‘Members of an Inadmissible Class’

I went into Mexico at Tijuana last Wednesday while vacationing in San Diego. You would have thought we were just going into a supermarket or a 7-11 when we entered from the US into Mexico. As far as we could see there was not guard posted, not cameras (of course they could have been there and we didn’t see them) and no one asked us for any documents as we entered Mexico. Not so of course as we came back through later that afternoon (we were in a line that stretched back 4 blocks from the border crossing station). It took an hour and ten minutes. Our driver’s license was enough documentation (although I am told next year it will require a passport). I’ve also heard that San Ysidro/Tijuana border crossing is the US’s busiest. Anyway it was fun. We bought some Mexican vanilla, a few jewelry and souvenir items and stuff. All in all a good day. But the US is WAY stricter than Mexico as far as crossing the border.

I would just like to bring to your attention an utter fiasco that I experienced while planning a Celebrity cruise to Alaska for my husband’s and my 5th Anniversary.

Ever since I’ve met my husband he has been love with Alaska. He watches every Alaska program on the National Geographic Channel, reads every magazine article pertaining to Alaska, and quizzes me on the temperature of different cities in Alaska every morning on the train ride to work. Knowing this about him, I thought an Alaskan Cruise would be the perfect gift to present to him on our fifth anniversary and having been saving up for it (with my admin. salary) for over a year.

Working with a travel agent, I finally found what I thought was the perfect itinerary; a 7-day Celebrity Cruise, departing from Vancouver, Canada. I doled out $2,300 for the cruise, $1,250 for the airline tickets, and for an extra special treat, $600 for a helicopter glacier excursion in Juneau. I was so excited that I would be able to give this to my husband I could have burst.

1 week after I had booked the entire trip, I get this email from my travel agent:

Thank you for booking your Alaska Cruise through Cruise Holidays.

As you know, your cruise departs from, ends in and/or travels through Canada.

At Cruise Holidays we try to avoid any unpleasant surprises and although the following information probably is not applicable to you, we would like to advise you about a Canadian law that may deny travelers entrance into Canada if they have ever been convicted of a criminal offense. The list of inadmissible classes includes those who have been convicted of:

A minor offense (including shoplifting, theft, assault, possession of an illegal substance, etc.)

An “indictable” criminal offense (including assault with a deadly weapon, manslaughter; etc.), or

Driving While Intoxicated (DWI).

If any of these situations apply to you, we recommend you get in touch with the nearest Canadian Embassy or Consulate General as soon as possible to ensure a smooth entry into Canada.

Here is a current description of the Canadian entry rules as per the US State Department website.

CANADA – Passport or proof of U.S. citizenship such as a birth certificate, naturalization certificate, and photo ID required. Minors (under 16) traveling alone or in someone else’s custody must present written authorization, signed before a notary, from the parent(s) or guardian. Visas are not required. Canadian immigration officials at ports of entry will issue persons planning to stay longer than 180 days a visitor’s record. Anyone with a criminal record (including a DWI charge) should contact the Canadian Embassy or nearest Consulate General before travel. U.S. citizens entering Canada from a third country must have a valid passport. HIV testing required for resident applicants who are over 15. A temporary resident applicant requires immigration medical examination if stay exceeds 6 months or seeking to work in Canada. For student or business travel, check with the Canadian Embassy, 501 Pennsylvania Ave., NW, Washington, DC 20001 (202/682-1740) or the nearest Consulate General: CA (213/346-2701), MI (313/567-2085), NY (212/596-1700 or 716/858-9501), or WA (206/443-1375). Internet:

I was worried. Nine years ago, when he was 22, my husband was pulled over for driving while intoxicated as he pulled away from his brother’s wedding reception.

Frantically, I Googled anything I could think of pertaining to this subject.
The information on the Canadian government’s website was confusing – at best. They direct you to the Canadian Consulate or Embassy. The articles I read were disheartening. After wrangling with impossible paperwork and trying to fight through the impossible US bureaucracy to get any paperwork pertaining to the incident from nine years ago, it could still take 6 months to a year to be granted access to Canada. The cruise was in two months.

I called the Canadian Embassy in DC and the Consulate in Detroit, MI. I reached a voicemail box at one and a person telling me to look online for their email address at the other. I left a message and wrote an email inquiring about our eligibility and what I might need to do if we weren’t able to enter Canada. I did receive a phone call back from the embassy – from someone who refused to even answer me when I asked how he was doing. He was curt and would only give me yes and no answers. The only thing he would tell me was that he would send me the paperwork in the mail. He hung up without a word. The email I wrote was answered with one directing me back to the Canadian government’s website.

I went back to the internet to see if I could find a group of people who had been through this and who might have some information, pointers, tips, anything. I found one that mentioned a lawyer who they speicalized in this area. I called her. She was helpful – for $600. And from what I could gather from her, the only thing she was going to do for me was list out the paperwork I needed to gather, i.e. original court affidavits, police statements, letters of good standing from officials in the town in the state where the incident occurred, finger prints verified by the FBI, ect. I started to try to gather any of this information and realized quickly that my efforts would be fruitless when I called the police station in New Jersey and was told that my husband would have to come down to the station in New Jersey with ID to retrieve any information.

My travel agent thought I should just get on the plane and “see what happened” in Vancouver.

With my heart in my throat, I realized I had to cancel the trip.

So to make a long story even longer, because they believed I should have made sure I couldn’t enter Canada before I booked the trip, it cost me $500.00 to cancel the cruise and $300.00 to cancel the flight ($60 extra because I bought flight insurance that didn’t cover our problem). The only people who didn’t charge me were shoretrips.com. That’s a grand total of $800 to not take a trip! (I realize you can add but I wanted the dramatic effect) A sum I wouldn’t even be able to afford for a regular vacation any other year. Happy anniversary, honey.

I just wanted to bring this to your attention because I just don’t believe that we are the only travelers that this has happened to. In Illinois alone, there were 50,147 DWI arrests in 2005. The last time I went to Canada, we showed our driver’s license and drove through like we were paying a toll. I’m sure many people are still under the same impression I was. I realize that my husband made a mistake 9 years ago and I am not trying to make light of it, but he paid his debt to society and put that incident behind him – or so we thought. He is a responsible citizen with a new baby, a loving wife, and a successful career. Other people shouldn’t have to go through this and pay hundreds of dollars to not take a vacation. I think that cruise lines/airlines traveling out of Canada should put out a disclaimer before they take our hard-earned money. Had someone told me about this law, I would have never bought a cruise out of Canada. I want to get the word out there.

I agree that travel agencies should warn customers before purchases that this is a Canadian law. However, I think that many Americans think of Canada as an extension of the US because border crossing has been easy in the past. They should understand that Canada is a foreign country with its own laws and regulations, same as any European country, just not so far away, and it is not the right of any American to cross the border. I believe that the reason a definitive answer could not be found is that the Border officers have a great deal of discretion in the fulfillment of their duties, just as a policeman can give you a warning rather than a ticket, if appropriate. Under the DWI provision, George W. Bush is part of the “inadmissable class,” although I think it would be worth a Border officer’s job to deny him entry. Fun to think about, though.

So what can a traveler do to find out if there will be a problem? Records aren’t always correct after all.

It is not obvious that they are getting this info from the US government. That is available to anyone with the know-how and an internet connection. It is a matter of public record. What is amazing to me is that the US is not interested in keeping drug dealers and violent criminals from coming across our borders.

My husband and I are mexican citizens and we live legally in the US because my husband is holding a work Visa.
My husband got a DUI for his first time that soon will be “dismissed” due a Diversion Program… does any one knows if that “eternal black mole” in his record also affect us mexicans to enter Canada? or to immigrate there?

Does anyone have any experience with departing from seattle on an Alaskan cruise with a misdemeanor. what happened when they got to the canadian stop. Were they questioned before getting on the boat in Seattle?

 Mike, did you get any answers? If so, can you share what you learned?