Navigating the US immigration system is a different experience for each of us. For one of our clients, “Trudy”, the experience was a roller coaster nightmare.  Even though we were able to help her to ultimate success, her story is a warning to be prepared and careful.

Part I: CBP Nightmare

In 2004, Trudy entered the US on a J-1 exchange visitor visa and worked the winter with her twin sister at Aspen Ski Resort in Colorado. She fully complied with the terms of her J-1 status and departed the US before her J-1 grace period expired. Looking for adventure, Trudy packed lightly and traveled alone to Cuba to study Spanish. While on an excursion with her language school, she was badly assaulted, the incident leaving her physically and emotionally scarred. Stripped of her self-confidence and in need of medical attention and recuperation, she remained in Cuba for several weeks. During this time, Trudy developed a chest infection/bronchitis. Depressed, traumatized and sick, she decided it was time to return to the US to collect the rest of her belongings from Aspen, say goodbye to friends, and then use her paid return ticket to fly home to Australia.

Before takeoff in Cuba, Trudy took prescribed antibiotics for her chest infection and medication to counter her anxiety from flying and claustrophobia. Her flight to the US went via Cancun, Mexico. On arrival at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport in the US, Trudy was dazed and drowsy from her medication, but correctly requested entry to the US as a visitor pursuant to the Visa Waiver Program (ESTA) (her J-1 status had expired). She was inspected by a first US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officer, who was suspicious of her entry as a visitor and sent her to a secondary inspection.

Trudy was detained at secondary inspection and subsequently questioned for 6 ½ hours by CBP officers. She was asked about her intentions for returning briefly to the US. She was asked to produce her return ticket to Australia, which she was not able to do because her ticket was electronic only. CBP officers asked to contact someone at Aspen to verify that she was just planning to only visit them and not return to work there, but she had accidentally left her cell phone at her hotel in Cuba and her address/phone book was in her checked-in luggage.

She was further interrogated about financially supporting herself during her intended US stay.  She explained that she still had money saved by working in both Aspen and Australia and that she also had additional money in Australia that she could access. CBP officers, seemingly fazed by her medicated state, asked to contact a family member to validate her financial situation. A call was made to Trudy’s mother, who verified that she had sufficient personal funds. However, before hanging up, the CBP officer asked Trudy’s mother if Trudy was returning to Aspen to work there again, to which her mother replied: “Oh, maybe but I don’t know”.

After this call, the CBP officer refused to admit Trudy to the US as a visitor, concluding that she had committed FRUAD by lying to CBP about her intentions for returning to the US.  In other words, CBP thought that she intended to return not as a visitor, but to return to work at Aspen without proper authorization. After some time, she was fingerprinted and told to sign documents. Still feeling the effects of her medication, and now scared and confused, Trudy did not know what she was signing. She was then required to hand over all her possessions to CBP, at which point she was handcuffed, placed in a caged van, and taken to The Atlanta State Penitentiary Jail.

Her medical prescriptions were confiscated (and never returned) and she was led to her shared cell. No information was conveyed to her about her situation. That night, Trudy had a panic attack and cried all night wondering what was going to happen to her. No one knew where she was.

The next morning, Trudy was handcuffed again and returned to Atlanta airport. CBP refused to allow her to fly to LA to take advantage of her paid return ticket to Australia. Eventually, Trudy was given permission by CBP to travel from Atlanta to Tokyo with a connecting flight to Australia at a cost of US$5,090. She was escorted on to the plane by armed officers. She did not know where her luggage was. Without her medication, her chest infection had become painful and she suffered another anxiety attack.

On arrival in Australia, Trudy’s enormous sense of relief was overshadowed by the fact that she was struggling to breathe and experiencing sharp pain. She was taken to the emergency room in her hometown, where it was discovered that her lung had collapsed. Trudy took four months to recover from her ordeal. Her belongings were eventually returned to her from the US, again at a considerable personal cost.

Part II: The Success

Earlier this year, more than 10 years after her harrowing ordeal, Trudy decided to try to return to the US for her twin sister’s wedding celebration. She was initially denied travel on the Electronic System for Travel Authorization process (Visa Waiver Program) because of the circumstances of her prior removal from the US. Through a colleague, Trudy contacted our firm and asked for our assistance.  We prepared a B-1/B-2 visitor visa application, combined with an application to waive the grounds of her inadmissibility to the US, at her home US Consulate in Australia. We prepared her for her interview with the officer.  Fortunately, Trudy’s visitor visa application was approved—and she was thrilled!

In the end, Trudy was able to return to the US, but her story serves as a reminder to always be prepared with thorough legal advice when about to ride the US immigration roller coaster. There are very strict requirements for properly entering the US, whether as a green card holder, visa holder, or visitor. And as Trudy knows all too well, there can be severe consequences to not having the right documentation or not responding appropriately to questions from CBP officers when being processed. We have your back!