The US denied entry to Madolline. It's causing her issues with other countries
Back in 2022, the Brisbane resident had flown into Los Angeles on her way to a pet-sitting holiday when she was denied entry to the US.
Even though she wasn't being paid for looking after a homeowner's pets, she was in violation of her ESTA visa waiver because the free use of the owner's residence was considered a form of payment. Therefore, she was working, and anyone with an ESTA visa waiver is not allowed to work. After sitting through two interrogations, and after just a few hours in the USA, she was shunted out of the country on a flight back to Australia.
A denial of entry has repercussions. 'The US, Canada, Australia, the UK and New Zealand share the information collected by their immigration departments,' says Gourley. So when she applied for a working holiday visa for Canada under the International Experience Canada program, she was alarmed when one of the questions on the application asked: 'Have you ever been refused a visa or permit, denied entry to, or ordered to leave Canada or any other country/territory?'
'That had been weighing on my mind a lot,' Gourley says, 'how being refused entry to the United States would affect future visa applications. I wasn't sure if telling the truth would result in an instant rejection, but thankfully there was an option to attach a letter outlining the particulars.
'I wrote a two-page letter and two weeks later I got an email saying my application status had been updated. I logged in and scrolled down to see my work permit had been approved. This was pretty exciting because it meant I was able to house and cat sit in Canada, and I could get a paid job if I wanted to.'
Any country that requires you to apply for a visa or a visa waiver will ask the question, 'Have you ever been denied entry to another country?'
Answer 'yes' and you can expect to be subject to a higher level of scrutiny. Fail to admit to such an offence and you'll probably be found out, and the consequences could be serious.
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