Chapter 1, in which I learn (the hard way) that flights from Canada to the USA are considered domestic

Yes, I am still alive & kicking. Three very intense days have gone by since I left TO so this is going to be a whopper of a post.

First, some background: I am being allowed to work in the US this fall on a J1 visa, which is designed for students in specialized fields to gain practical training. As a Canadian, I was supposed to have my Visa stamped and pick up an I-94 from US customs at the port of entry when I crossed the border. Sounds simple enough, except that I was told that all flights from Canada to the US were now considered international. Consequently, I was expecting to encounter US customs when I landed in San Francisco so, when I was asked for my passport at Pearson, I didn't volunteer the document that was supposed to get me an I-94, thinking it was simply a preliminary examination. And when I was asked for the purpose of my visit, I said I was going for a 4-month training program, unfortunately neglecting to mention the J1.

The customs officer misunderstood my intentions & thought I was just another Canuck crossing the border for pleasure. As a result, my passport was not stamped and I was not given an I-94, which I require to start working in the US. At the time, I did not realize that something was amiss, believing that this process would happen when I got off the plane. It was only when I picked up my luggage in SFO that the horrible truth dawned upon me. My mind rushing, I quickly decided that I should contact US immigration & see if they would do the needful at SFO, which I figured would be a major port of entry.

The officer at the immigration office in the airport said that I needed to go to an INS office during business hours and ask for a deferred inspection. Since I was going to be in the state capital (Sacramento) for the next few days, he suggested visiting the INS office there in the morning. Unfortunately, when I went there, I was told that this inspection could only be done at the INS office in downtown SF.

Thanks to much assistance from the relatives with whom I am spending time this week, I got to the INS office in SF at slightly after 8 am on the 26th. After standing in line for about 45 mins, I managed to get a number barely 15 mins before they ran out for the day. Realizing that it would be several hours before my number came up, I went gallivanting around SF with my uncle until there were only a few numbers remaining. As it happened, I was using the washroom when my number was called unexpectedly early, thanks to some no-shows being skipped over. Most fortunately, my uncle was able to convince the officer not to skip over me. She turned out to be very nice, in fact, unlike the officer who issued me a number earlier. After examining my paperwork, she sent me up to the 9^th floor.

Upstairs, another officer took my paperwork and made us wait for about 45 mins before he issued me an I-94, gave me a backdated stamp on my passport & confirmed that I was now aware of the importance of mentioning the J1 at customs when entering the US. Heaving a collosal sigh of relief, I walked out of the building.