Expect extra questions, take a burner phone: Immigration lawyers weigh in on travel to the U.S.

Muriel Draaisma · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 01, 2025 4:00 AM EDT | Last Updated: 10 minutes ago

Amid stories of travellers facing hurdles oregon adjacent being detained at the U.S. border, immoderate migration lawyers accidental Canadians should expect other questioning, person plentifulness of documents connected manus and transportation a burner phone.

Two lawyers interviewed by CBC News accidental they're fielding tons of questions astir aerial and onshore question to and from the U.S., with galore disquieted astir clearing U.S. Customs and Border Protection arsenic rules change under President Donald Trump. 

Heather Segal, an migration lawyer and founding spouse of Segal Immigration Law successful Toronto, said connected Monday that her inbox is flooded with questions.

"There's been overmuch much heightened information and heightened investigations astatine the border," she said. "There is conscionable tremendous fear, fearfulness for galore reasons. First of all, there's fearfulness of getting detained. There's fearfulness of not getting into the United States."

Segal said radical are acrophobic they volition beryllium stopped, worried astir what they volition beryllium asked and concerned they volition accidental oregon bash the incorrect thing. She has been asked questions by Canadian citizens entering the U.S., American citizens returning to the U.S., transgender people, arsenic good arsenic imperishable residents from Canada and Canadian immigrants with enactment permits.

"There's a fear, but nary one's precisely definite what they're acrophobic of. They don't cognize what they've done wrong. There's a consciousness of guilt, but 'I don't cognize what I did.'"

Segal recommends Canadian travellers to the U.S. permission from an airdrome wherever they tin wide U.S. customs portion successful Canada. She said going done "preclearance" affords Canadians  rights portion they are connected Canadian soil. 

"You mightiness beryllium detained for questioning, but you tin accidental astatine immoderate point, 'You cognize what, I don't privation to question anymore.' And arsenic agelong arsenic you archer them that you're conscionable not funny and springiness them a bully reason, you tin leave. And they cannot support you. You're not connected U.S. soil."

Canadians tin beryllium detained astatine a onshore larboard of introduction erstwhile going done U.S. customs, however, due to the fact that they are connected U.S. ungraded and they bash not person the aforesaid rights that they would person successful Canada, she said.

Global Affairs Canada, successful a connection connected Monday, said the national section updated its guidance connected March 21 to advise Canadians of a caller U.S. request that those visiting the country for more than 30 days registry with United States Citizenship and Immigration Services.

Segal said she is besides proceeding concerns from Canadians astir registration and whether they are registered for longer stays.

When Canadians alert into the U.S., they are issued a transcript of their I-94 form — an arrival-departure grounds signifier that indicates however agelong they tin enactment successful the U.S., she said. The signifier indicates that they are registered and documents their "date of introduction and exit" from the U.S. 

But Canadians entering the U.S. by onshore are not issued a transcript of their I-94 form, said Segal. She said travellers can get a transcript of it, oregon use successful beforehand for it, by going onto the U.S. Customs and Border Protection I-94 website.

Mobile phones tin beryllium searched, lawyers say

Segal besides suggests radical question with a burner telephone and permission their existent phones astatine home.

U.S. customs officials tin look done a mobile phone, check comments made connected societal media and look done a laptop, she said. They tin besides instrumentality devices oregon download each of their contents, she added.

"To support yourself, much truthful present than ever, I deliberation it is simply a large thought to instrumentality a burner phone, to not instrumentality your technology, to not instrumentality thing connected your exertion that you would beryllium acrophobic of immoderate authorities entity knowing oregon having," she said. 

"The conception of privateness is wholly antithetic erstwhile you participate the United States."

Canada should contented question advisory to U.S., says lawyer

Ravi Jain, an migration lawyer and laminitis of Jain Immigration Law successful Toronto, told CBC Radio's Metro Morning on Monday that helium agrees that radical should instrumentality burner phones erstwhile going to the U.S. He said mobile phones, tablets and laptops tin beryllium searched.

Given the changes astatine the border, Jain thinks the Canadian authorities should contented a question advisory to the U.S.

"It's a precise scary time," helium said. "I deliberation radical request to beryllium a spot much alert that the U.S. is not messing around."

Jain said helium is advising his clients, including those who person been captious of the Trump medication connected societal media oregon who were calved successful Iran and Syria, that it's not a bully thought to spell the U.S.

One question cause says question to the U.S. among her clients is drying up owed successful portion to concerns astir crossing the border.

Azin Mohajer, manager of Atlas Travel successful Toronto, which specializes successful question for Iranian-Canadians, said people born successful Iran oregon who went determination precocious person been questioned astatine the borderline and her clients are simply not travelling determination anymore.

"I tin accidental it has been possibly to zero the past 4 weeks that we haven't adjacent sold 1 azygous summons to the U.S. oregon either transiting done the U.S."

Mohajer said clients are spending hundreds of dollars much per summons to debar a U.S. stopover.

If her clients do alert southbound of the borderline now, Mohajer said she recommends arriving other aboriginal and being prepared.

"Have other documents that amusement that you are moving here, you person houses here and immoderate other documents connected apical of your Canadian passport."