One-way tickets, misleading?

[JessicaLynn]

Ok so I searched and found partial answers to my questions in previous posts that did help but I am also very worried still. My situation is this: I'm a US citizen and I've been dating my Canadian citizen boyfriend for 15 months now and we're planning on getting married and me applying for PR very soon. Well I just bought a one-way ticket for the end of March to go up and "visit". I realize this will look suspicious at customs when I try to cross, is it ok to mislead the customs officer into thinking that I plan on buying a one-way ticket back to the US in a week but that it was just cheaper to buy a one-way and I wasn't quite sure which date I wanted to leave (surprisingly, 2 one-way tickets is cheaper right now in my case). I would just be telling him that I'm spending my Spring Break with friends in Canada and leaving when school starts. I don't see it as a complete lie because my school really does start the date I'll tell him/her and I'll be doing online classes from Canada. I'm really just wondering if this little white lie will come back to bite me later on in the PR application process. Please let me know if you need any other info to answer my questions. And thanks so much in advance!

Ahh sorry, so much to read, I really appreciate any help. I've been lurking the forum for a couple weeks now and it's really helped me figure a lot of this stuff out and I'm excited to start tracking my progress like many of you are.

 

[mayasita]

you do realize that there's a chance they may not even let you on the plane? i had to show proof of return the last time i flew on a one way ticket out of the country... the inbound immigration didn't care when i landed, but ticketing agent for the airline sure wanted to see my proof of return before she issued me my boarding pass... i did have a one way going coming back to canada (which i didn't use but bought just for the purpose of not causing myself grief in my travels)

I think claiming that you're only staying a week or two on a one way ticket is a sure way to get you turned around... someone who is going for a short stay typcially has more concrete plans... maybe say you're staying for a couple months (which you're legally intitled to) and you just haven't found your outbound leg yet, you were planning on seeing how long your budget lasts (although that may come back and bite you in the butt if they ask to see how much money you have saved and it isn't sufficient to carry you a couple months), you wanted to see more of the country? something that is a little more non committal than you're staying a week or two (someone who is budget conscious wouldn't leave the country on a hope that their price range will be hit in the week they are gone IMO, it's a weak argument and one they'll likely see right thru)

if/when you do make it over, it's unlikely that what you say to a VO about your length of visit will come back to impact your PR application, but i'm not sure you'll get over easily with your plan of attack...

if i were you and was taking the relationship/marriage seriously, i'd go ahead and buy the return ticket and dump it... small investment to know that you will 1) most likely reach Canada in the first place and 2) likely not be flagged/assigned a visitor record to dictate your stay...

just my thoughts!

 

[JessicaLynn]

You're totally right, the money really is a small price to pay to totally ease my mind about this. Even if I can't get a refund for my ticket it will be worth it to not be super nervous (and probably visibly so) when I go through immigration. I'm buying my other one-way right now. Thank you! So you don't think the fact that I don't actually use that return ticket is a terrible thing?

 

[mayasita]

So you don't think the fact that I don't actually use that return ticket is a terrible thing?

only if they give you a visitors record that is good for the duration of the stay... they shouldn't do this if they suspect you're leaving as per your schedule...
plans change and a return ticket isn't necessarily a contract to leave the country on that exact day...

i believe if you are granted access without a visitors record, you are entitled to stay up to 6m at which point you will need to renew your visa to remain in legal status, but someone can correct me there if i'm wrong...

good luck and congrats!

 

[JessicaLynn]

Well they haven't stamped a return date on any of my other previous visits there, in fact immigration has been very nice every other time so with my return ticket now purchased I don't expect any problems from them.

And yes according to everything I've read, I have 6 months to stay and before I hit that 6 month mark I need to apply to extend my visit. Hopefully that goes well, I'll cross that bridge when I get to it though!

Thanks.

 

[doctorkb]

The line I've always used (for both when I go to the US and when my wife has come here on a one-way) is that the plan is 3-4 months (don't push for 6), but the return prices were so high that we're hoping to catch a good seat sale, otherwise we'll just drive back to the US.

So far, so good.

 

[angtao]

You can totally be denied boarding.

If you are not a citizen or a permanent resident of the country that you are traveling to on a one way ticket, you can be denied boarding. If the airline lets you on the plane and you get denied at the customs border then that airline has to pay for your flight to return back. That is why airlines want to see proof that you have a return ticket.

 

[toby]

You can totally be denied boarding.

If you are not a citizen or a permanent resident of the country that you are traveling to on a one way ticket, you can be denied boarding. If the airline lets you on the plane and you get denied at the customs border then that airline has to pay for your flight to return back. That is why airlines want to see proof that you have a return ticket.

If one is asked for a return ticket at the border, can you buy a ticket without leaving the security area? I don't believe so, but want to be sure.

If you cannot buy a return ticket without leaving the security area, the border officer won't let you leave the area to buy a ticket at the airline's front desk, and so you'll probably be returned to the country of origin. This means that you should play it safe and buy a return ticket (either a plane ticket back to the country of origin or a bus ticket if appropriate) before the trip starts.

 

[tulamoon]

While me and the husband were dating and he lived in California and I lived in BC we bought one way tickets all the time. Sometimes I'd fly to LA and then Home from San Diego. Sometimes he'd fly into Vancouver and Home from Seattle. It never caused any problems for us. The only people that were skeptical were the American border guards if I was flying out of Washington, because they always think we want to move to the states... they're the only ones that ever asked for proof I was coming back home. I flew From YVR on a one way ticket with no proof I was coming back in October 2009 because we drove back to Canada and had no problem. I think the key is be relaxed friendly and honest and they'll usually be pretty easy going on you.