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An Australian man has been handcuffed and locked up in a US detention centre after apparently breaching his visa conditions by just over one hour.
Sydney man Baxter Reid, 26, was in the US on a five-year visa and had travelled to Canada as part of a requirement for him to exit and re-enter America every six months to keep his visa valid.
But his American girlfriend Heather Kansco said Reid was arrested by US Border Patrol officers on 23 April after delays receiving clearance to cross into Canada meant he breached his visa conditions by just over an hour.
According to Kansco's account, the couple were given "the runaround" for more than four hours at the US-Canada border. By the time Canadian authorities referred them back to US Border Patrol, Reid had "technically violated his visa requirements".
"The US Border Patrol ended up taking Baxter away, because after waiting for hours with the Canadians, he ... was illegally in the US for a SINGLE HOUR," wrote Kansco.
A Canberra man has been detained in the United States for reportedly overstaying his visa by less than two hours.
... Mr Reid's brother, Alexander, said Canadian officials did not want to let Baxter through because his visa was close to expiring. "Because they had kept him, his visa had expired by 90 minutes," he said.
"He wants to go back home, but he wants to go of his own accord," Alexander said. "He doesn't want to get deported because he still wants to go back to the US because that's where his girlfriend lives."
"He wants to get a court date so he can say to the judge 'I was leaving [of] my own accord, I don't want to stay here illegally'," he said.
"But unfortunately a court date can be anywhere from a few weeks to six months.
"He could be locked up in detention for months only because his visa expired by 90 minutes."
Offering (forced) accommodation for free (on tax money) for at least a few weeks will prove a good investment in advertising the US tourism industry, right?
(Score: 2) by tangomargarine on Tuesday May 02 2017, @09:05PM (1 child)
I can't believe we let this demagogue idiot ruin our relationship not only with our neighbors (on whom we rely for extremely valuable workers who come here to perform jobs that no one else wants to do and thus boost our economy greatly) but also just bludgeoning anyone who happens to step out of line.
Trump has barely been in office for 3 months. These border security guys have been around for years. This isn't really Trump's fault.
"Is that really true?" "I just spent the last hour telling you to think for yourself! Didn't you hear anything I said?"
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday May 03 2017, @01:21AM
I acknowledge that the Border Patrol and its employees are rather entrenched and pre-dated Trump. I also acknowledge that securing the borders is one of the very very few legitimate activities the US fedgov is currently involved in.
Yet I ask: to which branch does the BP answer to? At whose whim do they serve?