So what's going on right now with CBP harassing Canadian clients? We had a bunch of Canadian
clients that were coming back to the US. And they were stopped and detained by CBP, questioned,
eventually let in but what's causing all this? It's not the first time that has happened
here. Watch this video, and I'll tell you what's going on and what you're going to do
about it. Hello, everybody, my name is Jacob Sapochnick and I'm an immigration attorney
based in San Diego, California. We here at San Diego on the border with Mexico. We have
a lot of clients that are crossing every day. And right now we see a lot of issues with
entry and exit of the US. People being detained, questioned, some of them even sent back. The
same is happening with the Canadian border. But before that, I would ask you to subscribe
to our channel. Click that bell to be notified of new videos and follow us on Instagram.
I'm so grateful for the people that watch our videos, share them, comment, and give
us so many suggestions of cool videos like this one for us to make. This video was an
inspiration for several of my Canadian clients who would call me terrified with what's happening
at the port of entry. So, let me give an example. One of my clients, he is a well-known athlete
in Canada. Well, well- known in his field, and he's been going back and forth to the
US to visit his girlfriend. He is in Vancouver, his girlfriend is in Seattle. It’s very
close. A couple of weeks ago, he was detained by CBP at the port of entry as he was coming
in. They questioned him as to why he's coming back so often. They open his bags, they looked
at his phone, they looked at his laptop, checked his social media, detained him for four hours,
and eventually let him in the US for only two weeks. And when he asked them what is
the problem, they did not give him a clear answer. Now, this has been happening every
time since coming in. He's been stopped sometimes for an hour, sometimes for three hours. He's
been missing flights. He's been angry and anxious and afraid to come into the US. So,
what do you do in these cases? And again, unless you've done something wrong before,
unless you've committed a crime in your country, and unless overstayed in the US, those are
reasons for CBP to flag and detain people, but people that never done anything, the only
thing that is really actually happening here is the frequency of the entries and exits.
When somebody on a tourist visa, Canadian tourists or any other tourists is coming to
the US, often it becomes a presumption that they may be living in the US and that presumption
can only be lifted by the applicant, but the person who's coming in. So, CBP will see on
the computer that this particular client has been coming to the US maybe three times a
month, every month, and now the presumption is, is he living in the US or not? So, they
look in his bag and they find maybe an email saying, “Hey, thanks for the great job you've
done last weekend in Seattle.” If that's the case, that can create an alarm and alert
stating that the person may be committing some sort of fraud or doing something illegal
by working in the US. But if you did not do anything, if your bags are clear, there's
nothing in your records, and they just stop you, there is a way to file a complaint with
CBP. It can be done in writing, or there are several email addresses that we can email
them to ask, “Hey, this person has been coming in, he has been stopped. There's no
reason, there's no flag. Or we can do a FOIA request, we can do FOIA, it’s a Freedom
of Information Act. It's a filing that any person can do to get some records. We can
do this FOIA on the CBP. I can do the FOIA on the US Embassy. We can do the FOIA on USCIS.
Sometimes when we do FOIA, we may or may not file any records. I've done a FOIA on a client
in the past. And I found that there was a mismatch in the name between this client and
somebody else. There was a mistake in the file. So, we had to send a request to CBP
to clear that. But that was an unusual situation. In most cases, we don't really find anything
in the FOIA. Just the thing that they will flag somebody who comes here very often. And
I often tell people, if you're planning to come very often, make sure you have a return
flight for a very short duration. Make sure that you don't carry anything with you that
will alert CBP to make them think that you're working, especially if you're not working.
Why make a presumption that you're doing something illegal. Always have some backup as to why
you come here, a clear reason, “I'm coming here to visit a friend,” “I'm coming here
for a conference,” “I'm coming here to do something and I'm leaving,” especially
if you're executive, especially if you have something that you need to do in the US. And
honestly, if you need to be here, often find a better visa. In this case, this person probably
was going to get a TN Visa, another person can get an E2 visa because they're spending
more time here. Maybe you’re going to marry,…maybe he’s going to marry his girlfriend, he's
going to get a green card. Whatever it is, there's going to be a point if you come off
into the US, they will stop you, they will detain you, and they will make your life more
difficult to come in. So, some tips. If you're a frequent traveler to the US, make sure that
you prepare. Have documents explaining why you’re coming so often. Have a return flight
back. Have an explanation as to why you do come often and be proactive about it. When
you walk in, you can even tell a CBP officer, “Yes, it's I'm coming back again.” Because
they're going to see it in the computer. Be friendly. Never argue with them. And always
be thinking ahead because if they detain you, if they put you on secondary, remember that
you have done nothing wrong. And most of the time, they just want to make sure that you
are a person with integrity, that you're not doing anything illegal, that you're not breaking
the law, and they're going to let you go. I know it's uncomfortable. I know it's annoying.
But there's a way to clear it if needed, if it becomes a nuisance. So, hopefully, this
video is helpful. Again, a lot of Canadians have a lot of issues right now, we're trying
to address that. And if I missed any details if you have an experience with CBP at the
port of entry coming in, post it in the comments below. Share this video with a friend and
let me know what other videos you would like me to make for you. Hope you enjoyed and we'll
see you in our next video.