New U.S. travel policy doesn’t consider loss of revenue from Canadians

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A new lawsuit claims that the Trump administration’s policy of requiring foreign nationals to register for staying in the U.S. for 30 days or more does not see it as having an impact on communities that rely on Canadian snowbird income.

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The defense team and nonprofits filed a lawsuit in Washington, D.C. on March 31, with the U.S. Immigration Commission, among others, against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Kristi Noem, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), and USCIS Directors Kika Scott, US IMPRIANS and ICERIAMS (ICE), ICES ICED CODICES (ICE), ICEES ICESSICES (USCIS) (CBP), U.S. Department of Justice Acting Commissioner Peter Flores and Attorney General Pamela Bundy Bondi).

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Canada’s “non-immigrant” travels to the United States to exempt new fingerprint requirements

The complaint says among other issues, the interim final rule “fails to consider the impact of the new universal registration program on communities that rely on traveling to the U.S. income each winter, who will now face the risk of federal prosecutors if they fail to register through the new process or always carry registration documents.”

According to Cornell University School of Law and Information, the interim final rule is “notices that the proposed rule is formulated and the public opinion are accepted and that new regulatory requirements and their effective dates are set.”

It is reported that an estimated one million Canadian snowbirds or retirees are flocking to warm destinations in the United States during the winter. According to the American Travel Association, Canada is “the biggest source of international tourists in the United States”, generating $20.5 billion in spending in 2024. Even if Canada travel is down by 10%, it could mean “2 million less visits” and “$2.1 billion lost spending.”

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This year, there are far fewer travelers crossing the United States through its northern land border. According to CBP data, in February 2024, 2.7 million passenger cars passed by compared with 2.2 passenger cars in February this year. million.

Canada’s border crosses the United States, dropping nearly 500,000 travelers in February

The complaint continues: “In fact, Canada has recently issued a travel consultation to citizens for an upcoming registration request.”

The Canadian federal government updated travel consultation page for travel to the United States, including links to the new registration form and the CBP website for travelers who wish to verify the I-94 issue.

In most cases, the I-94 is an automatically generated form for Canadian travelers who arrive in the United States through the air. However, according to Snowbird Advisor, Canadians who cross over the land border may not receive Form I-94. Foreign nationals on Form I-94 have been deemed to be registered.

The complaint challenged the interim final rule announced in late February, allowing the Bureau of Homeland Security and the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Commission to impose new travel policies, known as the Foreigner Registration Requirement.

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The policy puts President Donald Trump’s executive order into practice, titled “Protecting the American people from invasion.” Registration requirements indicate that illegal foreigners, including Canadians, must register to stay in the United States for 30 days or more. Part of the registration involves filling in the online form and obtaining a fingerprint. Canadians later were exempted from having to be fingerprinted.

This policy means that foreign nationals must certify registration in accordance with USCIS “always in personal property.”

The policy is scheduled to come into effect on April 11.

According to the complaint, the new travel policy “reversed the government’s long-standing method of registration – a limited registration policy that has been around since the end of World War II, which would cause chaos, fear and serious economic damage.”

The complaint insists that the defendant attempted to “rush to make these radical changes without any meaningful explanation of policy changes, without notice, public opinion, and careful consideration of Congress’ demands to avoid accurate harm.”

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In particular, the complaint mentioned how Canadians visited the U.S. for less than six months, which was historically exempt from such registration requirements.

The complaint also raises the fact that Canadians “allow Canadians to enter the U.S. in a non-immigrant business or hedonistic manner without obtaining a visa and generally do not issue Form I-94 if they arrive on land.” It said the rule does not explain why such visitors “are also required to register for more than 30 days now, even if they have already had a physical examination at the door and screened by CBP officials.”

The Canadian Snowbird Association, which has 100,000 members, said in a March press release that they are actively “to work with members of Congress and the Trump administration to revoke this demand for Canadian citizens.”

“Our position is that the executive order is related to the current illegal introduction of individuals in the United States and should not apply for vacation to tourists visiting the United States,” the press release.

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