Canadian woman denied entry to U.S., told she needs immigrant visa
Manpreet Kooner says thought of crossing border now makes her sick
Kamila Hinkson · CBC News1 Hour Ago
Manpreet Kooner, left, pictured with her fiancé. Kooner, who was born in Canada and holds a Canadian passport, says she was turned away at the U.S. border and told she needed an immigrant visa. (Submitted by Manpreet Kooner)
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A Canadian woman travelling on a Canadian passport says she was turned away at the U.S. border and told she needed an immigrant visa to enter the country.
Manpreet Kooner, 30, was on her way from Montreal to a spa in Vermont for a day trip with two friends Sunday afternoon, but she never made it.
Kooner told CBC she was held at the border for six hours, only to be told she wouldn't be allowed entry because she didn't have have a valid immigrant visa.
She is a Canadian citizen, was born to Indian parents in Canada and raised in Canada. She lives in Montreal's LaSalle borough.
She said the border agents singled her out and didn't ask to speak to her friends.
"I feel targeted. I'm set aside from everyone else, and I feel helpless because I keep asking 'What do I need to do?'"
Kooner's story is the latest in a string of recent tales involving Canadian travellers scrutinized or turned away by U.S. border agents.
Last month, for instance, a woman from the Montreal suburb of Brossardsaid she was denied entry after being fingerprinted, photographed and questioned in detail about her religion and her views on President Donald Trump.
What are your rights at the U.S. border?Told she needed an immigrant visa
Kooner first had trouble getting into the U.S. last December. She was with friends and her fiancé when her car was pulled over for what she was told was a random check, she said.
She was made to fill out a number of forms but was eventually told there was a problem with the computer system and should return the next morning.
When they went back, she was let through without any problems.
The form explaining why Manpreet Kooner, a Canadian citizen, was denied entry to the U.S. says she was turned away because she is an immigrant who did not have a valid immigrant visa. (Submitted by Manpreet Kooner)
When she tried to cross yesterday, at Highgate Springs, Vt., the officer checked her passport and said they needed to ask her additional questions.
The officers mentioned that she had been stopped in December and asked why she was trying to go through again.
Kooner says she told them she's a Canadian citizen, has no criminal record and, before December, never had any issues crossing the border.
She was fingerprinted, photographed and signed a form to withdraw her application for entry to the United States.
Though she was told there are no flags on her file, the agent advised her not to fly to the U.S. without a visa.
The border agent couldn't say what kind of visa she would need, only that she would have to visit the U.S. Embassy in Ottawa to get one.
That's when Kooner started to cry.
Plans on hold?U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the U.S. Embassy could not immediately be reached for comment.
According to the agency, an average of 1.2 million people a day try to enter the U.S. at all crossings. Of those, an average of between 300 and 500 are denied entry for various reasons.
Kooner, who is now in Ottawa and will visit the embassy later today, says she has contacted lawyers to see what to do next.
She spent more than $1,000 on tickets to attend a musical festival in Miami at the end of the month, and she planned to return to that city in May for her bachelorette party.
She's now thinking of selling those tickets and cancelling the party.
She says the thought of having to cross the border now makes her feel sick.
What happens when a Canadian border agent asks to search your phone?
with files from Steve Rukavina |
