U.S. immigration lawyer shares tips for Canadian travellers
Posted March 19, 2025 1:52 pm.
Last Updated March 19, 2025 2:53 pm.
An American immigration lawyer is advising Canadians to make sure all their paperwork is in order when heading to the U.S. for business amid growing border tensions and uncertainty.
Blaine, Wash.-based lawyer Len Saunders is urging caution after a Canadian woman was detained for almost two weeks by U.S. immigration authorities.
Jasmine Mooney arrived home to B.C. Friday after she was detained by ICE earlier this month while applying for a work visa at the U.S.-Mexico border.
When her permit was denied on March 3 she began searching for flights home. But border security would not allow it. According to Mooney’s mom, Alexis Eagles, she was “detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at the San Ysidro border crossing, where she was held for three nights.”
She was then transferred to several different facilities in California and Arizona.
“We eventually learned that about 30 people, including Jasmine, were forcibly removed from their cells at 3:00 am and transferred to the San Luis Detention Center in Arizona,” Eagles said in a post on Facebook, describing the miserable conditions of the facilities.
Saunders shared his insight and sympathies throughout the 12 days of Mooney’s detention, and now is warning Canadians about how to avoid the same fate.
“If someone’s coming down for business meetings, you’re obviously going to want a letter from wherever you’re going to in the U.S. — whatever company you’re going to have meetings with. And maybe even a letter from your Canadian company, indicating that you’re not doing productive employment. You’re just coming down for meetings. You’re not getting paid by a U.S. employer,” Saunders advised.
For those who are applying for a visa, he says do it at a Canadian airport pre flight clearance facility.
“And the nice thing is that can’t be taken into custody, because even though you’re trying to enter U.S. Customs, you’re still in Canada,” said Saunders.
“The worst thing that can happen is you get denied entry, and you end up in the terminal and you can go back to your house, no problem.”
He says he speaks to many Canadians with questions about immigration every day, and he’s happy to answer their questions.
“People hear about cases like that, they don’t want to be in that situation. So I think that’s somewhat of a unique case. But, who knows? We’re only two months into a four-year administration, so I’m hoping that’s not a sign of what’s coming.”
—With files from Raynaldo Suarez
