I was sent home from the US for a trivial reason... now I get a lump in my throat when I visit other countries
An Aussie woman says she is constantly worried about being barred from other countries after she was sent home from the US for a trivial reason.
Madolline Gourley recently applied for a working holiday visa to Canada and had a shocking 2022 experience in the back of her mind.
Three years ago the Brisbane local flew into Los Angeles for a pet-sitting holiday, but was denied entry because she was in violation of her ESTA visa waiver.
It was because the free use of an owner's home was considered a form of payment and anyone with an ESTA visa waiver is not allowed to work.
She spent 75 days in the US in early 2022, which Ms Gourley sensed the officer was looking at as he questioned her.
'He started asking things like why I spent so long in the US, where did I go on that trip and why was I back again so soon,' she said.
'I told him I was able to get around to so many places because I looked after people's cats - unpaid, of course, and through a legitimate house sitting website - in cities and towns I wanted to visit.'
Just hours after she arrived at LAX, she was kicked out of the country and sent back to Australia.
And it was on her mind as she planned her working holiday to Canada.
'The US, Canada, Australia, the UK and New Zealand share the information collected by their immigration departments,' Ms Gourley told Sydney Morning Herald.
She applied under the International Experience Canada program, and one question worried her.
Her 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,' Ms Gourley said.
'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.'
Ms Gourley did the right thing, but had she lied about ever being denied entry to another country the consequences could have been serious.
She even has a stamp in her passport from the US Department of Homeland Security Customs and Border Protection that reads: 'Refused in accordance with INA section 217.'
It means she's a non-US citizen who has been determined by an immigration officer to be ineligible for admission.
When she got to Canada she said the immigration officer only cared for her passport.
'He said to take a seat and wait for my name to be called. I didn't know what the next steps would entail, but my work permit was printed within 10 minutes,' she said.
'It was valid for two years from July 5, 2023.
'The only other thing the officer said to me was I'd need the work permit details to apply for a Social Insurance Number (SIN).
'A SIN is required before I can start working in Canada, and apparently it gives me access to certain government benefits.'
Last month Ms Gourley flew to New Zealand and was again worried about answering 'yes' to the question 'Have you been deported, removed, barred or refused entry to another country?' on the traveller declaration.
'A Qantas staff member had to call NZ Immigration, and I was asked several questions before the officer went to discuss my situation with his colleague,' she said.
'The passport block was lifted, and I was able to check in, but all of this happened before I'd even left Australia.'
But if she wants to go back to the US, she needs a B2 visa, which requires an interview in Australia.
Deportation from a country generally means someone has committed a crime. Being deported from a country has serious implications for future travel.
In most countries you can't go back for at least a year and sometimes bans are permanent.
A deportation order goes on a person's permanent immigration file, and countries share the information.
In March 2025, someone was denied entry to the US because he flew from Sydney to New York via Hong Kong rather than taking a more direct route.
His did it to save money, but it looked suspicious to US authorities.
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