"One of them, a very sharp guy in fact, started to read every single post on
my blog. And it didn't take long until he shocked me: 'So you live in New York,
right? That's what you've written in your [blog].'"
Derakhshan did, in fact, write that he was based out of New York—mostly
because it sounded "sexier" than saying he was based out of Toronto, he said.
But between his offhand blog comment and the fact that he was carrying a
Newsweek magazine sent to him at a New York address, the guards found grounds to
refuse his entry into the United States, for at least the next six months.
According to U.S. policy, as a Canadian citizen Derakhshan may be legally
entitled to stay in the United States for up to six months.
Canadian citizens entering the United States as visitors for business do not
require either a passport or a visa, although visitors are required to satisfy
border guards of their citizenship, according to the U.S. Customs and Border
Protection's site.
"It was obvious the guy was trying to find an excuse not to let me in, and he
found something," Derakhshan told Ziff Davis Internet News. "He found that I
said in the blog that I said I'm based in New York now. He said being based in
New York is illegal."
Uh ... excuse me, but it seems to me that Mr. Derakhshan made the
choice to be irresponsible with his writing ... he publicly claimed to
be in violation of the law. The "sharp guy" realized that not
only was this Canadian carrying a magazine with an address to him in
the U.S., but he outright claimed to be "based" in New York ... in
direct violation of the law!
