My travel ban over but there are still hiccups

I thought I’d have no problem crossing the US border after my – disputed - five-year travel visa ban expired August 6. (see Aug 12/25 post). Sure, I can now cross but there are still hiccups. It’s not just like I can be waived through like any typical motorist after showing my passport and answering a few basic questions. My name still pops up on the primary inspection booth officer’s computer, and the same question is always asked: “have you ever had problems entering the US?” To which I refer to the five-year travel ban. The officer nods and sometimes will ask details and I run through a summary, always indicating I “dispute” it. On one occasion the officer wanted to engage me in a long conversation – verging on argument - of why I was banned (“Michigan auto insurance rules (law) don’t apply to federal crossings”). Frankly, this is all beside the point. The ban was over August 6 and I was given the understanding I would be able to cross hassle free back into the US. But because my name for some unknown reason remains in the system, more likely than not the primary officer will slap an orange sticker on my windshield and I’ll have to report to secondary, which means the office. Out of the car I get as two or three officers officiously direct where I must park and tell me to place my phone and car keys on the dashboard, and “take what documents you need” into secondary. There I must wait my turn as there are usually several people ahead that need to be processed for various reasons (most of us have gone to secondary one time or another, and it happens on Canadian side too). So, there I will sit anywhere from 10 minutes to half an hour. I’m then called to the counter, hand over my passport and sometimes restate the reasons for the ban, then told to sit down and recalled, given back my passport and am free to go. There have been a few occasions where the primary officer just picks up the phone and calls a supervisor and then releases me on the spot; those are always gratifying. But my name should have been expunged when the ban was over. One officer even cursed when he saw my name was "still” there. I suggested it makes more work for his staff and he agreed. Further, no one can tell me when my name will be dropped – “could be six weeks, could be six months.” Meanwhile one officer gave me a card with a US government website to apply to expunge my name. I did so on Oct. 30. A resolution could take two or three months.

Meanwhile, the US government now requires travelers planning to spend more than 30 days stateside to fill out special documents – which might include fingerprinting at a Customs facility. I filled out the G-325R form Nov. 5 - which asks basic questions about residency and criminal record – and bizarrely requests a US address. (The Canadian Snowbird Association had answers at their fingertips and said just give an address of a friend, relative or business associate.) I still haven t heard back as I’m planning to spend Dec. 31 – Feb. 15 in the Sunshine State. What a contrast to applying to the UK’s new ETA two-year e-visa which I was issued almost immediately after applying online and is simply integrated into your passport. In the US everything is so officious and bureaucratic.

Whoever thought crossing the US border would ever be so hard. The G-325R (or alternative I-94) application apparently has always been on the books, but the Trump Administration is now enforcing it after a major border crackdown.

And as for all those stories about Canucks boycotting travel to the US it doesn’t appear so at the Windsor-Detroit border. I realize this border is not “discretionary” as many people commute to jobs. But even in non-commuting hours backups can easily last half an hour, not much different than "pre boycott” times. Last night, coming home from Detroit, I could see vehicles backed up almost on to the bridge deck itself. And the lines can be slower than molasses, making a trip to secondary inspection seem almost a breeze by comparison. (Photo shows back-up at Canadian border so you get an idea how many are still crossing the border, Canadians and Americans.)