USA Travel w/ RTD since Jan 2025

[ref19to22]

I am curious if anyone with an RTD and US visa has traveled to the US since the election/inauguration in January this year, and what was your experience at the US border (entry/exit)? Please specify if you traveled by land or air etc.

TIA!

 

[Deleted member 1167690]

went to usa in feb by air and it was a breeze, barely questioned going and coming back. I have one trip coming up again and this time a little worried given the situation keeps worsening between usa and canada

 

[Christtop]

I don't think the war at hand has to do with immigration between both nations, there shouldn't be any form of challenge for anyone traveling so long you have your right documents. (PR card + RTD or RTD + work or school permits originals).

 

[Melsi]

I am curious if anyone with an RTD and US visa has traveled to the US since the election/inauguration in January this year, and what was your experience at the US border (entry/exit)? Please specify if you traveled by land or air etc.

TIA!

O came to us today with refugees travel documents with out pr and it was my first entry in us;there's no issue

 

[canuck78]

I don't think the war at hand has to do with immigration between both nations, there shouldn't be any form of challenge for anyone traveling so long you have your right documents. (PR card + RTD or RTD + work or school permits originals).

Wouldn’t necessarily say there will be no change but if you have grounds to visit and will be following immigration rules you should have no extra difficulty than a Canadian citizen. That said we are also seeing Canadian citizen put in immigration detention when attempting to apply for a work permit which would have been unheard of a few months ago so you can’t predict what this administration will do day to day or count on decisions based on thought and logic.

 

[Copingwithlife]

Wouldn’t necessarily say there will be no change but if you have grounds to visit and will be following immigration rules you should have no extra difficulty than a Canadian citizen. That said we are also seeing Canadian citizen put in immigration detention when attempting to apply for a work permit which would have been unheard of a few months ago so you can’t predict what this administration will do day to day or count on decisions based on thought and logic.

Then we have this coming down the pike


https://www.ctvnews.ca/world/articl...-travel-ban-on-dozens-of-countries-memo-says/

 

[Deleted member 1167690]

I visited in February and i dont even think the US immigration officer looked at my visa. He just looked at the main page on my RTD and let me go

 

[abff08f4813c]

I visited in February and i dont even think the US immigration officer looked at my visa. He just looked at the main page on my RTD and let me go

Glad to hear that you made it ok. Normally, I'd ask for folks to keep those reports coming in - and if you do end up traveling, please do report back on it.

But...

That said we are also seeing Canadian citizen put in immigration detention when attempting to apply for a work permit which would have been unheard of a few months ago so you can’t predict what this administration will do day to day or count on decisions based on thought and logic.

Exactly. In fact, one professional immigration lawyer in the US has already come out publicly advising everyone not to travel: www dot youtube dot com slash watch?v=AYOvXQaGymg

Even if you hypothetically knew with 100% certainty that you could go and make it there and back safely and without any trouble, I think it's still worthwhile to consider reconsidering. See the argument made in this opinion piece coming out against such travel in the current environment, https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2025/mar/18/us-trump-boycott

 

[moealz]

Travelled today with one month validity and I flight . No problem at all.. 4th time to US and went smoothly

 

[Deleted member 1167690]

Just a reminder, U.S immigration and customs is handled within Canada, so Canadian citizens or RTD holders cannot be detained. The worst case scenario is the U.S officials refuse entry, and you simply turn around and drive back home. I’ll be leaving in two weeks and will let you know how things go at the airport.

Also, keep in mind that a lot of what you see on social media and in the news is meant to create fear and discourage travel, a.k.a fear mongering. If someone has a questionable background, they might be stopped for questioning, but if everything is clear, there’s really nothing to worry about. Keep all your documents on you and have fun.

 

[abff08f4813c]

Just a reminder, U.S immigration and customs is handled within Canada,

Only at airports and marine facilities, and not all of them. See https://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/cnt/brdr-strtgs/prclrnc/index-en.aspx?wbdisable=true for a complete list of the ones that are doing US preclearance.

Knew someone who flew out of Billy Bishop airport in Toronto a couple of years ago to the US, and there was no preclearance back then. A quick search turns up https://www.passengerterminaltoday....ser-at-billy-bishop-toronto-city-airport.html as the latest news, so even though it's planned I think there are some airports that are not doing preclearance yet.

so Canadian citizens or RTD holders cannot be detained. The worst case scenario is the U.S officials refuse entry, and you simply turn around and drive back home.

That makes sense for a place doing preclearance. But if you fly out of the wrong airport, or try to cross a land border (via car or on foot), then you're at risk. I believe that's how Jasmine Mooney (who was alluded to earlier in this thread) ended up getting detained - she applied for a work visa on a land border crossing.

I’ll be leaving in two weeks and will let you know how things go at the airport.

Thank you and good luck!

Also, keep in mind that a lot of what you see on social media and in the news is meant to create fear and discourage travel, a.k.a fear mongering. If someone has a questionable background, they might be stopped for questioning, but if everything is clear, there’s really nothing to worry about. Keep all your documents on you and have fun.

At least for myself, I'd still worry about this. It seems to me that Jasmine Mooney should have fit into the "everything is clear" category, though it's possible that there's an element missing from the recent news reports about the matter.

 

[Deleted member 1167690]

Only at airports and marine facilities, and not all of them. See https://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/cnt/brdr-strtgs/prclrnc/index-en.aspx?wbdisable=true for a complete list of the ones that are doing US preclearance.

Knew someone who flew out of Billy Bishop airport in Toronto a couple of years ago to the US, and there was no preclearance back then. A quick search turns up https://www.passengerterminaltoday....ser-at-billy-bishop-toronto-city-airport.html as the latest news, so even though it's planned I think there are some airports that are not doing preclearance yet.



That makes sense for a place doing preclearance. But if you fly out of the wrong airport, or try to cross a land border (via car or on foot), then you're at risk. I believe that's how Jasmine Mooney (who was alluded to earlier in this thread) ended up getting detained - she applied for a work visa on a land border crossing.



Thank you and good luck!



At least for myself, I'd still worry about this. It seems to me that Jasmine Mooney should have fit into the "everything is clear" category, though it's possible that there's an element missing from the recent news reports about the matter.

Jasmine Mooney’s actions and business raised many red flags at the border. She made several attempts to gain entry into the U.S which itself raised concerns especially after she was refused multiple times.

Every case is different, and we rarely get the full picture. We don’t know the full extent of her intentions or those of the border officials. That said, she didn’t exactly fall under the “everything is clear” category, given her repeated efforts to cross the border which likely led to her being flagged.

Again, there’s no reason for concern when traveling to the U.S. unless there’s something in your past or current situation that might raise issues at the border. If you have a valid visa, ties to Canada, and a source of income, you should be fine.

 

[abff08f4813c]

Jasmine Mooney’s actions and business raised many red flags at the border.

I hadn't seen this being mentioned before in the news, but I might have just missed it. Can you provide a source?

She made several attempts to gain entry into the U.S which itself raised concerns especially after she was refused multiple times.

Again, haven't seen this on "multiple refusals" - the closest is https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/19/canadian-detained-us-immigration-jasmine-mooney which says,

He revoked my visa, and told me I could still work for the company from Canada, but if I wanted to return to the US, I would need to reapply.

Which suggests she was refused just once, before her ill-fated attempt.

Every case is different, and we rarely get the full picture. We don’t know the full extent of her intentions or those of the border officials.

True. (Well, I think we can say we have a good idea of her - Mooney's - intentions. But agreed on the rest of the points.)

That said, she didn’t exactly fall under the “everything is clear” category, given her repeated efforts to cross the border which likely led to her being flagged.

Specifically regarding Jasmine Mooney, it seems that a lawyer explicitly gave advice not to attempt the crossing.

But Saunders said he advised Mooney against going there.

But he also states that he didn't see any red flags or other issues with her.

“When she told me she was going there, I advised her not to, only because of the current political climate,” he said.

Source: https://globalnews.ca/news/11080371/canadian-woman-detained-ice-example-immigration-border/

Again, there’s no reason for concern when traveling to the U.S. unless there’s something in your past or current situation that might raise issues at the border. If you have a valid visa, ties to Canada, and a source of income, you should be fine.

But yeah - so multiple US immigration lawyers are disagreeing with you regarding the "no reason for concern" bit. I've mentioned one (Jim Hacking) earlier in the thread and then Len Saunders just now.

Here's no.3, Richard Kurland: https://www.msn.com/en-ca/politics/...t-to-stay-in-the-u-s-lawyers-warn/ar-AA1B7eFf

You have a good point about social media not being trustworthy and news sometimes being unnecessarily alarmist.

And you had good advice about trying with an airport that has preclearance. To that I'd add that one of the news articles adds this bit of advice,

The officer I spoke to was kind but told me that, due to my previous issues, I needed to apply for my visa through the consulate. I told her I hadn’t been aware I needed to apply that way, but had no problem doing it.

I.e. apply for U.S. visas at the consulate whenever possible, instead of at the border.

So to that I'll finish with a good standby here - everyone should double check with a lawyer before they go.

 

[ref19to22]

I appreciate those who have shared their experiences.

'Questionable background' / 'if everything is clear there's not much to worry about' are relative concepts in systems where despite there being laws protecting people, enforcement/targeting becomes a political act that always targets Black/brown/muslim and gender diverse/trans communities the most.

 

[abff08f4813c]

I’ll be leaving in two weeks and will let you know how things go at the airport.

OP forgot to update us here, but from https://www.canadavisa.com/canada-i...ons-and-answers.397458/page-235#post-11043547 it seems the OP made it there without any issues, and the only thing on coming back was having to go to secondary screening (but from the Canadians/CBSA).

It really does seem like the answer is to fly with preclearance.