A Canadian family living in Martha’s Vineyard was banned from re-entering the United States after taking a weekend ski trip in Quebec in March.
Michael Freeze, his wife Cinthya and their three young children have been stuck in Ottawa for weeks at a vacation rental in Kanata, CTV News first reported.
Freeze told the Daily Mail in an interview that he was turned away twice by US Border Patrol agents while trying to renew his TN visa.
Under the USMCA trade agreement, TN visas allow certain Canadian and Mexican citizens to live and work in the US for a period of three years.
The visa, which can be renewed indefinitely, is only available to those who are working as engineers, scientists, lawyers and other professional-level roles. Freeze fears that his job as a management consultant for a firm that builds luxury homes no longer qualifies.
‘In the past, they were a little more lenient on what those [work] categories qualified,’ Freeze said. ‘I just think they’ve gotten less lenient.’
To renew a TN visa, the holder needs to travel back to their country of origin before it expires, then bring their paperwork to the border to reapply. Whether or not they are let in is entirely up to the border officer they encounter.
Never expecting to have any problems, Freeze decided to make a vacation out of his mandatory trip to Canada. And he brought his wife and children with him because he had to take their passports with him as part of the application process.
Michael Freeze is pictured with his wife Cinthya and their three young children. The Canadian family, who lives in the United States, has been stranded in Canada since last month after Freeze’s attempts to renew his visa were denied by US Border Patrol officers
Freeze and his family have lived in Martha’s Vineyard (pictured) for about four years. He works as a management consultant for a luxury home builder. This job previously qualified him for a TN visa, a USMCA program meant to attract skilled workers from Canada and Mexico
Freeze first tried to re-enter the US at a Quebec border crossing, where he was denied. He was told then by a border officer that his job didn’t qualify under the TN visa.
He said he tried again the next day at an Ontario border checkpoint with updated paperwork but was denied again.
‘Three years ago when I got my visa, I think they were like, “this is a guy who’s doing honest work and is trying to grow the economy,”‘ Freeze told the Daily Mail.
‘Now that’s changed, and while that is frustrating for me…I don’t think CBP did anything wrong. They’re just trying to do their job,’ he added.
Freeze also said the reason he may have been denied is that he had other job responsibilities outside of strictly being a management consultant. He did not specify what those other responsibilities were.
He said one of the officers he interacted with at the border mentioned that the list of jobs that qualify may have been updated recently. The Daily Mail approached Customs and Border Protection for comment.
Freeze has lived in the US for the last seven years. Four years ago, he graduated from Brigham Young University-Idaho and that’s when he got a temporary one-year visa.
That allowed him to begin working and move his family to Edgartown, Massachusetts, where he rented a house. Then he got the three-year visa he expected to renew last month.
Freeze is continuing to explore options on how to legally return to the US, pointing out that his children have lived there all their lives
Freeze said he is applying to other jobs he believes will better qualify under the stringent guidelines laid out by the TN visa program
Freeze was adamant that he wants to continue raising his children in Martha’s Vineyard
Now, he has been separated from his job and his home, forcing him to look for other ways to get back into the country his children have lived in since they were born. He was adamant that he wants to raise his family in Martha’s Vineyard.
‘I’m still working with a lawyer. We’re exploring options on how to get back,’ he said.
As much as he loves his job, he has made the difficult decision to begin applying to new jobs that he believes will better fit in with the guidelines established by the TN visa program.
In 2024, more than 15,000 TN visas were granted to working professionals from Mexico and Canada, according to the State Department. Thousands more TN visa holders are still in the country from last year.
For current TN visa holders, Freeze advised them to be prepared for sudden, unexpected changes.
‘If you’re trying to go down that route, it’s subject to denial, so don’t take things for granted. Be prepared, because it’s up to whoever takes your case,’ he said.
