Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN) - A new executive order from the Trump administration in Washington will require Canadians who stay in the U.S. for longer than 30 days to register with Customs and Border Protection. One area immigration attorney says details have not all been released to the public.
Rosanna Berardi says the order mainly targets those living illegally, but there was a tiny provision related to Canadians who cross the land borders and are waved through. If they're visa exempt and are in the U.S. for more than 30 days, they need to register.
"They are under the same rules, regulations and requirements as undocumented immigrants in the United States. So there's a registration process that has to be done electronically, and failure to comply can result in a monetary fine," said Berardi in an interview with WBEN.
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Berardi says Canadians now need to either go inside and get a document, which the government will advise them to, or upon entry to the United States, need to register immediately so there's a record of their entry into the country.
"A great departure from what we've seen for decades and decades and kind of tucked into a bigger announcement and not a lot of attention being paid to this, but certainly going to impact a lot a lot of people," Berardi explained.
The details have not been announced yet, and Berardi encourages snowbirds to pay close attention.
Berardi believes there is a target on Canadians.
"I've been doing this for almost 30 years, and I have not seen this in my career," Berardi said. "Canadians have always been treated as our neighbors, and kind of a special exemption, and we're definitely seeing things targeted to them. So we're going to have to pay attention closely and see how this is going to impact our general relationship and just the ease to which they cross the border."