US Citizen Rights at US Border

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bobfrmEnzyte

Registered Users (C)
Hi, I got my citizenship last month. I travelled to Canada to visit my sister. I have often gone to Canada before when I was a permanent resident and even before that when i was on an h1 visa. I was never asked to park my car or go into the offices at the US border. This time I thought it would be a breeze getting through since I am a US citizen now. My kids are US citizens and my wife is a permanent resident. The officer at the checkpoint checked our passports and then said that the computer has flagged something and then gave me a piece of paper and asked me to move forward and park the car. Upon parking the car a different officer met us and said we had to leave everything in the car including our cell phones and then go into the office. We went into the office where they wrote down my last name and asked which lane I was in at the border checkpoint. I gave the piece of paper to the immigration officer behind the computer. He asked for our passports and perm card. He asked me when I had become a citizen and then asked questions about when I had gone to school here and when I had gotten my green card. He also asked for my license. After a few minutes he gave all the documents back and then said we could go. I asked him why they wanted to question me and they said it was a routine stop. I think I was stopped because I had requested a name change when I became a citizen and my last name changed. The people at the border may be trying to make sure I am the same person. This is just speculation on my part though.

Now the whole ordeal took half an hour and wasn't that bad. BUt what saddens me is that even after getting my citizenship after a long and ardeuous process I still feel like an non citizen. So my question is what rights do we have as naturalized citizens at the border when we are stopped and questioned. From what I have read so far online is that we don't have many. Can anyone shed any light on this?

thanks.
 
bobfrmEnzyte said:
So my question is what rights do we have as naturalized citizens at the border when we are stopped and questioned. From what I have read so far online is that we don't have many.
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Yep, we give up many rights when we choose to cross the border. Citizen or not - they can detain us, question us and even arrest us if they have a reason. However, as a US citizen, you cannot be refused entry into this country. This is the biggest and the most important right you have.

I had gone to Canada many times before becoming a USC, and all the time it was a breeze. When I went to Canada as a USC, I was questioned extensively by a Canadian border guard about the purpose of my visit and all details pertaining to it. Coming back to the US through pre-clearance facility as a USC was just like coming back on a GC - very minimal questions, mostly about what stuff I am bringing from Canada. Never gotten "Welcome home" from them, but I could care less.
 
Well, interesting, I had a similar experience going to Canada after becoming a USC. I was asked to go in for further questioning - very mundane stuff around what I was going to do in Canada etc. However, while coming back it was a breeze.. did not get a "Welcome Home" - but I have had those many times when I was a GC holder.
 
The only right you have is granted entry into the US.
However, they can still search you and your vehicle, just like anybody else.
 
I would not read too much into getting inspected by a secondary officer. I had to undergo the same while I was an LPR and I don't think its going to be any different when I try to enter Canada after becoming a USC. Its just a part of the system we need to get accustomed with.
 
Stop your crying, being a USC doesn't mean that you are not importing a large amount of drugs into the US. It doesn't mean that you don't have a criminal arrest warrant issued in your name someplace, that you could be arrested for. If you don't like living here, you're also free to live someplace else.
 
Originally Posted by dafortycal
If you don't like living here, you're also free to live someplace else


The OP is a US Citizen. he has every right to live in the USA and has every right to complain. I don't see anything in his post that indicates he does not like living in the US. How did you infer that?
 
The only privilege that a US passport provides is granted entry to the US.
However, let's differentiate between Immigration and Customs.
No issues at immigration, but customs does NOT care whether someone is a citizen or not. They have every right to inspect any individual upon entry to the US, regardless of their immigration status.
Of course, at land borders immigration and customs are enforced at the same time, while at airports first someone clears immigration and then customs.
 
bobfrmEnzyte said:
Hi, I got my citizenship last month. I travelled to Canada to visit my sister. I have often gone to Canada before when I was a permanent resident and even before that when i was on an h1 visa. I was never asked to park my car or go into the offices at the US border. This time I thought it would be a breeze getting through since I am a US citizen now. My kids are US citizens and my wife is a permanent resident. The officer at the checkpoint checked our passports and then said that the computer has flagged something and then gave me a piece of paper and asked me to move forward and park the car. Upon parking the car a different officer met us and said we had to leave everything in the car including our cell phones and then go into the office. We went into the office where they wrote down my last name and asked which lane I was in at the border checkpoint. I gave the piece of paper to the immigration officer behind the computer. He asked for our passports and perm card. He asked me when I had become a citizen and then asked questions about when I had gone to school here and when I had gotten my green card. He also asked for my license. After a few minutes he gave all the documents back and then said we could go. I asked him why they wanted to question me and they said it was a routine stop. I think I was stopped because I had requested a name change when I became a citizen and my last name changed. The people at the border may be trying to make sure I am the same person. This is just speculation on my part though.

Now the whole ordeal took half an hour and wasn't that bad. BUt what saddens me is that even after getting my citizenship after a long and ardeuous process I still feel like an non citizen. So my question is what rights do we have as naturalized citizens at the border when we are stopped and questioned. From what I have read so far online is that we don't have many. Can anyone shed any light on this?

thanks.
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All I can tell you is, don't let them give you a hard time. Remember, you are a US Citizen and you have your rights, even though they have every right to ask and search.- :)
 
Thanks to everyone for their responses. Yes, I agree becoming a citizen does not mean they will treat you differently and CBP has abundent power specially after the last administration. Just have to be ready for it. I wanted to share my experience in detail so that if someone else goes through it then they already know what to expect.
 
Hey, I went to Canada couple years ago, and on the way back I spend about an hour may be more at secondary inspection, and there were US citizens as well. They are not trying to break your rights. It's standard procedure, regardless your status in every country I believe. US Citizen could smuggle something into US too.
 
I don't think you are obligated to answer any questions at the border. Correct me if I am wrong about that. Let them search away if they want.!
 
USER2345 said:
I don't think you are obligated to answer any questions at the border. Correct me if I am wrong about that. Let them search away if they want.!
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They can search your car in such a way that you will spend many painful hours trying to assemble it the way it was :D

My friend told me a story about his friend who was returning from Canada. I don't know why they decided to search his car, but they literally disassembled the entire interior and let him assemble it back after they found nothing and kicked him out of the inspection area :rolleyes:

So, while you are not obligated to answer their questions, you may find that it is just easier to do than to face consequences of a rough search.
 
I'll take a US Customs inspection any time over a USDA (Agriculture) inspection... Try flying from San Juan, Puerto Rico (i.e. US, no Customs involved) and clearing USDA before boarding is no fun...
 
Good thread. I recently had a similar experience when entering US at SFO. I became USC this year and I though that returning to the country as a citizen would be a breeze, wrong! They never asked me so many questions or searched my luggage when I used to enter as LPR. This time they really gave me hard time, first border control agent asked me a zillion questions like "how did I become a citizen?", "why do I travel?", "who do I visit when I travel?", etc, he also asked to see my foreign passport. Then customs agent asked me same damn questions and searched my stuff. Maybe it's because I was one of the last people to exit the plane and go through border control and customs? I've noticed that they often give a hard time to people when there is no line behind them. I really want to know what are my rights at the border. I find questions like "How did you become a citizen?" discriminating, I don't want to answer such questions. Citizen is citizen, it shouldn't matter how I became a citizen. On the other hand I don't want to overdo it and give them a valid reason to perform a body cavity search on me :) I'm interested to hear other people's opinion about it: what questions USC can refuse to answer when entering the country?
 
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hmmm..

and I was back in Canada last week.. breeze getting back in.. and got the customery "Welcome Home Sir" greeting with a smile.:)
 
white77 said:
This time they really gave me hard time, first border control agent asked me a zillion questions like "how did I become a citizen?", "why do I travel?", "who do I visit when I travel?", etc, he also asked to see my foreign passport. Then customs agent asked me same damn questions and searched my stuff.
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Hmm, this is not a very optimistic prognosis of my upcoming trip to Germany :cool: I for one would not want to be in your shoes after enduring 11-hour flight.

Did they give you any hint on why you were asked so many questions? Did you use your US passport to enter the visited countries? Maybe your passport did not have any entry/exit stamps? Some of the naturalised US citizens immediately lose a previous citizenship (e.g., India), so it would not be possible to provide any foreign passports.

As for myself, I have only visited Canada by car twice since becoming a USC. Both times coming back to the USA were exactly the same way as coming back with GC - standard set of questions, minimal time. Never "welcome home" or anything of this sort.
 
Your new name could be similar or the same as somebody else who is on a watch list. If so, they were probably just checking to make sure you weren't the other person.
 
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