This is long but I can't find an answer to my question, which I've been wondering about for years; I'm hoping maybe someone on this forum can answer this. It's impossible to actually get through to talk to a real person at the US embassy.

I am Canadian-born but a dual citizen of Canada and Australia. About 13 years ago, I flew to Sydney from Toronto via the US, using my Canadian driver's license to get through US immigration and my Australian passport to get into Australia. However, coming back through the US I was detained at immigration because I didn't have a US transit visa (it was required at the time for Australians) and I was told my Canadian driver's license wasn't valid to enter the US from another country.

They stamped "TWOV" on my Australian passport and assigned me a guard who escorted me through the airport and onto my next plane; I switched planes again in Chicago and was assigned another guard (I suppose to prevent me from escaping into the US; never mind that I could get into the US from Canada any time I pleased). They told me that they could have deported me back to Australia instead of doing this.

However, now there is the visa waiver program in place for Australian citizens trying to enter the US. But it says you're only eligible if you haven't been denied entry before. So does this count? If I try to enter the US on my Australian passport with the visa waiver card filled out, will they deny me entry?

Thing is, now I live in the Caribbean and use both my Australian and Canadian passports alternately (try living overseas with only one passport - it takes minimum 2 months to renew my Canadian passport during which the old passport has to be physically sent to Canada. There's NEVER a whole 2-month time span that I don't go off the island. Ironically enough, my Australian passport takes maybe a week to renew in Toronto). I don't want to try to go to the US and be turned away at the airport. My Canadian passport is coming up for renewal again soon and I go to the US frequently.