evidence of you breaking a U.S. law (for example, they are holding you at a customs station in Pearson airport) then Canada will happily send you to the U.S. to face the music.

You will get a hearing in front of a Canadian judge before you are packed off to America, to make sure the case against you is strong enough, but it'd only be a matter of time. In the end, you're still in a U.S. jail.

 

[someone]

Nope. But it's illegal under U.S. law, and Canada has a rock solid extradition treaty with the U.S., so if the U.S. authorities can present clear evidence of you breaking a U.S. law (for example, they are holding you at a customs station in Pearson airport) then Canada will happily send you to the U.S. to face the music.

You will get a hearing in front of a Canadian judge before you are packed off to America, to make sure the case against you is strong enough, but it'd only be a matter of time. In the end, you're still in a U.S. jail.

I’m not a lawyer but I’m sure that extradition is limited to serious offenses (e.g. indictable offences in Canada or felonies in the U.S). Extradition procedures are expensive and not normally used for minor offences. Moreover, even in cases of serious offences, Canada as the right to refuse to comply as it has done with a few high profile cases in the past (e.g. murder cases where the U.S. has refused to wave the possibility of capital punishment). In either case, I can’t see someone being extradited for something like this. Moreover, I’m not sure you can be extradited for offences that are not crimes in Canada but the lawyers on this board would know more about that.

 

[baltimoron]

No offence intend. I'm down by your neck of the woods often.

I'm fully aware AC flys out DCA. My buddy's relative was one of the 1st to resume flight out of DCA after 9/11.

DCA can't handle larger jets more than the 2 hr flight range thus regional.

CRJ are 'regional' crafts. I had to undo my carry-on as it didn't fit the overhead bins. And the cockpit door, a joke, the pilot had trouble with it in the last flight.

None taken. I have a positive memory of CRJs right now, as the last time I flew an AC CRJ out of DCA, the AC Flight Attendant was a smokin' hot French Canadian blonde.

She had no trouble wearing the skirt option of the AC F/A uniform; she actually wore it well above the knee, showcasing those long killer legs and just a touch of those creamy thighs.

As if that wasn't hot enough, her nude-colored nylons encased those glamorous gams in a silky smooth texture which glistened ever so slightly as the sunlight came through the aircraft windows, sending me into the upper stratosphere of visual erotica.

Not to mention those 3-inch "come hither" black patent pumps...so essential to the total package!

The compactness and coziness of the CRJ just provides for ...ahem... "closer" interaction with the ...ahem... flight crew.

 

[goodtime]

French Canadian women can be smoking...

Since you love nylons, some of the best looking stewardess imo are: SIA, Cathay Pacific, British Airways, some JAL, KAL, and MIA are model quality. North American airlines can be hit & miss, imo. On some N.A. flights too many gay male steward who are too touchy feely for my taste.

 

[WhOiSyOdAdDy?]

French Canadian women can be smoking...

Since you love nylons, some of the best looking stewardess imo are: SIA, Cathay Pacific, British Airways, some JAL, KAL, and MIA are model quality. North American airlines can be hit & miss, imo. On some N.A. flights too many gay male steward who are too touchy feely for my taste.

I have seen quite a few hot stewardesses on Air Tansat..and my favourite airline, Avianca

 

[NicolesBoudoir]

It didn't always used to be this way. In many US cities you'd go through US customs at your destination and presented all kinds of problems if you weren't allowed in for any reason. What do you do? Stay in the arrivals area until you can get a flight out?

Kind of funny to read this because it reminds me of the movie 'Terminal' with Tom Hanks...He lived at the airport...but there was more to the story but still a funny thought

 

[baltimoron]

Have you ever noticed the PEEL POLICE officer(s) that are present in the USA area? They are there in case someone needs to be arrested - because the USA guys CAN'T do it themselves.

I just got home from Toronto, flying from YYZ. Yes, there was a Toronto cop in the USA area, staring into empty space, looking bored beyond belief.

He was stationed after the primary processing kiosk, but before the secondary search station.

The US Customs person I got was extremely polite, friendly, and courteous, even saying "Welcome Home!".

The weird thing is that she did stamp my passport. I suppose she was just doing her job to a "T", but I never had my passport stamped when RETURNING to the US.

I thought that since I'm a US citizen returning to the US, there's no stamping at all. Perhaps technically, they have to stamp it, but rarely do so.

 

[goodtime]

I have seen quite a few hot stewardesses on Air Transat..and my favourite airline, Avianca

There's stewardesses on Air Transat? Never seen any boarding flights. Haven't try Air Trans as they don't accept Air Miles or Aeroplan...

Aviance, thanks for the tip. Will take a look. Here I thought www.ryanair.com was the cheapest fare on average.

 

[lube monkey]

On my last trip south of the border, the U.S customs did a good check of my pickup, but were friendly bout doin it....

Comin back home to Canada, the Canadian customs chick was a real a- hole.....entering my own freakin country!.....


Figure that one out.