Scanned passport results in entry to the United States
Canadians know that they need a valid passport in order to cross the US border and gain entry into the United States. But over the holidays, one Canadian man was allegedly able to cross the US border using only a digital scan of his passport contained on his iPad.
While the digital version of the passport was supposedly accepted by US border officials, the incident has received some criticism – as the US Customs and Border Protection does not consider a passport scan an acceptable piece of identification to gain entry into the United States.
According to this CBC article, the NDP Critic for US-Canada border relations, MP Brian Masse, said that the digital passport is in no way a secure document and could be altered by the holder.
What do you think? Would it be more convenient to use a tablet or smartphone to gain entry into the United States, or are there too many security risks?
Technology is catching up to immigration procedures or is it the other way around.
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President & CEO
Michael Niren
Mr. Niren is CEO of VisaPlace LLC and the President and Managing Partner of VisaPlace Legal Canada, an immigration law firm based in Toronto, and VisaPlace Legal US a law firm registered in The District of Columbia, USA. Mr. Niren is a graduate of Osgoode Hall Law School in Toronto, a member of the Law Society of Upper Canada, the Canadian Bar Association’s Citizenship and Immigration Section, American Lawyers Association, and an Associate Member of the American Bar Association.
