Hi  Mary

I would like to thank you for helping me with my US Waiver application to enter the  USA.

I had been trying without success for many years until I found and contacted your immigration law firm.

Being able to enter the USA means so much to me seeing that I live in a city that borders the USA.

Thanks again

Remi

Many people flying out of Canada can expect even more scrutiny and delays as the United States government is implementing new rules that would pull the personal information of Canadian passengers who are flying over the United States – for example, from Canada to Mexico.

According to Canada’s assistant privacy commissioner, the Canadian government is pretty much powerless and unable to prevent the new rules as the United States effectively controls their own air space and everyone else must abide by U.S. law when they enter into it.

The new rules come into effect in December and go by the name of Homeland Security’s Secure Flight Policy.

These rules will make life even more difficult for those with names similar or identical to those on the No Fly List – which many innocent people do, from children to military personnel – and the list has come under fire before for including mostly ethnic or foreign-sounding names and has been accused of giving rise to racial profiling.

If someone is unfortunate enough to create a false positive and flag the system, it can take up between 50 and 60 days to reverse and resolve it. Hopefully travelers won’t take their vacations, business trips and family visits too seriously, as this will effectively cancel any trip they planned on taking.

Even if there is no match to the name of someone on the No-Fly List, important private information such as your passport and itinerary information, sex, birthdate and name will be kept by the government for an undetermined amount of time and disclosed to anyone they see fit for purposes such as law enforcement, immigration and other security reasons.

Meanwhile, while many United States flights fly over Canada, the government of Canada is not considering any similar action.

As our ongoing effort to inform the pubic about Airport Security, we have learned that along with the introduction of controversial full-body scanners and other new security regulations, Canadian airports will now include specially trained officers who “spot “suspicious individuals based on their behaviour and how they look or dress.

The new behavioural security program is called SPOT, which stands for Screening Passengers by Observation Technique. SPOT has already been introduced in airports in the United States and other countries around the world are currently considering using it.

The implementation of SPOT was announced last week by Transport Minister John Baird, and some of the behaviours that would raise alarm are sweating, facial micro-expressions, obvious nervousness or wearing heavy or baggy clothing on warmer days. Baird also admitted that these security procedures would cause even more delays.

While passengers have the choice between going through the body scanners or getting a manual pat-down, people exhibiting the suspicious behaviours will be forced to undergo the scanning.

The organization that represents thousands of Canadian pilots, Air Line Pilots Association International, had requested that SPOT be implemented in 2008 according to an article the Calgary Herald published. The article also described a scene that detailed some of the queues the program looks at, for example: a bad dye job can also be interpreted as a consequence of exposure to dangerous chemicals, as can burns on the hands, and the men exhibiting these qualities were being watched by a security agent – in plainclothes – and were flagged for questioning.

Along with targeting certain landed immigrants to Canada and Canadian Citizens from a list of certain countries, airport security will now be further screening you by what you wear or how you act. This can lead to delays, missed flights, or intense and stressful questioning because you’re told you look a little bit sweaty after spending hours in a packed airport terminal.

Obviously there are  human rights issues associated with the SPOT approach. Arbitrary and subjective denials of entry to the US and other countries would likely increase.  We will have to see how this all plays out. Air travel is becoming increasingly challenging for visitors and for people applying for Visas to Work or Study.

Hello Fadi

I just wanted to thank you for everything you did to help in the process of getting my TN visa.

Yesterday I went to the Peace Bridge and applied for the visa and had NO problems in getting my 3 year TN Visa so off to Texas I go.

Thanks again

Lorraine

Hi Beth!

I finally made it across to the US. I was sent to secondary inspection at the Peace Bridge and was kept there for quite a while being asked a million and one questions over and over about my purpose in the states and my ties to Canada, but I think when they were going through my purse and pulled out pictures of my parents and I started crying it really made them realize that I was telling the truth.

I’ve been allowed to stay until January 7th, and if I overstay or break any rules I can be banned for up to 10 years from the US. January 4th is more than sufficient for me so that won’t be an issue.

I just wanted to thank you, Johanna and Michael at Niren and Associates for all of your help once again. You will most likely hear from me in the near future regarding my immigration to the US.

Have a wonderful day!
Mabel

If you are a Canadian Permanent resident and not a Canadian citizen, you may require a visa to enter the USA depending on what country you are from. For instance, if you are a Canadian PR from India, you will need to apply for a US Visitor Visa whereas if you are from, say, the UK, you will not. Some countries are subject to the US Visa Waiver Program. If you are from one of these countries, you will not require a US Visitor Visa to enter the US.

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