Return ticket enough not to be denied entry?

Hi everyone! These are great forums with full of great info! I have a question for you. I know this issue has been discussed several times, but I didn't manage to find an answer to my specific case.

I'm moving really soon to the US on a F1 visa. I'll be driving there with a U-Haul truck and all my stuff. My boyfriend and his father want to come help me move. However, I'm afraid that my boyfriend may have a hard time at the border. The problem is, he is currently between jobs, because he wanted to take a brake from work. We also decided to get rid of our appartment, since it was too big (and expensive) for him alone, and he wants to travel in the coming months. He thus plans to live at his parents while he's in Canada.

I guess you can see what the problem is: no job and no appartment when he'll be crossing the border with me... I guess that "staying at his parents" will not be a valid proof of foreign residence (though his dad will be there to confirm it)...

However, he will buy a return plane ticket before leaving, to come back to the country after he helped me moved. Would that be enough as a proof that he'll be coming back to the country when crossing the border?

Many thanks in advance for the help!

Some have probably crossed into the U.S. between jobs and a shaky living arrangement no problem. Conversely, some have probably been hassled based upon the criteria you describe or similar. It really boils down to whom you encounter at the U.S. border.

Your boyfriend could always draw up a lease with his parents and have both parties sign it. It should be accepted at the border if requested. However, CBP would most likely request ties to Canada for a B-2 entry of 6 months as opposed to someone just crossing over and returning to Canada, like your boyfriend.

A return ticket establishes intent of returning to Canada. Your boyfriend will of course now require a passport to cross so that is the bigger concern.

Thank you so much for the reply, it help ease my concerns a bit. My boyfriend already has his passport (and it expires only in 2 years), so that issue is already covered.

Would that help if he would bring the lease of our current appartment and some utility bills? Because he is considering keeping our current appartment for the month if it helps him cross the border and come with me for a month.

Also, how inquisitive are the people at the border? Do they make their decisions only on what people tell them and show them, or can they investigate more, like call our landlord to make sure we have a lease or our utility company to confirm we have a contract with them? Maybe I'm a bit paranoid, but I just want to make sure that everything is in order when we cross the border. I also want to give all the chances to my boyfriend to be able to cross and come with me.

Many thanks again for your help!

No 1 can give a 100% concrete answer! More ties to canada the better! It pretty much depends on the POE officer!! Some are a lot more strict than others! I visited the USA on a monthly basis to see my GF (now wife, came to USA on a Relationship visa) and never had 1 problem, not never had to show any evidence, I was lucky that way! Others do get questioned more and yes some do get denied! NEVER LIE!!!!! Having a return ticket by itself is not strong evidence, as they know, many times its cheaper to buy a return airfare then it is buying 1 way! More evidence the better, never lie! Dont well ur whole life story, be polite!! And best not get intio a shouting match,lol its not 1 ur going to win!!lol

Thanks for the advices. It was never our intentions to lie to or argue with the custom agents. That's why I want to be as properly informed as possible before leaving, so we are properly prepared to answer their questions.

Any hints about my question on the custom agents' "level of investigation" when crossing the border (see the end of my last post) would be quite appreciated.

Many thanks for the help!

Would that help if he would bring the lease of our current appartment and some utility bills? Because he is considering keeping our current appartment for the month if it helps him cross the border and come with me for a month.

Also, how inquisitive are the people at the border?

Remember, your boyfriend is only crossing into the U.S. to help you move and then returning to Canada. The probability of being requested for ties to Canada for such an entry is slim indeed. However, it is always a good idea to be prepared for the unexpected including a picky CBP agent.

It depends on the personality of the inspector. Some can be very precise and demanding while at the opposite extreme, some can be amazingly friendly and even helpful!

There would be more of a problem if CBP somehow got the notion your boyfriend was somehow immigrating to the U.S. as you are not allowed to display such immigrant intent when attempting an entry into the U.S.

His ticket back to Canada explicitly indicates his return to a residence abroad and therefore his chances of being admitted are very good to excellent despite his circumstances of being unemployed and a conservative living arrangement.

Thank you so much MC, your advices help a lot! We'll thus be prepared properly just in case, but we'll cross our fingers to come accross a nice CBP agent! I guess I can stop stressing about that now, since there is not much more we can do until we cross the border. Thanks again!

I was in this exact situation a couple of weeks ago! I drove down to the states with my boyfriend who was going to start school on an F1 visa. I was really worried about entering the states since I had just graduated and was living at home while looking for a job. Plus, I was going to drive my car back to Canada in two weeks so I didn't even have a return ticket to show. The boarder guard gave us a really hard time, he search the car to see how much stuff I brought (only one small bag), asked a lot of question including if my parents worked, where they worked and even wanted to call my mom at work! Basically he was convinced that I would stay in the country illegally and live off my boyfriend...but I answered all of his questions truthfully and eventually he passed us off to another boarder guard who couldn't have cared less about my situation.
So my best advice is to be honest and patient (we were at the boarder for 2+ hours) and hope for a friendly boarder guard.

Thanks Micro for sharing your story! I find it quite helpful to know a bit better what to expect. We'll be crossing the border this coming Saturday, so hopefully we'll stumble on someone nice!

Any advice on the best place to cross to go to Chicago?