When news of Australian man Baxter Reid’s detainment by U.S. border officials first came to light, his American girlfriend said it was because he had overstayed his six-month visa by 90 minutes.
According to Reid’s girlfriend, Heather Kancso, the 26-year-old Reid was in the United States on a B1/B2 visa, which is issued to a visitor travelling for business or tourism.
Kancso pleaded online for support through crowdfunding site Go Fund Me, explaining that the couple intended to visit Canada before his six months in the U.S. expired, in order to fulfil what they believed were the proper requirements for re-entry into the U.S.
According to the New York Times, Kancso said they had driven to the Canadian border but were held up by Canadian Border Services officials for four hours of questioning. In the end, they were turned away because Canadian officials were concerned that the U.S. would not allow Reid to re-enter, leaving him stuck north of the border.
When they were turned back into the United States, Reid’s visa had technically expired and he was handcuffed and detained. He is currently being held at a federal detention facility in Buffalo.
What the experts say
According to Joel Guberman, founding partner at Toronto-based immigration law firm Guberman Garson, Reid should not have waited until his six-month visa was nearly expired before he decided to travel to Canada.
“He should have applied for an extension of his visitor’s stay, before it expired in the six months, from within the U.S. and then you’d file an application to extend your stay and they can say yes or they can say no,” explained Guberman.
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He added that authorities typically do not recognize travel to contiguous territory (such as Canada or Mexico) because it is viewed as “sort of cheating the system.”
Toronto-based immigration lawyer Ravi Jain echoed the sentiment, saying many people believe the “myth” that one can enter the U.S. or Canada for six months, step out for a short period, then return for another six months. He said he has noticed this misconception is common among visitors from Western countries.
Experts say the United States border authorities were acting within the law to detain Reid.
“To detain him for a 90-minute overstay is, of course, idiotic,” said Guberman. “It’s very Trump-esque. But it’s technically within their rights to do so.”
Lainie Appleby, a partner at Guberman Garson and former immigration officer, added that she believed the 90-minute overstay was a red herring.
Guberman explained that perhaps Reid showed signs that his intention for his visit was not temporary.
“If you exhibit facts or statements that show that your intention is not to be temporary, or that you’ve ‘abandoned your residence abroad,’ then neither country (Canada or U.S.) would admit them as visitors because you don’t look like a visitor.”
“Even if it’s inadvertent — maybe they thought they were doing exactly what they were supposed to do — you don’t wait until the last hour to exit the country,” said Guberman.
The Canada Border Services Agency would not comment specifically on Reid’s case but said, “a person may be deemed inadmissible for number of reasons such as financial and family.”
On Wednesday, Kancso confirmed that Reid had received a court date for May 10 but does not expect that he will be allowed to stay in the country.
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