Practical Travel Safety Issues - US visa requirements for Canadians connecting intl-intl in USA?

I have a close Canadian friend who will be flying in to LAX form HKG then to NRT for a mileage run. Does he need a visa if he's leaving less then 24 hours for his next flight at the tom bradley terminal? I never did a mileage run arriving and departing the same day at LAX. He was refused entry last year because they didn't believe he could support himself and wanted proof of residence in Canada and hard evidence that he would return. His flight is tomorrow. He would be flying with me. He will be bringing his lease agreement and has proof and now owns a small stake in a company in Thailand. They gave him some sort of sheet that said withdrawal of application for admission consular notification and something to do with section 212(a)(7)(A)(i)(I) of the immigration and nationality act and was allowed to withdraw his application for admissions with concurrence of SCBPO Litz. Application of Withdrawal was marked.

That's what it says on this sheet he gave me to check on Flyertalk. I'm wondering if he will have issues at immigrations. He is bringing his bank statements, cell phone, lease contract, and ownership of a company in Thailand to show proof.

Any one help? I called the US Embassy and they informed me that he needs to email some department. He emailed his passport and asked if he needed to apply for a visa (transit). No Answer as of yet.

Since when does canadian need a visa to the USA?

Since when does canadian need a visa to the USA?

I thought the same thing and found out that canada is not listed on the visa waiver.

Since when does canadian need a visa to the USA?

I thought the same thing and found out that canada is not listed on the visa waiver.

Correct, they are not in the VWP, but they don't need a visa under a differt program (as so they don't need ESTA)

If he has a Canadian passport (not just residency) and he is not working in the US for money from a US employer he needs no visa period. This is not a visa waiver program, there is simply no visa for up to 6 months for USA to Canada or Canada to USA.

Technically Canadians are admitted under one of two visa "classifications" (B-1 and C-1 I think) that's only due to any government having to put things in little buckets.

Frankly I think he is doing more harm than good contacting all these people and sending passports and WHY for no reason. The Americans must wonder what the heck it is all about.

What I suspect though is he is a resident in Canada and his nationality is elsewhere. And if residents don't stay in Canada they don't retain residency either.

He should put in transit to NRT on the US blue form as to address in the USA and that will suffice. If he is a Canadian citizen with a valid Canadian passport.

If not it may all be resolved in HKG anyway as they won't board him on the flight.

I have a close Canadian friend who will be flying in to LAX... He was refused entry last year because they didn't believe he could support himself and wanted proof of residence in Canada and hard evidence that he would return...

Frankly I think he is doing more harm than good contacting all these people and sending passports and WHY for no reason. The Americans must wonder what the heck it is all about.It's for no reason - he was denied entrance to the US on a prior trip. :confused:

The last time the friend tried to enter the US, they suspected he was trying to immigrate to the US. Basically, he must have put something for his address or occupation or the purpose of his visit that sent off a red flag. So they asked him for proof of steady income and some sort of property to demonstrate that he had ties to Canada and would not try to stay or work in the US.

Something like this girl experienced:
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20120504044917AA1aSo8
From some of the answers in this thread, it appears your friend may be ineligible for the normal visa waiver, and may need a waiver to visit.

I think at a minimum, demonstration that he has property or family in Canada, and evidence of a steady paycheck would be needed to enter the US this time. I have no idea if the airline would know he has been denied entry in the past, and therefore check for a visa before allowing him to board the plane. But I have no doubt he will be closely scrutinized by the US CBP at LAX if he gets there.

I do not know if the form he was given indicates that he was 'refused entry' into the US, or whether he was given the opportunity to "withdraw" his application for entry, or if there is a legal difference between the two.

You may get better answers in the TS&S forum.

There is no transit visas in the US, as there are no longer transit areas at US airports. He has to be fully admitted into the US, get his bags, go through customs, then re-check, go through security, etc for the outgoing flight.

So whether he needs a B-1/B-2 visa, is VWP, or just entering via Canadian passport depends on where his passport is from.

Rather than ask on FlyerTalk, which could result in significant informed and uninformed opinions, it might be better to check with an official source:

Delta Airlines Timatic page (http://www.delta.com/planning_reservations/plan_flight/international_travel_information/visa_passport_information/)

/ 25MAY12 / 2016 UTC


National Canada (CA) /Transit USA (US)
Destination Japan (JP)
ALSO CHECK DESTINATION INFORMATION BELOW

USA (US)

VISA NOT REQUIRED.

TWOV (Transit Without Visa):
- All in-transit passengers For details, click here

Additional Information:

- Holders of a valid "C-1" transit visa issued by the USA are
allowed to transit to a third country as long as this trip
is 29 days or less and then transit again, as long as this
trip also takes 29 days or less.

...
Timaticweb Version 1.3
25 May 2012

or perhaps the US Department of State's Consular Affairs page regarding Canadians visiting the USA here (Visa Requirements - Citizens of Canada, and Permanent Residents) - which also has useful links applicable to this question.

As this is not particular to any specific airline forum, it will be relocated to the appropriate Forum for these issues. /Moderator

Thank you all very much. I believe he will try considering he is going prepared. I'll post what happens when we get to NRT.

It seems like people do not pay attention to details... If the OP's friend was denied entry once, it may very well may happen again, and it has nothing to do with the fact that in general, Canadians do not need visas to visit USA. I guess, the worst thing that could happen is he would be asked to withdraw his application for admission again and allowed to proceed to his connecting flight to NRT (instead of sending him back to HKG). Firebug4 could perhaps shine the light on this issue.

deleted all due to mod request to partially delete.

No the worse that can happen is that he will be rendered to his country of birth like Maher Ahar. I hope he is born in Canada and not Syria, where Ahar was tortured for months.
Sure, you can stretch your imagination in this fashion. However, when we talk about a regular refusal of entry (that happens quite often in airports around the country on a daily basis), my scenario is much more plausible.

What I suspect though is he is a resident in Canada and his nationality is elsewhere. And if residents don't stay in Canada they don't retain residency either.


I suspect the same thing. OP returned but did not make it crystal clear that this friend was traveling on a Canadian passport.