Queers and Immigration

[Cin]

Originally Posted by Cajun_dee

I am immigrating to Canada and learning the process as I go, and in the words of the cocky OFFICIAL at the border when I came back after a holiday, "pffft....Good luck staying here legally just because you like it here, I ALMOST didn't let you through, you have one month then you have to leave"

Now I was standing there with my very butch partner and I wish I knew how her reaction would have been had I been standing there with my very invisible femme self.

I am working legally now and jumped through all of the hoops but it's not easy. The border agents in Canada are completely obnoxious and take some sadistic joy out of reminding you that it is THIER discretion on whether to let you through or not.

I don’t understand why that border guard would say something like that. Canada has the highest per capita net immigration rate in the world. They have a pretty wide open immigration policy. Compared to the U.S., well it isn’t remotely comparable, so forget that. The U.S. accepts more refugees than any other nation. Since there aren’t any Canadian refugees seeking protection in the U.S., that I know of anyway, immigrating from Canada to the U.S is much more difficult, unless you have some trade or vocation that is sought after. It is infinitely easier to immigrate from the U.S. to Canada, especially for same sex couples.

What category are you trying to immigrate under? It sounds like you already have a work permit. As a U.S. citizen you can live legally in Canada for 6 months. Though if you are going back and forth over the border a lot you might consider getting a visitor's record. That is what I did. I immigrated under the family class and never had a bit of trouble getting over the border and I traveled back and forth frequently. As a matter of fact I brought tons of stuff over without any hassle. I had most of my stuff already here by the time I got legal permission to bring my personal things over.

The first time I flew from Boston to Montreal I remember being asked numerous, what I considered absurd, questions. I had never traveled where I had to cross over borders before. I was appalled at what I considered to be invasive questions. Here is an excerpt already in progress:

Agent: "Who are you going to visit?"

Me: "Andrea."

Agent: "What is her last name?"

Me: "I don't know."

Agent: "You don't know the last name of the person you are going to visit?"

Me: "That's right."

Agent: "What is her address?"

Me: "I don't know."

Agent: "You are going to visit someone and you don't know her last name or her address?"

Me: "That's right. She did tell me her last name but I forgot. Also, I don't know my way around Montreal so memorizing her address seemed unnecessary, especially since she is picking me up and is hopefully waiting for me outside. However had I known these were things I needed to know to enter Canada I would certainly have written them down.”

At that point the guy made a disgusted sound and pushed my passport at me.

Of course I knew the answers to his questions but I didn’t like him asking them. It felt intrusive and I thought it was none of his business. I wasn’t aware of the questions border people ask and have a right to ask. Which is anything and everything.

Flash forward eight years and I’ve become quite familiar with their questions. But every time I think I’ve heard it all, I get surprised. But no one has ever been rude or unhelpful.

But yes, without question, and never doubt it for a minute, it is always at the discretion of the border guard whether you will be allowed to enter their country. I was just lucky that guy at the airport was feeling generous or bored or both. It could have turned out badly for me and it could have ended up a much longer wait at the airport.

When I look back over the years before I became a permanent resident and subsequently a Canadian citizen, I remember being quite nervous when I had to cross over and then come back into Canada. I knew there could always be issues. It is scary when someone has the power to keep you from your home and your loved ones. But I have to say I had no problems at all. Never. And once I had a visitor’s record it was really a piece of cake. I remember when I stopped in at the border to renew my visitor’s record the border guard told me that I had been accepted as a permanent resident and no longer would need a visitor's record, but he would renew my visitor’s record just in case it took awhile for the stuff to be mailed out. He didn’t have to tell me that, he could have just given me the record and let me wait to find out the good news. Very cool that he did though.

Now that I have dual citizenship I am never questioned coming back into Canada. They just want to know what I have to declare. When going into the U.S. though there are still questions even though I am a U.S. citizen because Andrea is not. They always ask where we live and either how we know each other or what is the nature of our relationship. I just say “she’s my wife.” I haven’t had any real trouble from the U.S border guards. Sometimes that response seems to cause them to ask tons more questions and look in the trunk but other times we just get a smile, a couple of perfunctory questions, and wish for a nice day when our passports are returned and we are waved on.

I always show my U.S. passport when I enter the U.S. When I enter Canada or any other country I always show my Canadian passport because Canada is where I live.