We got on
the road on Monday morning heading towards Toronto, thrilled to be moving in
the direction of the next stage of our travels in North America: South and West
towards California. It was so cold that morning that my gloves, which had
gotten wet in the rainstorm we rode through the night before, had partially
frozen overnight. Which I didn't realize until I had to stop a few miles after
we got started because even with my grip heating, I couldn't feel my fingers
well enough to operate the clutch and hand brake. As you can imagine, this poses a bit of a problem. But even that couldn’t get me
down.... Soon, we would be heading South into the warmth of the sun and more
temperate days and nights.
And then we
got to Toronto and hit a brick wall.
Roel had
entered the US on the Visa Waiver Program, which gives travelers from several
countries the US is friendly with, a visa-free 90 days to visit the States. At
the end of the 90 days, you must leave the country, but you can re-enter as
many times as you like for the next two years... Or so we thought...
Our flights
back to Australia are scheduled for the end of December, and to avoid the
hassle of getting out of the US again in 90 days, just before that flight, we decided
to cough up the fee for a 6-month tourist visa. So we cheerfully headed to the
US Consulate in Toronto. Figuring I would save Roel the annoyance of standing
in the 100+ person non-US Citizen line, I approached the US entrance, explained
what I was there for, and asked for the application for a tourist visa. Instead,
the guard handed me a document with several numbers and email addresses and
advised me that we would need to request an expedited appointment at the
Consulate (current wait time for an appointment was 2 weeks) because not only
could Roel not apply for a tourist visa through normal channels because he is
not applying for said visa while in his home country, but also because when the
Visa Waiver (VW) program says that you must leave the US after 90 days, Canada
and Mexico are apparently not foreign enough to count. Really?
As dazed as
you would expect one to be after colliding with a wall at full speed, we walked
away from the US consulate and began the process of calling Immigration,
Customs and Border Protection and visiting the Dutch Consulate and the US
Consulate, again. In addition to all of the other distressing information we
had learned, we found out that US CBP ideally likes if you return to your home country (not just any other country
aside from Canada or Mexico) for a month between VW entries and when applying
for a tourist visa from your home country,
they need you to show strong ties to your home country (i.e., a job, children,
a house, business, etc.), none of which Roel has since he's been traveling for
the past four years.
The other
aspect of this situation is that even if the Dutch Consulate has never heard of
any Dutch people having trouble getting into the US from Canada, it is up to
the discretion of the Customs and Border Protection agent you get when you go
to cross the border. Cross your fingers, toes, etc. that they woke up on the right side of the bed
that morning.
You might
be thinking: So what? Roel has to go back to The Netherlands for a bit, cuddle
his new nephew, drink some good beer and nosh on yummy Dutch cheese – not so
bad!
Well, until
you consider what the airfare would do to our travel budget AND the fact that
it’s probably not legal for Roel to leave Canada while his bike is here.
I think
this is what is meant by being stuck “between a rock and a hard place.” Oh, and
don’t forget the quickly descending arctic tundra. : (
 |
| No, thank you. |
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