Originally Posted by goaliemn
There is a major flaw in the above story. He probably told customs he was there to visit his girlfriend. You NEVER say that at customs. They assume you're going to stay, possibly illegally, since you have ties to someone in the country. I've had border guards at customs canada ask me if the friend I'm visiting is more than a "friend" They may be, they may not. Thats none of their business as I don't plan on staying up there for extended periods of time. The guard may have also assumed they would try to get married up there if neither is currently a Canadian. Any sort of inter-border relationship is bad to bring up at customs.
Thats also why I got canpass.. less questions, faster lines, less hasles.
Never had an issue with claiming you were visiting a girlfriend/boyfriend. Immigration cannot DENY you entry for this reason. As long as you prove you have transportation to LEAVE the country, they should have no issue. I am sure there ARE plenty of mixed-nationality couples who go to Vegas and get married....is it up to immigration to stop love or relationships? If it is a sham marriage then INS would vet that out later...
The only thing that an officer mentioned to me about the "girlfriend" is if I was bringing any "gifts" so they could charge me duty on them....Anyway, I also had CanPass but I hardly used it because the damn kiosk was either out of order or the regular line was really short.
- HF