“Crossing the US-Canada border by mistake”: Indian man says his friend was detained by CBP, and his family is worried
An Indian man was detained by CBP at the U.S.-Canada border after mistakenly crossing the border to the Canadian side, social media posts said. “He is currently detained near the U.S.-Canada border. We tried calling him for a long time but still no response. We don’t know how to contact him and give him the passport. ” wrote a friend in the NRI community seeking guidance. He explained that the friend went to Niagara Falls with his parents, who had come to the United States two weeks earlier. His brother’s family from Buffalo also joined them, and everyone returned to Buffalo after the trip.The man was out on business and entered the border by mistake. On his way back to the U.S. side, he was stopped. “Not sure, but he called to say they were deporting him and asked for his passport to be handed over to him immediately,” the friend wrote in asking for help.Barverley is one of the major U.S. cities closest to the Canadian border. It takes 25 to 30 minutes to reach the U.S. side of Niagara Falls from Buffalo. If there is an error in the GPS or navigation, you may end up on the Canadian side by mistake.Social media users responded to the post saying the family should call the CBP office at the border crossing to find out what was going on – that it might not be a case of deportation.“This situation is a common occurrence for immigrants on both sides of Niagara. Many years ago, my friends were lost and encountered similar problems. But CBP was not so highly alert at that time. At that time, as long as they had a valid driver’s license, CBP officers could check their identity and let them return to the U.S. side.” Maybe now they need a passport to verify their identity. I don’t think it’s too serious, but it’s certainly troublesome. Technically, he was not detained but was prevented from returning. If all his documents are in order, it should be resolved soon,” one person said.“In my experience, you cannot enter Canada without going through proper border control, and as the border approaches, the signage on the highway is very clear. It shows multiple warnings, and there is a final exit to turn back before entering the border for immigration control. There should be more to this story,” said another.Many people assume that Canadian border officials will turn back such errant travelers, but for U.S. Customs and Border Protection, this becomes a new entry and therefore requires the presentation of required documentation.
