Will I be denied entry?

[atjr]

Hi there,

I have a bit of a unique situation, so the sorry is a bit long but I am going to share all for context. I am a USC with a Canadian wife and two dual citizen children. Since 2012, my wife and kids have lived in Ontario, while I have lived in the US and visited frequently. I usually stay 5-16 days at a time, although when our kids were born I did stay for longer. In 2019, I probably spent more than 50% of my time in Canada and I have been in Canada continuously since the border closed in March 2020. Before my initial 6 months were up I applied for a visitor record to extend for 6 more months, which was approved. I applied right away for another one and I am currently waiting for that to be processed (which should be in Sept, and will likely require me to leave in Sept/Oct).

I haven't seen my extended family, my car, or my house for 18 months now so would really like to get back to the US for a few weeks in September. My best friend is also getting married and I would ideally attend the wedding.

I am concerned that if I leave Canada, I may not be able to get back in due to the amount of time I have spent here vs. the US. I have strong ties to the US (house, car, job, all my personal belongings, pay bills, have never lived in another country, my wife has a pending immigrant application in the US), but I have been here so long now.

So I wanted to see if there is a real risk of me being denied entry and what does the appeal process look like if I am denied? Also, is there anything I can do to de-risk this (other than not leave). If I need to stay, so be it - I can't afford to be stuck away from my young children - but hoping I'm just being ultra conservative by even worrying about this.

Any advice would be appreciated. Also, if you think I should get a lawyer I would appreciate any recommendations.

 

[scylla]

Hi there,

I have a bit of a unique situation, so the sorry is a bit long but I am going to share all for context. I am a USC with a Canadian wife and two dual citizen children. Since 2012, my wife and kids have lived in Ontario, while I have lived in the US and visited frequently. I usually stay 5-16 days at a time, although when our kids were born I did stay for longer. In 2019, I probably spent more than 50% of my time in Canada and I have been in Canada continuously since the border closed in March 2020. Before my initial 6 months were up I applied for a visitor record to extend for 6 more months, which was approved. I applied right away for another one and I am currently waiting for that to be processed (which should be in Sept, and will likely require me to leave in Sept/Oct).

I haven't seen my extended family, my car, or my house for 18 months now so would really like to get back to the US for a few weeks in September. My best friend is also getting married and I would ideally attend the wedding.

I am concerned that if I leave Canada, I may not be able to get back in due to the amount of time I have spent here vs. the US. I have strong ties to the US (house, car, job, all my personal belongings, pay bills, have never lived in another country, my wife has a pending immigrant application in the US), but I have been here so long now.

So I wanted to see if there is a real risk of me being denied entry and what does the appeal process look like if I am denied? Also, is there anything I can do to de-risk this (other than not leave). If I need to stay, so be it - I can't afford to be stuck away from my young children - but hoping I'm just being ultra conservative by even worrying about this.

Any advice would be appreciated. Also, if you think I should get a lawyer I would appreciate any recommendations.

The answer is straight-forward. If you want zero risk and cannot afford to be separated from your children, then the only option is not to leave. If you leave, there's always some chance (no matter how small) that you may not be readmitted to Canada.

If this was the pre-pandemic period and you were spending around 50% of your time in the US, I would say your chances of being refused entry would be close to zero. However these are unusual times and you have been in Canada now for quite a long time now. From CBSA's perspective, the ties you have to the US probably won't be regarded as that strong given you've been out of the country for a year and a half now. I would still lean towards saying that you'll probably have no issues re-entering. But this is absolutely not guaranteed and there's nothing you can do to fully de-risk the situation. If you exit, there's always some chance you won't be able to re-enter. You have to be comfortable with that risk if you go.

There is no appeal process if you are refused entry. If you are refused entry, then your only option would be to try to enter again at a later date. It will be entirely up to CBSA if you are admitted or if they turn you back again.

A lawyer can't help in any way for this situation. It's entirely up to CBSA if you're allowed in and you can't bring legal representation with you to the border.