TIPS FOR BUSINESS TRAVEL TO THE U. S. ENTREPRENEUR
Tips for U.S. business travel with new regime
Just minutes before it was due to take effect last Wednesday, a U. S. j udge blocked President Trump’s travel ban on citizens of six Muslim-majority countries.
Nevertheless, people are still being detained at border crossings if they have even a tenuous connection to the Muslim world, creating an atmosphere of fear and uncertainty among business travellers.
The concern isn’ t misplaced, says Vancouver immigration lawyer Mark Belanger. “There’s definitely increased vetting.” Business or leisure travellers of all ethnic backgrounds can expect more questions and be asked for proof to back up their answers.
“If you have some ethnicity from the Middle East or Southeast Asia or any of the other countries that are not highly trusted,” Belanger says, “you should prepare as though you may face even more questioning.”
Since business travellers usually can’t just opt not to go to the U. S., it helps to be prepared. “When you know you’re on the right side of the law and you’re entitled to entry, you’re not as nervous,” Belanger says.
BACK IT UP WITH PAPERWORK
Almost everyone crossing the U. S. border gets asked where they’re going and what they’ll be doing.
Having paperwork is a big help. Even tourists should bring an itinerary. “At a bare minimum, I recommend business travellers carry a letter from their company that details where they’re going, how long they’re going for, who’s paying them and most important, what they’re doing,” advises Toronto immigration lawyer Melodie Hughes Molina of PwC Law LLP. “Even if you’re not asked for it, you should have it in your pocket.”
Some business t ravellers require a work visa. “If you’re entering the labour market or engaging in activities deemed competitive with the labour market, you will need a work visa,” says Hughes Molina.
But if you’re going to a general meeting, trade show or on a sales call for a product made outside the U. S., you probably don’t need a work permit as long as you’re not receiving a salary or income from a U. S.-based company.
SECONDARY INSPECTION
If a border guard questions your admissibility to the U. S., you’ll be sent for secondary inspection. “The presumption is that you don’t qualify and the burden of proof is on you,” Belanger says. It’s natural to get ruffled. But keep your cool. “Nervousness appears as dishonesty in the eyes of the CBP.”
Don’t respond by blustering (“Don’t you know who I am?”) or by fibbing. “The worst thing you can do is lie,” says Hughes Molina. You may not only be denied entry today, “you may be barred from entering the country for any purpose for two to 10 years.”
And don’t test another border crossing. “Information entered at the airport is often visible in real time at the land border crossings,” says Hughes Molina. Socalled “border shoppers” are likely to find themselves in more hot water.
WHAT ARE YOUR RIGHTS?
If you were born in one of Trump’s six banned countries, but hold a Canadian passport, “the executive order indicates they will assess entry based on the passport you’re travelling with,” says Hughes Molina.
But a Canadian passport isn’t a ticket to ride. A Customs and Border Protection officer has “an immigration judge’s ability to exclude you from the country or remove you,” Belanger says.
Border guards can also detain you without reasonable suspicion, search you without a warrant and ask for passwords for electronic devices and social media accounts.
You have the right to refuse, but “they’re not going to let you in that day. And they probably won’t let you in tomorrow — until you give them what they want,” says Belanger. “But you can go home and there’s no ban put in place. You can call a lawyer, get your ducks in a row, get your papers ready and go back.”