International Travel 2023

Hi all, I have a very specific question regarding being turned away and what exactly happened and what do you do next? My wife and I are traveling to Europe for two weeks in the fall, flying in and out of Paris. I fully understand that the likelihood of being turned away at the Paris customs is very small. I’ve seen nothing but positive comments about never being turned away by the French.

But, to be absolutely clear about what one actually does IF one is denied entry, I’d like to hear from anyone who has been turned away and how they handled the immediate situation. As I see it,

1. You get denied.
2. Then what happens? Are you detained at customs in the airport until to you are able to book and get the next flight back to the US?
3. If there is no immediate next flight out in that moment and you need to stay overnight, do you sleep in the airport? In customs?
4. How do you go get a ticket? Are you allowed to go to the ticket counters? My guess is no, because you are being detained presumably?

Again, I know this is highly unlikely, in Paris at least, but we are trying to do due diligence and be prepared for whatever might happen in this strange new world. Literally.

Anyone with this kind of experience?

So here goes, this is my story maybe it will help somebody maybe not:

I was arrested in 2002 convicted in July 2003 in New York State. I was designated a level one registered offender. I was on probation until July 2013. In December 2016, I wrote the New York State sex offender registry 21 days in advance of my trip to Europe. I have course kept a copy of the original letter and the certified mail receipt and signature. I traveled Europe with my wife and son for a year popping in and out of Europe, morocco Romania Bulgaria, all while maintaining the 90 days in/out rules.

in January 2017, we arrived in Spain after having crossed the border into the Schengen zone by way of Slovenia from Croatia.

We initially intended on staying for three months, and then going back to Morocco or some other country before returning to Spain. Anytime I made any trip outside of the Schengen zone or back into a zone. I wrote the registry in New York and updated them with my whereabouts, and any anticipated itineraries.

instead of leaving Spain and what would’ve been the end of March or early April 2017 we decided to overstay our entry. We overstayed our entry by a lot and by a lot I mean years.

After residing in Spain and registering “empadronamiento” for three years, we learned from some friends that we could apply for a residence visa through a mechanism which is called “Arraigo Social”. My wife and I maintain US jobs and we work remotely and have been able to support ourselves financially all whilst living in Spain technically as illegal aliens.

We found an amazing attorney, and it turned out that the mechanism which I referred to above, is in fact, the correct mechanism to use in our circumstance. The cost for each of us was €250 that is the complete cost start to finish. During the process I had to get legalized copies of background checks, both at the state level for New York and the FBI both of which had to be legally apostille, certified by the state department and officially translated. We then had to prove that we had the financial means to support ourselves in Spain without an authorization to work.

Our attorney took care of everything. It was expensive to get the background checks, certified and translated and we had to translate a number of other documents, including financial records from banks, etc.. we had to show proof that we had resided in Spain during three years by providing copies of lease, agreements, utilities, medical insurance, etc.

after nearly 18 months in October 2022, we received a favorable letter from immigration, granting residency. We now have official residence cards and are able to take advantage of all of the rights and privileges for the most part of anybody else living in Spain legally. I have traveled back to Morocco and within Europe using my US passport and my residence card from Spain with no problems whatsoever.

After nearly 20 years on July 31 I am officially coming off of the New York State registry. I have confirmed this with the New York State registry and they confirmed that within three weeks of my ending they will send out a letter indicating completion.

for the first time since December 2016 I will be flying home to the United States in August of this year. My intention is not to return home permanently, but rather to get rid of all of my final attachments to the United States, including vehicles, etc. and return to Spain where I will reside permanently with my wife and son.

Im not looking forward to secondary screening. I don’t know what to expect. I will be coming into JFK from Barcelona Spain. I’m assuming that when I return to Spain at the end of September nearly 2 months after I arrive that I will not have to send out another 21 day notice and if I’m lucky, I will only have to be pestered or harassed in secondary when coming back to the United States.

i’ve read that flying directly into Spain has caused headaches for some people and certainly see the merit with flying into Amsterdam or France or Germany.

spain’s laws specifically regarding residency are that five years must have elapsed since any conviction. Once someone is beyond the five years from any conviction be at a felony or a misdemeanor, they can qualify for residency in Spain. Any competent attorney will be able to navigate you through this process should you decide to move to this amazing country.

if anybody would like any guidance or help, please feel free to get a hold of me.

+34644799129 WhatsApp

21 years is a long time, and I have navigated these waters the best I could in many instances with guidance and posts that I have read in these very same forums.

I’ve always tried to keep myself off the radar, even when I was on probation. I know sometimes it might seem like the light in the tunnel is a long ways away, but there is hope.

I have a question about ‘staying off the radar’ when I travel internationally, but I know that I can sometimes overthink things. If there is a country or countries that I want to visit once and maybe even multiple times in the future it has been my assumption that any kind of flying will or can be noticed by the US. Obviously flying from the US to any destination is known, but what about when I travel from country X to CountryY after I have left the US? If I take a bus or train into country Y I assume that there is a lower chance of them being aware of my travels. Sometimes the bus/train journey is complicated enough that it makes me reconsider. what do you think? If I really want to be able to go to country Y multiple times, should I avoid flying there at all costs? Of course I would never travel directly from the US either way. Once I decide and arrive somewhere I will post more specifics. I’m looking ahead to late summer travel. Thanks

Hi all, I’m providing an update from a post I made back in May about having a hard time
with my police officer and being concerned he wouldn’t submit my travel paperwork in time for my business trip to Spain last week. Fortunately, the officer did submit my paperwork and sent me a confirmation email that it was complete which I printed and carried with me on my flight just in case. Unfortunately, I encountered another issue I was not prepared for at all so I’m sharing this as a heads up.

I flew from LAX with a short layover in Paris and then Paris to Barcelona. It was smooth sailing the whole time and had no issues with customs. However, a day or two after arriving in Barcelona, a few police officers came knocking on the door of my hotel early in the morning. This has never happened to me before. They didn’t speak good English but asked about my stay, when I would be leaving, what I was there for, etc. It was completely unexpected and I have no idea why it happened. I gave them the information which was consistent with everything I had written on my travel forms, and they were eventually on their way.

I’m glad they let me be, but I never knew this was even a possibility. I have traveled to Spain before, and other Schengen countries as recently as last August and never had this happen.

When I arrived at the airport to fly back home, I was stopped at customs in Barcelona and had to wait while the agent called his supervisor. I don’t know what they were saying, but then the supervisor told him he could let me go and I was on my way. Again, I’ve never been stopped while leaving the country to return home. This was all very strange.

I know many of you have recently spoken about traveling to various places while on your trip and not providing that information — so this seems especially important to share as I’m not sure what they were looking for or what would have happened if I was not where I said I would be on my paperwork.

If it matters, my charge is for sexual battery (2011). I do not have a stamp on my passport, and my case did not involve a minor (same age as I was).

Prior to leaving, my husband gave his 21 days notice. Not sure it matters but hus charge was from 21 years ago. He was 18 and she was 15 years 9 months and 15 days old pef thr paperwork. We are currently trying to remove him from the registry.
When he flew out of ATL, he was called by a border patrol agent that asked questions where he was going, lived, etc and inspected his passport (no marker). He flew to our destination. We lived there for about 2 years went to various countries no issues. Flew back to the US in May, he got pulled to secondary asked if he was on the registry, the charge, and we were waved through. Just concerned we have an upcoming flight and what if his passport was revoked? We have been back for a month. Any advice? I don’t want to alert them. Maybe applying for a visa in another country? Does that work?

It’s been 6 years since these monkeys went out there with their props.

Next step for Megan’s Law: Passport stamps marking sex offenders

On yesterday’s call, I heard Janice say that Hong Kong is no longer accepting registrants to enter, is this true? If anyone has information on this please share, thanks.

I am thinking about flying through cancun from the EU. I would have a connecting flight there to another country. I believe i am in their system due to an encounter with mexico immigration years ago. Does anyone know if mexico will let you connect to another flight even though they know you are a registrant?

Im getting lost in the weeds but what is the purpose of the 21 day notice from the legal or good of the general public idea? International travel itself is not illegal, the country can turn you away but it is not illegal. the… [person] served their time and off probation and the registry itself it has already been proven in studies does not protect the public… . So what does the 21 day notice do for anyone? How is it considered protecting the general public and why is ignorance of a form worth a felony charge? What protection is the form of notice offering anyone? I am sure it is obvious and I am just in the weeds so to speak. Also for those who got turned away at a country, did you fill out the travel notice and you were still turned away at the country? So again what is the point of the travel notice? Does it serve any greater good than to offer a sneaky way to add a felony charge for not knowing about a form to fill out?

When giving the 21 day notice, do I have to tell them about my domestic flights before I leave the country. In my case, I was able to use miles and string together 2 separate flights in the US to get to my departure city for the trip out of the country. I think it was booked as one itinerary, but three completely separate flights with half day layovers in between. I would rather just tell them about my flight out of the country.
Also, because I have miles to use and I don’t trust the system, I decided to book another flight out to Europe a few days after my planned trip to my preferred destination. If somehow I get turned away from my first destination and am sent back to the US, I will already have another flight that was booked at a very cheap rate and is completely refundable minus a small fee. When I turn in my notice next week I will tell them about both flights. I will tell them that I don’t have any hotel or other solid plans at my destination because the government will do everything possible to ruin my trip and send me back. The second (insurance) trip is there for me to use if I am returned to the US. I won’t sit around for 21 days waiting for another trip when I can have a backup waiting. Is there any reason why I can’t notify them of my primary trip and my backup insurance policy trip? Looking forward to traveling. I’ll talk about destinations after I have made it there.