[pct-l] Re: Entry to USA from Canada on the PCT

[inaki.diazdeetura at madrid.sema.slb.com (Inaki D. Etura)]

Yes, back again with the mostly boring issue of the border crossing,
sorry about plaguing the list again with that but I've been gathering
bits of info from different sources and I think I need your opinions
again.

Let's say I fly into Seattle and take a bus to Vancouver to get to
Manning Park as soon as it's possible and then hike the PCT from the
northern terminus back to the US so I'll be entering the US illegally,
strictly speaking.

I've been trying to find out what would happen to my arrival/departure
record (I-94 card) when I leave for Canada by road. I've been told (by
individuals in the same situation as me) that as far as last year no
check was made on the US-Canada border by US customs (when leaving for
Canada) and I've also found on the web that visitors to the US do not
need to hand their I-94 card to US customs officials when they're
visiting Canada for less than 30 days (and planning to return to the
US), rather they have to keep it until they leave the US definitely.

Apparently, US customs don't bother with visitors leaving for Canada and
upon return to the US they just check, by means of passport and I-94
stub, the visitor is still allowed to stay in the US (90 days under the
visa waiver program for tourists in my case) and let him/her in. Given
all these, I honestly see no problem in re-entering the US through the
PCT. Maybe Canada border control checks me into Canada and feeds US
records with that data? or somehow stamp my passport with a Canada entry
register that can somehow leave a blank somewhere if I leave Canada
through the PCT instead of an official border post?

Nevertheless, I'm still concerned by all the advise I've got here
against doing this, basically from US citizens (while non-US people's
opinions have been rather positive). I don't mean to question the
knowledge or the goodwill to honestly help of all those from whom I got
that advise but I'd like you all to tell me what do you think could go
wrong or in which scenario do you think I could have a problem. Any real
life example you might know about could help me assess the potential
risks. Please also tell me if there's anything wrong in the exposition
above, particularly about how the I-94 thing works.

Again, don't get me wrong, it's not like I want to force you to tell me
what I want to hear but that I honestly don't see how I can get into
trouble (unless I meet a border patrol on the border along the trail but
it seems that's highly unlikely).

I'll try to shut up after this one, I promise :)

Thanks in advance
Inaki
------------------------------------------------------------------
This e-mail and the documents attached are confidential and intended solely
for the addressee; it may also be privileged. If you receive this e-mail
in error, please notify the sender immediately and destroy it.
As its integrity cannot be secured on the Internet, the Atos Origin group
liability cannot be triggered for the message content. Although the
sender endeavours to maintain a computer virus-free network, the sender does
not warrant that this transmission is virus-free and will not be liable for
any damages resulting from any virus transmitted.

"Este mensaje y los ficheros adjusntos puede contener información
confidencial destinada solamente a la(s) persona(s) mencionadas
anteriormente. Pueden estar protegidos por secreto profesional Si usted
recibe este correo electrónico por error, gracias de informar immediatamente
al remitente y destruir el mensaje.
Al no estar asegurada la integridad de este mensaje sobre la red, Atos
Origin no se hace responsable por su contenido. Su contenido no constituye
ningún compromiso para el grupo Atos Origin, salvo ratificación escrita por
ambas partes.
"Aunque se esfuerza al máximo por mantener su red libre de virus, el emisor
no puede garantizar nada al respecto y no será responsable de cualesquiera
daños que puedan resultar de una transmisión de virus"
------------------------------------------------------------------