SAINT-LAZARE – Paul Bradshaw has been separated from his wife, Jennifer Eckert, for three months – but not because they wanted to be on opposite sides of the border.
Bradshaw, a Canadian, and Eckert, an American, were heading back to their home in Saint-Lazare in August after visiting family in Pennsylvania when they were stopped by border agents.
Bradshaw was allowed through, but agents suspected Eckert was trying to skirt immigration rules and turned her away.
Eckert was reportedly told that she would be barred from re-entering Canada until she became a permanent resident, despite the fact that the couple has been married for a decade.
Bradshaw told Global News the couple’s three-year-old daughter Kathryn misses her mother terribly.
Americans can generally stay in Canada for six months without a visa as long as they don’t work, but border agents have wide discretion.
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