Toronto woman says she was denied entry to U.S. for not having a visa

A Canadian woman says she missed an awards ceremony for her dad in Brazil after being denied entry to the United States because she apparently needed a U.S. visa.

Ontario resident Nur detailed her stressful experience dealing with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and United Airlines on TikTok.

"I'm a Canadian citizen and I was stopped from entering the U.S., even though there are no requirements for a visa," she explained in the two-part video.

Nur, who holds Canadian and Brazilian passports, had booked a flight with United Airlines for Monday, May 5, from Toronto to Brazil, with a layover in Washington, D.C.

Prior to this instance, she had always had a smooth experience travelling between Canada and the U.S.

According to federal government guidelines, most Canadian citizens don't require a visitor, business, transit or other kind of visa to enter the U.S. from Canada.

There are some situations when a Canadian may need a visa to enter the U.S., which are listed on the Department of State's site, but Nur says none of those purposes apply to her.

Canadians only have to register with the American government if they plan on visiting for more than 30 days. This new rule was implemented in April.

Nur says she would have been in Washington for just an hour and a half waiting for her connecting flight to Porto Alegre, which is why she was confused about the situation.

"It doesn't make sense why I wasn't allowed to go in," she questioned in the TikTok.

"I wonder if it was because of my name, if it was because of my looks, if it was because it’s the first time I’m going to [Washington], or if it's because I’m going to Brazil, but it definitely wasn't because of a visa because I do not need a visa."

Flagged at U.S. customs

Nur says she arrived at Toronto Pearson International Airport around 4 p.m. for her 7:45 p.m. United Airlines flight.

She usually flies with Air Canada, but decided to go with United this time around because they had cheaper flights.

In a phone call on May 7, Nur said she was born in Brazil and still goes back to visit family. On this trip, she was supposed to see her dad receive an award and visit her sisters, whom she hasn't seen in almost a year.

Nur says her check-in process went smoothly. She was excited for this flight because she had saved up to treat herself to a Premium Plus seat.

She went through security without a hitch until she was flagged at U.S. Customs.

"They said I was randomly selected for extra screening. Also, they did take my fingerprints, and after they took my fingerprints, that's when they told me I was randomly selected," she recounted on TikTok.

Nur wonders if her name, which is of Arabic origins, is the reason why she might have been flagged. Following the 9/11 attacks in the U.S., people of Arab and South Asian descent have been subject to racial profiling.

In 2017, U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order dubbed the "Muslim ban" that suspended travel from predominantly Muslim countries (Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen) for 90 days.

Despite protests and lawsuits against the travel ban, the U.S. Supreme Court ultimately allowed a third version of the executive order to be implemented in 2018, expanding the list of barred visitors. Joe Biden revoked the executive order; however, Trump revived it on his first day in office.

The university student says she was put in a waiting room and assured by a CBP officer that if she missed her flight, United Airlines would be responsible for rebooking and refunding it.

She wasn't too worried because she had arrived at the airport so early, but it took an hour for her to be given a form to fill out and another hour or so before she was questioned.

"I was very cooperative. I told them everything. I gave them all of the addresses that I was staying at," explained Nur on TikTok. "I was explaining to him, this is only a connecting flight. I've been to the U.S. before. He was like, 'No, everything is fine. You might even make your flight.'"

She says she did not end up making her flight because she was still waiting for the border agents to check her luggage around the time of its departure.

According to Nur, she was under secondary questioning from around 4 p.m. to 9:30 p.m., only for the CBP to tell her that she could not enter the U.S. because she didn't have a U.S. visa.

"I asked him, 'Why is that? Because I’m a Canadian citizen.' He said, 'It doesn't matter. It's because you weren't born in Canada,'" she recalled.

Nur says that even though she was born in Brazil, she was born to a Canadian dad, which automatically gave her Canadian citizenship.

She was baffled because she had travelled to the U.S. many times before with no issue. The only apparent difference this time is the heightened tensions between Canada and the U.S. amid the trade war.

The CBP acknowledged our repeated requests for comment, but has not yet sent us a statement or explanation. We will update this story when we receive a response.

@nurhaj0 Part 1. I’m a Canadian citizen 🇨🇦and i was stopped from entering the US 🇺🇸because I didn’t have a visa, even tho I don’t need a visa to enter the US🇺🇸 #canadiancitizen #usborder #uniteairlines #aircanada #canada #US #unitedstates #border #unitedairlinestiktok #citizen @unitedairlinesuni @Air Canada ♬ original sound - Nur

Ackah Business Immigration Law founder and managing lawyer Evelyn Ackah says she's shocked to hear about what Nur went through.

"This is not about a regulation or policy… there's a lot of independence and rogue behaviour right now happening at the border as a result of the U.S. administration there," Ackah explained.

"The way that they're managing the law is not actually the law, and so there's a lot of room for interpretation. I feel like they might have people that just have their own biases and they've been permitted to reflect them, as opposed to before."

Nur ended up filling out a withdrawal of application for admission, which allows foreign nationals to withdraw their application to enter the U.S.

She says the CBP officer advised her to get United Airlines to put her on an Air Canada flight that goes directly to Brazil since she couldn't go through the U.S. without a visa.

Ackah explained that while it's better to have a withdrawal rather than a refusal, this incident will still show up on Nur's record the next time she tries to enter the U.S.

"She might get asked about what happened in the past, but she's entitled to travel to the United States as a Canadian citizen," said the lawyer.

Ackah added that while Nur won't be able to remove the withdrawal from her record, allowing some time to pass before she travels to the U.S. will help move the incident down so it's not the first thing that shows up when she goes through customs again.

"Treating me like I’m a criminal"

Nur had to settle for hopefully getting a plane out of Toronto for Tuesday, May 6, as she had missed all her connecting flights and any possible direct flights with Air Canada on Monday night.

"I was bawling my eyes out, and it was very embarrassing because I was just there in front of the [United Airlines gate agent] crying and desperate because it was just such a stressful situation," she recalled.

Nur was directed to call United to rebook her flight. She says that at first, everything went smoothly, and the service rep was very understanding of her situation.

She says that changed when the United rep told her that if there were a price difference in tickets, she would need to pay the difference.

"I told her that I thought it wasn't really fair for me to have to pay for it if I'm not allowed to fly with their airline, and the airline is responsible for getting me on the next flight," Nur explained on TikTok.

"I paid [a] very expensive [price] for a premium ticket. I wasn't even asking them for that. It was just a 'Hey, get me on the next flight.' And that's when all of the demeanour changed."

Nur detailed the back-and-forth between her and the first customer service rep she spoke with, who she says treated the situation professionally.

The Canadian cited the border agent and gate agent, who she says both said it was United's responsibility to book her on another flight.

Nur recounted the customer service rep liaising with another agent responsible for handling these transactions, who she says is named Simon.

"Simon told her that it is not their responsibility, that the only thing that they can do for me is give me a refund," explained Nur.

"I told them that I have no problem with the refund. I just wanted to know if I would get that refund on the same day, because I would need to book a flight for the next day. She told me that there was no way possible where they could get me that money on time, that I would need to wait for it and then see whenever I can book a flight."

Nur expressed how she felt they were leaving her stranded, but she understood that the customer service rep was just doing her job. She then asked to speak with Simon, who, she says, immediately started yelling at her.

"Simon starts saying that it is not their responsibility that I cannot fly with them, and that the agent was wrong, and the United representative was wrong and that it is my fault," Nur recalled.

She stressed that she's a Canadian citizen who should be allowed to enter the U.S. without a visa.

"[Simon said], 'then you probably must have done something else wrong for them to deny you,' treating me like I'm a criminal, like I'm someone that deserves what they're getting."

Nur says the United agent continued yelling at her, so she asked if she could record the call, only for them to hang up.

"I was not giving them a hard time. I never raised my voice. I was understanding," she said. "So, I don't understand how that person, Simon, thought that it was okay to yell at me and treat me poorly and then hang up on my face."

"I'm very disappointed in the system"

In an email on May 8, a United Airlines spokesperson said that the carrier provided a full refund of the customer's unused ticket and that its customer care team apologized for the experience.

On May 9, Nur confirmed that the carrier said it sent her a refund, but she had yet to receive it.

She says she shared her story to raise awareness as she's unsure "if this is something that’s going to be happening to all Canadians right now."

The university student added last Wednesday that she had filed a complaint against Simon. She says she received a response from United about that claim, which was "disappointing."

"They basically just said how it wasn't their responsibility because they have no control over the [CBP]," Nur recounted. "I'm not holding them accountable for me being denied entry, like that would be just insane, but you guys were responsible for getting me on the next flight."

Not only did she miss her flight, but she also missed her dad's awards ceremony.

"It's very upsetting because you also took a moment away from me," she recalled telling another United rep in a subsequent call last Wednesday.

Nur was able to book a seat on an Air Canada flight to Brazil on May 7 with financial help from her friends.

She says she has lost over $2,600 because of this ordeal. That includes her initial missed flight with United, a bus ride she missed in Brazil, the Air Canada flight she rebooked, and check-in luggage fees.

The student filed a second complaint with United regarding compensation for the additional expenses incurred and for her disappointment in the way they handled her situation. She says they have yet to acknowledge this complaint.

"They didn't care," Nur told us. "I feel like I was treated like a piece of dirt… I'm very disappointed in the system."