Clarifying U.S. Travel Rules

Our Location today is Tecumseh, Ontario, Canada.

This morning we were up at about our usual time only to be met by a fresh dusting of snow accompanied by grey skies that would be a constant for the remainder of the day. After having breakfast and finishing our morning reading we noticed a helpful hint from Marsha and Paul on how to correct the miss aligned header picture. Following those steps repeatedly to a “Tee” the fix still wouldn’t happen so it was back attempting to edit the HMLT with no success.

Later in the afternoon not wanting to be home for another “new tenant showing” we went out to run a few errands that included stopping at Bath Fitters for information, Guardian Storage to check our mail, Michael’s, the Devonshire Mall for walking and finally Shoppers Home Health Care before returning to the apartment.

Two more comments had appeared while we had been out, one from Hazel asking a question and the other from Marlene trying to answer it. Kathy and I have been members of The Canadian Snowbird Association for quite a number of years where we get accurate information so we don’t have problems when traveling in the US and outside the province of Ontario. The best way for me to answer the question is to insert a write up straight from their website.

Canadian Snowbird Association the Voice of Travelling Canadians

CSA Clarifies U.S. Travel Rules

Release date: Jan 21, 2015

In a recent article which appeared on CBC News’ British Columbia website, it was suggested that Canadian citizens are only allowed to spend 120 days in the United States each year. For clarification purposes, the Canadian Snowbird Association would like to remind travelers to the U.S. that this information is incorrect.

Under current policy, eligible Canadian citizens may spend up to six months less a day, or 182 days in the United States, in any 12 month period. From a tax perspective, long-term visitors who typically spend four or more months in the U.S. each calendar year may be deemed resident aliens for tax purposes. In order to be treated as a non-resident alien, these individuals need to claim a “closer connection” to Canada by filing IRS Form 8840 annually.

Further, the CBC News article also discussed the Entry/Exit Initiative, a bi-national border program in which entry and exit data will be shared on individuals travelling between Canada and the United States. While this initiative was scheduled to be expanded on June 30, 2014, to include Canadian and American citizens, the necessary legislative and regulatory changes have not been implemented. At present, the Entry/Exit Initiative is not fully operational.

If you have any questions related to this matter, please do not hesitate to contact the CSA office toll-free at 1-800-265-3200 FREE or by email at csastaff@snowbirds.org.

Another thing Canadian Travelers have to watch is if they are in the habit of cross-border shopping, crossing the border to fuel up or go to a restaurant, each of those days count against your 180 days. If you are in the US and return to Canada for less than thirty days each day in between that time will be counted against your 180 day stay.

Increasingly US Immigrations is electing to enforce the so-called 30 Day Rule in these cases: if a visitor leaves the US and then applies for readmission after 30 days or less, the original stay is deemed to continue to run without interruption. This 30 Day Rule is consistent with the limitation imposed on non-Canadian visitors to the US who may make brief trips to Canada or Mexico. As a result of the 30 Day Rule, US Immigrations may decide to limit a visitor's stay to a period of less than 180 days. Remaining outside the US for six months typically will allow a Canadian visitor to enter the US for another 180 day period. If you violate this they will give you a 1-94 slip with the date you must return  back to Canada. If it is violated you can be stopped from visiting the USA for 3 to 10 yrs. whatever the US Immigrations Officer decides. There is no appeal or no hearing to reverse this decision.

As of 2015 the legislation and regulatory changes have been put in place so that your visit to the US is now more highly monitored. The 8840 forms are available to download on the CSA (Canadian Snowbird Association) website. If you need any further information you can click on the above link or visit the Canadian Snowbird Association shortcut by simply clicking the link in our lower right hand footer about Services and Clubs We Are Members Of. We do file our 8840's yearly and carry them with us.

As for your out of province coverage it varies from province to province. In Ontario you’re Health Care coverage is Seven Months out of province. Thanks for following along and feel free to leave a comment. Be Safe and Enjoy!

It’s about time.

Krackers

 Office Jokes, Quotes, and Anecdotes

Yesterday my boss fired me. I started to cry.

He said, "I can't watch a grown man cry."

So he took off his glasses.

Milton Berle