Originally Posted by
rbakker
I have never spent too much time in the USA. But if they add my stays in Canada then it has, in the past, gotten above 90. This is the first I've heard that Canada = USA. I know from experience that a one-way out of the US to Canada or Mexico doesn't count as a ticket out and that's fair enough.
But anyway, the point is that, as the rules are written, someone who has spent a grand total of 1 day in the USA in their whole life could be denied access to the USA because they have "overstayed".
You get crazy results like that when you start counting stays in other countries. With any transit via the USA you could be refused entry on the way home on a return leg.
This US Immigration rule has been around for as long as I can remember, precisely as
JimInOhio says- to prevent people from crossing over a nearby border and resetting the 90 day clock. You don't say that you were not allowed entry so it looks like you were OK. The agent was just doing his/her job but maybe not in the most diplomatic way.
By the way, OZ is on the lookout for similar travel behavior with NZ. My niece (US passport holder) was writing her thesis in (the alleged peace and quiet of) my apartment in SYD, went to NZ for a short break, and took over 3 hours at Immigration to get back in even though she had only initially stayed in SYD 5 weeks. They were concerned she was working because she had spent 5 weeks only in SYD or she possibly planned to stay 90 more days even though she had a confirmed ticket for 11 days later. Her total time, including NZ, was well under 90 days. At least she did not end up on one of those TV shows.
As long as you the outcome was acceptable, I would not worry too much about the process. It may not be a bad thing that they are on the lookout for potential violators. As for some agents being gruff, I would agree 100% with that.