Denied access in USA
 

So here's the story :

On a sunday night a few months ago, me and a few friends decide to embark on a road trip, from montreal, going to plattsburgh to begin with.

So we drive down until we hit the border patrol, and get asked for documents, where they pull us over for secondary. They inspect and search the car, and of course find nothing. So they come inside and ask us a bunch of question : Where you going, What are you doing, Who are you meeting in platsburgh etc etc. They as well asked us to empty our pockets and declare how much money we have carrying with us. Most of my friends had relatively low amounts, but I was carriying around 1000$ in hundred dollar bills.

They then proceeded to ask me more questions, how come you have this money, why do you have this much money and not the other people with you etc etc.

So eventually after they spoke to everybody, they decided that they cannot grant us access in USA, because one of the guys travelling with us didn't have his citizenship card (fair enough) (we all had it plus our drivers license). As it was a spur of the moment thing, never took the time to pick up our passports from home.

The next part is the one that worries me, and aggravates me to say the least.

They then proceeded to take our pictures, full digital fingerprints of both hands, palm prints and general physical descriptions. It was frankly long, and made us feel like convicts. And then they gave us a sheet saying that we ALL had been denied access to the USA and that we needed to show this paper at canadian customs when going back up.

Is this standard procedure? Make everyone take prints and picture, because one of us didn't have the citizenship card with him? I mean we wouldn't of left him there , we would all of went back to Canada, but was it really necessary for us to go through that process?

And what happens with my information, the pictures, and prints???

They keep that on record? For how long? Under what grounds? Do they share it with any other agencies?

I've been to the states a few times after that, and didn't hit any snags, im just looking for your opinion on this guys.

Thanks

Bestof2k9

So unfortuately, You can't access into USA but, you don't have regular passports or proof of US Citizenship with birth certifications. You will eventually sent it back to Canada where you need to get your passports and real proper ID before you can allowed to have re-enter into USA. I think that you were trying enter into USA. So sorry that I can't help you for trying to be granted you into USA. So you have decide to be accepted your own choice from CBP.

Oh dear. $1000 in cash isn't that much really!?
And to be honest, who do they want to visit the US? People with money or without ?

Yeah, he did. He have lot of foreign currency with Canadian money but, he has denial access into US. So unfortunately, He can't allowed go cross the border. He have to accepted where he will stay in Canada but, what about his foreign money will be seized from CBP.

You missed my point, totally.

We all did have the proof of canadian citizenship required, as well as the driver license to access USA, except for one of us. My question is, was it standard procedure for all of us to have to go through the fingerprints and ID part and to receive that denied access letter?

I don't know if they do anything with it at all.

Let me tell you a reverse story. Shortly after 9/11 (literally within a few days of it) my son, who was born in raised in Israel and has a heavy Hebrew accent but is an American citizen by birth, arrived in the States.

He wanted to visit friends in Ontario and tried crossing into Canada via the Peace Bridge. He was refused entry. Canadian officials said they did not believe he was going to visit Ontario and accused him of going to work there. (Personally, I suspect that his accent and poor English made them suspicious of the validity of his American passport.)

He called me and asked what to do. I told him to go to the Rainbow Bridge (so as not to run into the same official) and when asked why he was entering Canada to say that he wanted to visit Niagara Falls for a day. He did that, was granted entrance with no problem, and then continued on his way to Ontario.

Yes, could be. You will receive the letter from CBP shortly. Because you cannot allowed entrance into USA. You will have to get legalized rights to enter into USA. So you decide as the facts that they will be refusal entrance into US. So I'm sorry that I can't help you for try to cross the border. You have to talk the lawyer will have assistance for you. If you will try to get civil rights for trying to get permissions into United States.