U.S. citizens and permanent residents, not to mention non-immigrants are often plagued by the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol at points of entry to the U.S. because of reports in the Border Patrol’s dossiers or because the entrant has a similar name to someone else who has such a record.  One egregious example was that of the late Senator Ted Kennedy, the brother of President John F. Kennedy, who was stopped at the point of entry because he had the same name as a Ted Kennedy who had an adverse report in the Border Patrol records.  It took a call at that time to President Bush to release Senator Kennedy for admission; namely that he was not the Ted Kennedy that had an adverse report in the Government’s records.

What can be done? An interrupted entrant who has endured this inconvenience has access to the Department of Homeland Security’s Traveler Redress Inquiry Program, DHS – TRIPS.   To clear your record, on the internet go to:  www.dhs.gov/files/programs/gc_1169676919316.shtm.  Often the DHS has old records of someone and these records are not pertinent to the entrant’s present lawful status.

Popularity: 7%