Worried about being fingerprinted? What snowbirds need to know about the US registration requirement

As snowbirds flock to the border to escape the Canadian winter, many are facing the new US registration requirement for the first time.

Rule, which came into effect in April Under the Trump administration, it has been made mandatory for Canadians staying for more than 29 days to register with the US government.

Regulation sounds simple, but it is actually complex. Not all long-term travelers need to register, and for those who do, there is more than one way to complete the process.

Making matters more complicated, there is no Central American government website that explains all the options for travelers, and those who do register at the border will be photographed, fingerprinted, and charged a US$30 fee.

“It’s confusing, there’s no common sense as to how they’re pursuing this,” said Lane Saunders, a U.S. immigration attorney whose office is near the border in Blaine, Wash.

Saunders says he receives several calls a day from Canadians who are desperate for clarity about the new rule.

“Nobody knows how it works.”

To help reduce confusion, here’s what CBC News has gathered about the new rules.

Option 1: Register at the border

Typically, air travelers are exempt from the registration requirement because they are usually issued an I-94, an electronic arrival record. However, travelers crossing the land border often do not get this.

upon arrivalVal, All Travelers CAn Check out this US Customs and Border webpage To see if they automatically received an I-94.

To ensure that they meet the registration requirement, LANd passengers can Pre-Apply Online for their I-94 within seven days of entering the US, or they can complete the entire process at the border.

Whatever method travelers choose, they will be fingerprinted, photographed and charged a US$30 processing fee, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) told CBC News.

“These measures are necessary under U.S. immigration law to enhance border security, verify travelers’ identities, and ensure compliance with U.S. entry and exit requirements,” CBP spokeswoman Jessica Turner said in an email.

CBC News interviewed five snowbirds who got their I-94 at the border. Each of them said they were photographed, fingerprinted and charged.

The three said border officials offered to complete the process at the border, and he accepted it. The other two, including Brenda Page of Calgary, said they were given no choice.

“It wasn’t like, ‘Would you like your picture (taken)?’ said Page, who crossed the border from Alberta with her husband, Dan, on Oct. 2.

“It was just, that’s the way it’s done and you just do it and you get in line. We want to keep coming back every year, so we did that.”

US immigration attorney Jennifer Behm says border officials determine how they will deal with long-term travelers.

“They have complete discretion as to how they want to inspect and enter Canadians.”

Saunders believes most border officials will let snowbirds enter without registering at the border, because they don’t have the resources to process I-94 for everyone.

“They don’t have the officer capacity, they don’t have the parking capacity for hundreds of campers,” he said. “I don’t think they want to deal with it, because it’s a logistical nightmare.”

Several snowbirds told CBC News, and several others have reported on social media, that they flew through the land border without any mention of the registration requirement.

Shelton Papple of Brantford, Ontario, entered the US from Ontario on November 3. Snowbird said the border officer asked him where in the US he was going, but did not ask how long he planned to stay.

“I told him I was going to Fort Myers, Florida, and he … didn’t say anything about anything,” Papple said. “I’d say the total time I was there was less than a minute.”

Option 2: Register in the US

Saunders said snowbirds who cross the border without the I-94 release should still make sure to register.

Failure to do so could result in a fine of up to $5,000 US or jail time.

Saunders says U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers are unlikely to patrol gated snowbird communities in Florida. But he says the Trump administration is taking a tough stance on unauthorized immigrants.

“Who knows what might happen under this administration?”

Saunders and Behm say snowbirds who don’t have I-94 can Meet the Registration Requirement when in tHe can immigrate to the U.S. by filing with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). The online form is called G-325R,

The form is lengthy, but travelers only need to complete the sections noted with an asterisk. They must provide a US address, but for Canadians there is no fee and no fingerprinting is required.

“Don’t be too afraid of the G-325,” Behm said. “It’s not an overly cumbersome application.”

Because he couldn’t get an I-94, CBC News asked Papple about the G-325R form, which he completed at his winter home in Fort Myers. Pappal says he worries about snowbirds who arrive in the U.S. unaware of the registration requirement.

“Most people who come here won’t know what to do, have no clue.”

A warning about the G-325R form

Immigration lawyer Saunders warnsIf snowbirds leave the US temporarily during their winter migration, their G-325R The form will not be valid upon their return.

“You have to do it again,” he said. However, snowbirds who return to the US by plane will likely not have to complete the form again, as they should automatically be issued an I-94.

Snowbirds David and Gerrily Carmack of Busby, Alta., learned this the hard way G-325R The shelf-life of the form may be reduced.

The couple said when they entered the US from BC last month, the border officer did not offer to process their 1-94, but told them about G-325R Form.

Carmack dutifully completed this once he reached his destination in Arizona. But when they returned to the US on November 3 after a one-day road trip to Mexico, they learned their registration was no longer valid.

David Carmack says the border officer told him, “It’s basically like a contract. If you leave, it’s essentially over.”

This time, he says, the southern border officer insisted they apply for their I-94s on site, which involved being fingerprinted, photographed and paying US$30 each.

After their experience, Carmack says they plan to apply for their I-94 at the northern land border when they enter the US next year.

“I-94 expires six months from the date of entry and you can come and go as you please,” he said.

What about Nexus members?

There is confusion over whether Nexus card holders can bypass the registration requirement.

CBP told CBC News on October 21 that they were exempted. However, on November 6, CBP said that Nexus members are not exempt.

The latter appears to be true as snowbird and Nexus member Maureen Adderley from Midland, Ontario, reported that when she arrived at the U.S. border on Wednesday, a border officer advised her that she still needed to register.

Adderley decided to do so at the border and said he waited for an hour to be photographed and fingerprinted.

A note about facial biometrics

America A new rule announced last monthWhich, starting on December 26, will make it mandatory for Canadians to take a photo at checkpoints with facial biometrics technology when entering and exiting the country.

Technology involves photographing passengers comparison of their faces For photos on their travel documents.

It can currently be found absolutelyRivals international US airports and dozens of departure destinations.

This rule, part of the US expanded facial biometrics program, is separate from CBP’sRequires that travelers applying for I-94 be fingerprinted and photographed by border officials.

The United States is expected to fully implement facial biometrics at land borders next year. CBP told CBC News the technology will capture images of passengers inside vehicles.