PLATTSBURGH, N.Y. (WCAX) – Leaders in northern New York are demanding that Canada end the legal practice known as “flagpoling.”
It’s a workaround that many people in Canada use to get same-day immigration services like renewals of study and work permits. They exit Canada into the U.S. at a port of entry and then do a U-turn back into Canada.
“Canada is letting us down in this case and it needs to stop,” said Garry Douglas, president of the North Country Chamber of Commerce.
Leslie Holman, an immigration lawyer based in Burlington, says the process is a way to renew work permits in person rather than waiting months through an online system. “It’s a term used to really talk about leaving a country — bordering country like Canada — entering the United States, really for the purpose of turning around and going back in,” she said.
Douglas says staffing shortages at the northern border have made it more difficult for customs officers to handle flagpoling cases. He says that’s resulting in an increase of traffic at land port of entries, which is hampering tourism and businesses.”They are perversely incentivizing driving to the border by the fact that you get instant processing at the border versus waiting months of processing if you are doing it the way you should be doing it,” he said.
His proposal for Canadian lawmakers is to focus on supporting the country’s online application system. However, Holman says that would create a crisis in both countries if U.S and Canadian lawmakers decided to end flagpoling. “If that happens to us in the same way, it is going to be hugely problematic,” she said. Holman says there is an avenue she believes that could help with the wait times at the border. “Make it orderly, do not tax the border guards by having everyone show up at once. But if you do it with appointments, it should be fine.”
As of May 30, Canadian border officials have curtailed hours in which flagpoling services are available at the Highgate, Derby, and Champlain crossings.