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How to know whether I was reported at point of entry?

psv01

Newbie
Dec 1, 2021
3
0
Did not meet RO, but was let in by border officer (airport).

Questions were thorough (5mins), but wasn’t sent for further (second) interview.

Wasn’t told anything about RO not met, nor verbal warning, nor any hint of notes being placed on my record - and was not asked to sign anything.

How do I know whether I have been reported (in my file)?
 

steaky

VIP Member
Nov 11, 2008
14,298
1,628
Job Offer........
Pre-Assessed..
Did not meet RO, but was let in by border officer (airport).

Questions were thorough (5mins), but wasn’t sent for further (second) interview.

Wasn’t told anything about RO not met, nor verbal warning, nor any hint of notes being placed on my record - and was not asked to sign anything.

How do I know whether I have been reported (in my file)?
Looks like you are lucky. Usually if you are reported, they will give you something to sign and told you.
 
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dpenabill

VIP Member
Apr 2, 2010
6,252
3,018
Did not meet RO, but was let in by border officer (airport).

Questions were thorough (5mins), but wasn’t sent for further (second) interview.

Wasn’t told anything about RO not met, nor verbal warning, nor any hint of notes being placed on my record - and was not asked to sign anything.

How do I know whether I have been reported (in my file)?
Based on your account of the examination it appears unlikely, perhaps it is safe to say highly unlikely, that a formal "Report" for inadmissibility was prepared against you. This is referring to the 44(1) Report for inadmissibility due to a breach of the Residency Obligation. As @steaky commented, "usually" a copy of such a formal Report is given to the PR (whether the PR then signs some documentation depends on the extent to which the subsequent procedures are completed and their outcome).

Whether notes were made to your GCMS record is far more difficult to discern. Even if notes were, in effect, reported to your "file," that would not mean much other than there is a record of the entry and some notes about you, perhaps an "alert" (typically referred to in this forum as a "flag") that in some regards gives notice there may be a PR Residency Obligation concern to any officials later engaging in a transaction with you . . . such as another Port-of-Entry examination (upon returning to Canada if you leave) or if you were to apply for a PR card. As long as you do not leave Canada and do not apply for a new PR card, or to sponsor a family member's PR application, UNTIL AFTER you have stayed long enough to be in compliance with the PR RO, any such note to your file would not affect you.

Generally a traveler will not be advised if any such notes were being made. Sometimes it is apparent but not always. PRs can make the ATIP request for copies of their records, but without an application in process this would require a customized request (can be a little complicated) and even then my sense is any such notes would not be shared with the client (the PR), but rather considered confidential investigatory material (not at all sure of this, but that is my best estimate).

From your account it is not possible to know whether your screening was limited to PIL (Primary Inspection Line) questioning or was a Secondary level examination. In normal times five minutes of questions would signal it was a Secondary level of screening. But these days things are complicated by the additional screening due to measures in response to the global pandemic.

Even in normal times it can be difficult to discern what level of screening a PR-traveler arriving in Canada was subject to at a PoE in an airport. It is not as if, typically, the officials formally announce or describe their specific role.

Overall: all looks OK. Main thing is if they asked for current contact information in Canada that you gave them contact information that will actually work, that will actually result in communications getting to you.


Usually if you are reported, they will give you something to sign and told you.
Agree with "usually." But recognizing what "usually" is the case falls well short of knowing what actually happened in any particular case.

As I have discussed in other topics, I recently learned that despite the guidelines in the Operational Manuals, apparently it is not uncommon for a 44(1) Report to be prepared and not shared with the PR if, for example, a second officer (acting as the Minister's Delegate, but in practice just a second CBSA immigration officer) is not then available to review the Report.
 

jakklondon

Hero Member
Oct 17, 2021
582
139
You may or may not be informed at POE of the report being filed against you. Make sure to provide your current mailing address. If report created at some point after your entry, they will notify you by mail so you can appeal or leave the country as ordered. In the USA they would be required to notify you under due process of law clause (it would be illegal in the USA to secretly issue removal order, so you would be unable to challenge it), but I don't know if the same rule applies in Canada. If Canadian PR is not informed of being reported at POE, could CBSA "secretly" issue removal order and deliberately not notify the PR, so latter would fail to appeal the removal decision? I assume the answer is "not", therefore, even if PR is not informed of being reported at POE, he will still get the removal order in mail.
 

YVR123

VIP Member
Jul 27, 2017
6,431
2,460
If you didn't sign anything or told that you have been reported, then you are fine.
You are lucky! Try to compily with your RO this time.
 

psv01

Newbie
Dec 1, 2021
3
0
Looks like you are lucky. Usually if you are reported, they will give you something to sign and told you.
Thanks @steaky. At the risk of confirmation bias, I do have a feeling to. I’ve scanned around the forum threads here for anecdotes (dating back to 2011).

And the result is: while it’s possible to have record on your file without them telling you, it’s highly improbable for them not to let you know in the point of entry.
 

psv01

Newbie
Dec 1, 2021
3
0
If you didn't sign anything or told that you have been reported, then you are fine.
You are lucky! Try to compily with your RO this time.
i surely will this time around @YVR123. It was a calculated risk for me to enter without RO compliance (I did prepare a solid explanation).

I was just surprised that there was no hint of my file being reported during the interview. In fact, the border officer was very casual and the discussion was relaxed (at times smiling and a bit of laughter).

hence, was just seeking feedback from recent actual experiences similar to mine. thanks again.
 

canuck78

VIP Member
Jun 18, 2017
52,959
12,759
i surely will this time around @YVR123. It was a calculated risk for me to enter without RO compliance (I did prepare a solid explanation).

I was just surprised that there was no hint of my file being reported during the interview. In fact, the border officer was very casual and the discussion was relaxed (at times smiling and a bit of laughter).

hence, was just seeking feedback from recent actual experiences similar to mine. thanks again.
How out of compliance were you?
 

Copingwithlife

VIP Member
Jul 29, 2018
3,864
1,867
Earth
i surely will this time around @YVR123. It was a calculated risk for me to enter without RO compliance (I did prepare a solid explanation).

I was just surprised that there was no hint of my file being reported during the interview. In fact, the border officer was very casual and the discussion was relaxed (at times smiling and a bit of laughter).

hence, was just seeking feedback from recent actual experiences similar to mine. thanks again.
In a nutshell you dealt with someone not doing their job
 

armoured

VIP Member
Feb 1, 2015
15,227
7,755
In a nutshell you dealt with someone not doing their job
This reminds me of the Mencken comment that "Puritanism is the haunting fear that someone, somewhere is having fun."

But here, the fear that someone, somewhere has been granted leniency.

Give it a rest. You are not doing the CBSA job, and don't know what they've been tasked to do or prioritize. It's never as simple as it looks from the outside; and the frequent "someone not doing their job" sounds like the worst kind of pointless Puritanism.

The law requires them to consider H&C. They may not do it the way you'd like or to your taste, or give too much consideration to the cost of the appeals process, but "someone not doing their job" (Carthage must be destroyed) just comes across as churlish.