Having packed up a wet tent I cycled to the border in a downpour. I was only a short hop to the frontier and was hopeful that weather patterns also respect international boundaries. I made my way to the drive-through kiosk and was allowed through. However, when I started to ask questions about my visa the guy kept his hands on my passport and told me to head on into the office. Having already entered the US in Houston from South America and then exited via Victoria in Canada, I was trying to figure out how long I could stay for. Technically, I had exited the US and so I could get a new stamp but technically Canada is considered part of the same territory and so my month incursion into Canada might prevent me from obtaining a new entry stamp, in which case I was already two months into my six month tourist visa. This is exactly the reason why I got the six month visa as it would not have been possible to enter the US, travel into Canada and then complete the route in the standard 90 day no-questions asked ETA application. Of course, I had cleared all this up with the US embassy in Bolivia where I obtained my visa and with any border control people I had met in Texas. Here in Roosville it all depended on which technicality the border cop favoured. The guy was more than happy to oblige but then he stalled when he realised I didn't own a house. The fact that I wouldn't be able to do the trip if I did own a house didn't mean much, neither did the fact that not owning a house could be considered a good thing in these times. Being used to such bureaucracy from my time working in an American bank, I simply just tried to find a way. He was as open as I was about my situation and as I could satisfy him that I had enough savings not to be a burden I just kept at it. As far as he was concerned I should not have been allowed to get a visa without owning a house. He also felt that I should not have been allowed into Houston but should have been turned back to Lima. Jaeney macs where was this going ... I was starting to get concerned. He looked down on the US embassy's work in La Paz stating that 'anything goes' down there but the truth is that Bolivia has the second biggest US embassy in the world after Iraq. It is a virtual fortress in downtown La Paz. Travelling Americans are horrified by the signal it sends out and thus, one can be assured that they do their job properly down there. His attitude was just evidence of the kind of paranoid message the US administration delivers to its people about South America.
Having chatted to his boss, he came back requesting me to show proof of exit. One of the benefits of the visa is that you don't need proof of exit but without the ties of a residence back in Dublin I was left having to oblige him. Thus, he made me sign papers withdrawing my application to enter the US and sent me back to Canada where they just raised their eye-brows in annoyance. This left me having to cycle back in the pouring rain to the closest town for internet so that I could book a flight, which was Fernie, a whole 70k away.
I biked back to Fernie a little amused. If the cost of not owning a house in Dublin is simply two more days in Canada then I'd take that with both hands. This was the first time I had properly considered returning to Dublin. It is not that I don't want to return there but when you are in the middle of riding the Great Divide you are only one or two days ahead in your head. All I was thinking about on entry to the US was whether the weather would allow me to bike over the Whitefish Divide or not. Now I was having to think about exiting a country I had no intention of staying in but was unsure of when I'd be leaving. I looked into booking a refundable ticket but the price of them and the fact that they are more like 70% refundable meant that I skipped that option. Then I investigated what it might cost to have the flexibility to change dates and was surprised that the local Irish carrier was most favourable. I finally realised that it was possible to book a flight with Continental and cancel it at no cost in 24 hours. Thus, a plan was hatched. The following morning I booked a flight home for Christmas, printed out the itinerary and then I biked to the border. I met with the same guy again who was happy that I had sorted everything out and could continue with my trip. Once I had my passport stamped fresh for a further six months in the US I was on my way. Thankfully the nearest town on the US side lies only 14k away. I pulled over at the public library and proceeded to cancel my flight only six hours after booking it at no-cost.
While the whole experience might seem like a huge inconvenience it is easy for me to take such things in my stride. While it is generally better to say less than more in such scenarios the reason I was asking the questions is because I wanted to make sure I didn't overstay my welcome. I have family in New York and I would never jeopardise my ability to visit them freely. I respect that the lad was only doing his job and he was perfectly nice about the whole thing, it is more the message from the American Administration that he was delivering. While America is a great country it is a little offensive that I am assumed guilty of immigration before I have even entered the country. In being granted a visa I successfully passed the necessary background checks such that it shouldn't have been an issue as to whether I owned a house or not. To be clear, I have no desire to work under the radar for five dollars an hour nor do I have any desire to stay longer than I am welcome. If the minimum wage wasn't so high due to the cost of living in the US then there wouldn't be such a high influx of immigrants from countries where five dollars an hour means a lot to the immigrant and a lot to the US employer as he saves on labour costs. Believe me, I feel very fortunate that I have the option to travel around America for six months and return to Europe when I'm done. Having travelled so freely around the world as a European it is very hard to conceive of what it must be like to be somebody from Mexico who actually tries to walk across the desert illegally with nothing but a bottle of water. However, the two-faced nature of the whole thing is what is annoying; this is a country built by immigrants who sought greater opportunity and greater freedom of expression. It seems that when the capitalists succeeded in dismantling the Iron curtain in Europe that they simply rehung it at the Mexican border. While not all immigrants are illegal there are plenty who are and who can take cover among their respective communities in the US. It seems like once you are in you are in as it appears too big a task to keep track of people off the radar. Of course, being off the radar comes with huge risks. You have nowhere to turn when in trouble and you have no ability to return to your country as it is unlikely that you will be able to get back into the US. American efforts are particularly aimed at Mexico as it fits alongside the so called 'War on Drugs', however, there are still massive border controls at Canada. They have cut a swathe through the trees and there are plenty of motion detectors as well as regular border patrols. The back-country roads to the Canadian border are always ploughed during winter to maintain these strict border controls. There is no let-up it seems at the border but once inside I'm not sure how it is policed or if they even bother; it may suit a lot of people to have these immigrants here so it would not surprise me if it is not effectively policed within the interior on purpose. Assuming immigrants keep out of trouble there is likely no reason for them to bump into the law. I have not been in the US long enough to know.
The one positive thing arising from this whole affair is that I discovered that my six month visa is good for a six month period for each year for the next ten years. I had thought it was a single-entry visa but I was granted a multiple-entry one. I might have more fun at the border yet it seems ... perhaps it would be easier if I bought a house though.
Hasta luego
Marco 'el hombre' Gilla
welcome to the United States - Big Sky Country Montana