New laws are coming for Canadian travelers planning to travel to the United States.
The Trump administration is about to introduce a rule that will force all those arriving from the North who intend to stay in the U.S. for more than 30 days to register with local authorities and undergo fingerprinting.
The measure, which is scheduled to take effect next April 11, represents an unprecedented tightening in relations between the two countries, ending the easy access Canadians have enjoyed for decades.
The decision is just the latest move by the federal administration in an escalating confrontation with Canada, marked by import tariffs and Trump’s renewed comments about annexing the country and turning it into the 51st American state.
Late last month, the Trump administration announced that the executive order on foreign national registration would also apply to illegal immigrants 14 years of age and older and that those who failed to register and submit to fingerprinting would risk criminal prosecution.
At the time, the Department of Homeland Security declared that green card holders, those already undergoing deportation proceedings and people who entered the country on visas would be exempt from the registration requirement.
According to Canadian insiders, the latest provisions will mark a drastic change in relations between the two neighboring nations.
Starting April 11, Canadian citizens will be considered by the U.S. as “ordinary aliens,” and no longer as residents of a friendly country. Before traveling to the States for a stay longer than 30 days, therefore, they will have to register at the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) portal.
For industry experts, the measure could discourage Canadian travelers from going south, leading to negative consequences for the U.S. economy as well.
